Town Without Pity

I'm not someone who uses lots of superlatives, but "Town without Pity" is a movie, for which I would not mind using some of them (and only positively). I had no idea about this movie, nor I ever knew anything about it; yet I picked it up only because everytime I visited the Exposition Park Branch of the Los angeles Public Library, it was lying there in the shelf, for a long long time. Watching this movie was a very pleasant experience for me. I found this movie very "humane" in that it was able to successfully deal with the sensitive issue of rape. It's devoid of high drama, but rather very realistic. It involves the humane face of a ruthless defense lawyer, who knows his job, and yet is ready to spare the victim the second round of rape that occurs in the court-room during cross examination.

I recommend it to anyone who wants to watch an excellent, serious movie.

Parts of Town Without Pity are really good, but there are two elements that nearly ruin the film: the ridiculous Oscar-nominated title song and subsequent repetitive theme, and the frequent, superfluous narration by Barbara Rutting. She plays a reporter in the film, so I can only imagine the screenwriters wanted to make the audience think she was writing an article that turned into the film, but it was extremely distracting. The opening scene shows Christine Kauffman and her boyfriend Gerhart Lippert swimming, talking, and sunbathing. Town Without Pity is a German film, and when the German cast speaks in their native tongue, the cold, unexpressive narration translates what they're saying for the English speakers in the audience. Why didn't they substitute narration for subtitles? Every time Barbara's irritating voice cut in, I was taken out of the extremely dramatic, emotional situation.

As tastefully as it can be shown, while still showing exactly what happened, the film shows four American soldiers rape Christine in the beginning scene. The rest of the film involves the trial and the emotional damages Christine and her family suffer throughout the process. She gives a fantastic performance, and were it not for the narration, my heart would have absolutely broken for her.

Kirk Douglas plays the soldiers' attorney, and he also gives a wonderful performance. He's disgusted by his clients but can't refuse his assignment, and he tries to be as sympathetic to Christine as possible. There's a scene in which Kirk is interviewing Christine, with a physical translator present, and he learns more information about the case. He and Christine only communicate with their eyes because they don't want a record of what they're trying to say, and it's incredibly powerful. The majority of Kirk's performance is dual-focused: he's forced to say one thing, but his heart makes his eyes say something different.

Obviously, because of the heavy subject matter, this movie won't be for everyone. However, since the film was made in 1961, you can rest assured the opening scene isn't graphic. If you like watching very dramatic, non-feel-good movies just to appreciate the acting-I do, too-then you'll want to rent this one. You'll also want to pop in something lighter afterwards, like Pillow Talk.

Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, since there's a rape scene and some heavy subject matter, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

Not too many films had talked about rape before this one came out in 1961. But, while in some ways the film talks around the attack (seldom ever using the word 'rape'), it still is very obvious what the film is about and it was surprisingly adult and frank.

The film begins with four American servicemen in Germany raping a local lady. Major Garrett (Kirk Douglas) is called in to represent the men at their court martial and the men, if convicted, could receive the death penalty. Considering how angry the locals are and the overall mood, the military is hoping for a quick trial and execution of the men. However, as Garrett investigates the case, he's decided that while the men are guilty, they don't necessarily merit the death penalty...or at least one of them.

The film will no doubt anger many as the victim herself becomes the object of much of the cross-examination in court. She herself is on trial in a manner of speaking...which, sadly, does occur in many rape cases. Because of this, Garrett is neither a hero or really a villain...just a dedicated man doing his job in the face of a lot of opposition. Well worth seeing but NOT a film for everyone...especially kids and folks who themselves have been victimized.

Town Without Pity (1961)

**** (out of 4)

Incredibly hard hitting, depressing and brutal courtroom drama, which has sadly been forgotten over the decades. I read an interview with Kirk Douglas once and he talked about all the controversy including him getting death threats from some of his fans. United Artists put a warning on the film and asked theater owners not to let anyone under 17 into the film. Several theater owners wouldn't even show the film due to its subject matter. I think all of this controversy hurt the film when it was released but I think it's about time film buffs and film historians go back and take a look at this film and include it with the greatest courtroom films out there. This film still manages to shock and be outrageous nearly forty-five years after being released.

Four American soldiers (one played by Robert Blake) are stationed in a small German town where they rape a 16-year-old girl. It's obvious they are guilty and the town wants the death penalty, which the American government agrees to. A lawyer (Kirk Douglas) is called in and right from the start he hates his clients and agrees they are monsters yet he must do his job and defend them. To do this, he must at least get the death penalty dropped and the only way to do this is by putting the innocent girl on the stand and breaking her apart.

I'm a huge fan of Kirk Douglas and in my opinion this very well could be the greatest performance I've seen from him. He goes through all sorts of emotions from pain to anger to humiliation and there's not one false step along the way. You could break everyone of his scenes down and it's clear there isn't a false move and this is the perfect example of an actor doing everything right. Robert Blake is very haunting in his role and E.G. Marshall is wonderful as the prosecuting attorney. Christine Kaufmann brilliantly plays the young girl. This movie sends the viewer through all sorts of emotions and doesn't hold back on any level. This is the type of film that kicks you in the gut but instead of letting you catch your breath it keeps on kicking you. The interesting thing is that the viewer agrees with Douglas and the director makes sure you hate the soldiers from start to finish. At the same time, we understand Douglas has a job to do and in some ways, we understand him attacking the young girl who did nothing wrong.

The only problem with the film is some unwanted narration but after a while this didn't bother me too much. The music score by Dimitri Tiomkin perfectly captures the mood of the film and the title song by Gene Pitney is very haunting. If you look through review books this film gets rather low ratings so on that level I'd have to call this one of the greatest films I've ever seen that doesn't even get good reviews.

Four U.S soldiers at an army base in Germany are charged with a gang rape and the prosecutor is asking for the death penalty as demanded by public outrage and the girl's father, a leading citizen of the town. Although sure of their guilt, the defending lawyer is also sure that they do not deserve the death penalty. He wants to plea bargain, but he'll dig up dirt and tear the girl apart on the witness stand if that's what it takes to save the men. No person or event in the story is as innocent as it seems at first - not the girl, the town, the judicial process, or even the simple brutality of the four men.

The movie's weaknesses, unfortunately, are in the actual realization of this excellent story. The screenplay is very uneven, over-developing some of the complexities while short-changing others. The use of a voice-over is a clever way to avoid having to subtitle the German speaking scenes, but as implemented it is a clumsy shortcut to giving us information which should have been written into the action. Most unfortunate is the poor choice of music. It blatantly attempts to force its particular mood on the viewer in total discordance with the more subtle manner in which the story is presented. On the bright side, the acting is good and the main point of the story - the brutal treatment of the girl on the witness stand and by the town - is not diluted by any of these problems, making this a movie well worth watching.