Murphy's War

WW2 tale of revenge in… Venezuela?

Near the end of WW2, a U-boat attack on the Orinoco River, Venezuela, leaves only one survivor, an Irish seaman (Peter O'Toole). After recovering at a Quaker mission, he intends on finding the Germans responsible and wiping them off the face of the Earth. Sian Phillips plays the Quaker doctor, Philippe Noiret a helpful local and Horst Janson the German captain.

Directed by Peter Yates, “Murphy’s War” (1971) is a gritty realistic WW2 flick in the tradition of “The African Queen” (1951) with the German U-boat crew similar to those in “The Land that Time Forgot” (1977), albeit without the puppet dinosaurs of course. Like those films, and “The Eagle has Landed” (1977), the story addresses peripheral events of the war rather than major battles in mainland Europe or the South Pacific.

The simple, almost mundane tale emphasizes how the horrors of war can affect serene remote areas, as well as the inherent problems of retaliation and mad obsession. It also reflects on war having context: During a declared war killing is appropriate, but when the war has officially ended, it’s not. Yet some people are too emotionally tied to the horrors of the war they can’t let it go.

The film runs 1 hour, 47 minutes and was shot in Puerto Ordaz & Orinoco River, Venezuela, with studio stuff done in England.

GRADE: B-/B