Four in a Jeep

Viveca Lindfors was a prominent Swedish actress who rose to fame in the shadow of Ingrid Bergman, but she is actually more beautiful and more interesting. She made films in Italy before Bergman, and she chose her roles and films with great distinction - although she acted against Errol Flynn in one film, she never accepted standard stardom roles - she needed roles to suit her depth. This is a Swiss film about the post war time in Vienna, when the city was divided by the four occupation forces, Russia, France, England and America, each ruling their own sector except the centre, which was divided equally among them, but patrolling the city regularly by four representatives of the four forces in a jeep - and the film is about them and how they dealt with a problem. An Austrian prisoner of war escapes from a prison camp in Hungary and is wanted by the Russians. His wife is waiting for him at home in Vienna in the Russian sector, and since the Russians are after him they lock her out of her flat to occupy it themselves, lying in wait for the escapee. The other three in the jeep wish to help her, particularly the American Ralph Meeker, and she is allowed to stay temporarily with the family of the French officer. Some of the best scenes are interiors from their home, but the film is rich in memorable scenes. The greatest is when a train arrives with released prisoners of war and the station is filled with their relatives expecting them, the police tries to keep the crowd back, but at length it is impossible, and this is a scene no one will be likely to ever forget. The circumstances here are identical with those of "The Third Man", but there is no villainy here, no political intrigue, no refugee tragedy, this is no thriller, but everything is poignantly realistic, all the four nations speaking their own language. It's a gripping story, although no masterpiece, but it is very Carol Reed-like, especially when you also think of "The Man Between" of a similar situation in Berlin. But the major difference between this and Carol Reed's two films is the permanence of Viveca Lindfors - this could be one of her most interesting roles, while they are all interesting.

In post-war Vienna, four sergeants, each from a different occupying power, share a jeep patrolling the International Sector at the heart of the old city. They get along pretty well -- American Ralph Meeker and Russian Yossi Yadin had actually met during the War -- but when Viennese Viveca Lindfors enters their view, matters become confused. She is waiting for her husband, Hans Putz, to be released from internment camp in Hungary. Word comes he will be in the next batch, but he fails to show up; he escaped just days earlier. It's obvious he's making his way to Vienna and his wife. Meeker, the French sergeant, and the British one are pretty easy-going about the situation, but Yadin has orders to capture him.

It's a well written, shot, and acted drama about the attitudes of the non-coms; even as the tension surrounding the Berlin Air-Lift roils international relations, Vienna is a city in which the occupying powers are still cooperating. Unfortunately, the last half hour is shot at night-time, and the print I looked at was pretty dark, so it's sometimes hard to tell what's going on during the pursuit of Putz. Still, there are plenty of good moments here, and it was time well spent watching this.

Recently, during a discussion of films made a few years after the end of WW2, I mentioned Four In A Jeep. No one had ever heard of it. I recall seeing it in the early 50s and being impressed by it--possibly because of the times--it was the Cold War, and I was very political then--leftie to the core. This storyline of 4 soldiers of different nations--former allies, patroling a conquered city was just my cup of tea. I found it or wanted to find it-- a plea for peace. The main story itself, trying to reunite 2 lovers torn apart by war and a difficult peace, was secondary to the 4 men themselves; especially the American (Ralph Meeker who was getting recognition in Hollywood,) and the Russian, Voroshenko. Because of the Cold War, they could have made Voroshenko the villain, instead he became for me the pivotal character torn between instinct (perhaps love) and duty. He and the American sergeant were pitted against each, but developed respect toward the other rather than hatred. I found this film to be a good companion piece to The Third Man--same period, many similar situations. Too bad it will probably be seen by so few--no DVD for this one--a real pity!

Chris

(1951) Four In A Jeep ESPIONAGE WAR DRAMA THRILLER

A part of history based on fact with a fictitious set up, that after WWII 4 different power consulates would send one official to Vienna to monitor tensions arising in Vienna- one American, Sgt. William Long (Ralph Meeker); one Englishman, Sgt. Harry Stuart (Michael Medwin); one French, Sgt. Marcel Pasture (Albert Dinan), and one Russian, Sgt. Vassilij Voroshenko (Yoseph Yodin). And they would ride together side by side, driving them around the city, until one of the officials who was an American, intervenes with the Russian dignitaries case regarding an escaped prisoner, cross examining her Franziska (Viveca Lindfors) about a Russian POW is when things get pretty heated.

The history part is more fascinating than the commotion, escalated by the American dignitary who felt that it's everybody he was riding with, should've been allowed to say something as well! Liked the realistic aftermath wreckage from WWII but didn't care too much about the budget constraints and at times shows.

When "Karl" (Hans Putz) manages to escape from a Soviet prison in post-war Vienna, it falls to the four occupying powers to work together to re-apprehend him. This task ought to be a fairly routine one for them. Briton "Stuart" (Michael Medwin), American "Long" (Ralph Meeker), Frenchman "Pasture" (Albert Dinan) and the Soviet "Voroshenko" (Yossi Yadin) make up a group that regularly patrol the city in their jeep and know their way around. It's also quite astonishing, in their Babel-esque linguistic maelstrom, that these men can hope to accomplish anything at all but they are soon on the trail of this man and his wife "Franziska" (Viveca Lindfors). Quite quickly, they begin to realise that "Karl" is no danger to anyone and that his imprisonment isn't exactly just. Three decide to help him instead but their problem is that "Voroshenko" isn't convinced. He has much less latitude than his cohorts and it soon proves a much more delicate, even dangerous, mission for him. Can they manage to re-unite this couple in freedom? This starts off as quite an effective illustration of the loose confederation of warring tribes scenario that prevailed after the Nazi defeat, but as the characterisations develop it becomes a little meandering and undercooked and the appearance of the rather wooden Lindfors doesn't really help much. The narrative starts to become more of an anti-Russian propaganda exercise and sadly rather predicable thereafter. There is some potent imagery - especially as the beleaguered refugees arrive home at the railway station to an awaiting crowd of hopeful relatives, but the use of each other's language, though useful at the start, starts to grate after an hour. It's an interesting concept and the actors do an adequate enough job, but it becomes just all a little too messy and black and white for me.