5 Branded Women

This film is one of the least known gems to come from producer Dino de Laurentiis. Five women in war-torn Yugoslavia have their heads shaved for having intimate relations with a German soldier. The five bond and eventually join the partisan group who punished them back in their village. The film documents their fight against the enemy of their homeland, and their internal feelings of remorse, love, and hate. The women all give stellar performances--Silvana Mangano, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vera Miles, Jeanne Moreau, and young Carla Gravina. Van Heflin and Harry Guardino also deliver fine performances, as the leader of the Yugoslav partisan group and the troublemaker of the partisans, respectively. But perhaps the most touching performance comes from Richard Basehart as the German Captain Erich Reinhardt. In the little screen time he has, Mr. Basehart delivers a gem, bringing poignantly to life a gentle widower, plucked from his comfortable life as a university professor to fight in the war. He is captured by the partisans, and bonds with the 5 Branded Women who have been accepted into their group. He had shown sympathy for the women in the beginning of the film after their disgrace was made public, and in captivity, he bonds with them, particularly Mira (Carla Gravina),(whose baby he delivers) and Ljuba (Jeanne Moreau),(who finds herself in danger of falling for him). It takes a special talent to make you care for a character who is supposed to be a "bad guy", and to do it in less than ten minutes of total screen time is an art form. Mr. Basehart was indeed an artist. This is just one touching instance of the emotional exploration of the characters in this movie. Each character comes to life. A very little known film, but a must see. The action and emotion is raw and realistic throughout.

I saw this film on television when I was about 11 or 12 and it made a deep impression on me. While I had little understanding of war and certainly no personal experience of it, it pointed out the danger of isolation in the midst of endless violence and the horror of rejection for what would in peacetime have been regarded as a youthful transgression.

The casting of Vera Miles and Barbara Bel Geddes among the European actresses was a clear ploy to make this film resonate with American audiences whom during this period were more accustomed to light, frivolous films. Films of a more serious and thoughtful nature were mostly coming from Europe. At the dawn of the 60s this was a shocking exploitation film, preying on women's feelings of vanity, Americans' collective puritanism about sex, and our waning jingoism. It would be interesting to see how audiences would react to it now.

Just watched this World War II drama directed by Martin Ritt on Netflix streaming. The title characters are played by Silvana Mangano, Jeanne Moreau, Carla Gravina, Barbara Bel Geddes, and Vera Miles. They've all been involved with the Nazi soldier played by Steve Forrest though one of them had only kissed him. As a result, they all got their hair shorn by the men who think they're the lowest of the low for sleeping with the enemy. But they start redeeming themselves when they shoot many Nazi soldiers in an attempted raid of a sheep ranch. I'll stop there and just say this was quite a compelling movie that addressed the complexities of the way men and women acted during wartime that got them certain punishments they wouldn't have otherwise during a time of peace. And the performances of the above are all greatly done especially that of Ms. Mangano as well as that of Van Heflin who plays the reluctant commanding officer who accepts these women into his unit. Among the other male supporting cast, Harry Guardino and Richard Basehart also deserve kudos for their performances. Really, all I'll say now is I highly recommend 5 Branded Women.

I can remember walking past the uk poster hoarding in1960 for this movie,really wanted to see it but as an eleven year old was taken to see something more appropiate, when the time came for my weeky cinema treat... however i never forgot this movie.i did eventually catch up with it on uk tv in1978 on late ,and as far as i know never shown again. the film itself is excellent and typical of the war product that was coming out of the de laurentiis studios a that time. it has an extraordinary number of famous and talented american and italian and french actors.i love this movie and cannot believe the negative reviews it had over the years. jeanne moreau is quoted as saying she only made it to pay her tax bill !! i have a number of public domain copies obtained over the years, but it should be re-mastered ...originally released by paramount,but i guess the key to this now lies with the de laurentiis organisation.

From the same director who brought us "Norma Rae" this classic World War II "resistance band fights guerilla warfare against Nazis in the snowywoods" has an interesting twist: they're all women and decked out in leather bomber jackets, crew cuts and machine guns.

Jeanne Moreau, Barbara Bel Geddes, Silvana Mangano, and Vera Miles - all shaved, humiliated, and thrown out of their peasant villages for sleeping with the enemy - now have taken arms against that enemy, but the "real" resistance doesn't want them. So these women must fight the men who are against them AND the men who are supposedly on their side, as well as each other.

Melodrama, to be sure, but different enough and with a fascinating sub-text, that it has become a "guilty" pleasure.