Giftiger Schnee

My first viewing of this movie was when i was eleven years old. It was being aired on the Friday night late show. I found it to be a gripping tale of a Korean war veteran returning home with a heroin addiction which was brought on from battle wounds recieved during the conflict.After that point was established you tend to feel for Johnny Pope and his family. A hero in his fathers eyes with his brother Polo paling in comparison in dads opinion. Johnny's wife and brother do everything they can to cope with his addiction and keep John Sr. in the dark about it building to the eventual climax when the truth comes out.A well written and acted tale that left an impression on me.

Back in the 1950's, it was not normal to see a movie that addressed a social problem such as Heroin addiction. The film also slightly implicates the US Army as the source of Johnny's addiction when he was in the Army Hospital following spending months in a cave in Korea. The film pulls no punches as it displays the ruthless pushers who will "put you in the hospital with Willie DeCarlo" if you don't pay what you owe for the Heroin. It also shows how addicts will do anything to get their next "fix". One really feels for Johnny's brother Polo who works as a bouncer to get money for Johnny's habit and at the same time trying to hide the fact that his brother is an addict from Johnny's wife and thier father. In addition, as one who grew up in a NYC housing project in the 1950's and 60's i have to say the on location filming in the projects brings back lots of memories of what my project looked like. I am happy to say i have a good VHS version of the film i took off the OLD AMC years ago (before they ruined AMC with commercials.)

My summary might scare off some, but this is not the infamous "Reefer" movies of earlier days. This film has a great cast, who work with a great script. Don Murray plays an unlikely addict because he acquired his habit as a wounded soldier. His addiction and effects on himself and family are the plot focus. The actors draw out our pity and condemnations. The film does not preach about addiction. The film does portray an ugly problem about drugs, be they legal or illegal. My generation which came to age in the 60's saw many films which showed the "fun" side of getting smashed or high. A great number of them are no longer living, or are shadows of themselves because of addiction.

A Korean war veteran (Don Murray) has developed a raging heroin habit which he hides from his pregnant wife (Eva Marie Saint)and his father (Lloyd Nolan). He has those classic "I've got a monkey on my back" mannerisms which the audience can appreciate, while the wife and father wonder why he seems nervous all the time. His dealer, a character known as Mother, played by Henry Silva, and Mother's sidekick, a beatnik type known as Chuch, played by Gerald S. O Laughlin, are memorable characters. Murray is great as his desperation grows, in debt to Mother, trying to keep his problem a secret, pushed to the extreme. The powerhouse drama features an utterly fantastic role, played by Anthony Franciosa, as Murray's heavy drinking brother, who protects Murray but is in love with his wife at the same time. It could have all been too stagey, but thanks to director Fred Zinneman, there's action to spare in this gritty New York drama.

I have had relatives addicted to street drugs. As this film shows, overdose is the least of your worries. Addicts not only throw their own lives away, they drag their loved ones down with them. They not only destroy the love you have for them but they endanger your life along with theirs. They make the character more sympathetic by being a veteran with PTSD. This film should be shown in all schools starting in third grade. Although realistic it is still more sanitized that reality.