''Jump!'' is a 2007 British-Austrian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by

Joshua Sinclair Joshua Sinclair (born May 7, 1953) is an American writer, producer, actor and director born in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populou ...

. It starred

Ben Silverstone Benjamin Maurice Silverstone (born 9 April 1979) is an English barrister and former actor. Silverstone's appeared in the 1998 Paramount Classics feature film, '' Get Real''. Early life and education Silverstone was born in Camden, London, the s ...

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

and

Martine McCutcheon Martine Kimberley Sherrie McCutcheon (formerly Ponting, born 14 May 1976) is an English actress and singer. She began appearing in television commercials at an early age and made her television debut in the children's television drama ''Bluebird ...

. It was loosely based on the real-life

Halsman murder case The Halsman murder case was a major political event in Austria, when Philippe Halsman was accused of patricide in 1928 and sentenced in a controversial trial in Innsbruck. It demonstrated widespread antisemitism in rural Austria in the interwar pe ...

. The film was premiered during the 2007

Shanghai International Film Festival The Shanghai International Film Festival (, French: ''Festival international du film de Shanghai''), abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. "China's biggest film festival" according to the Hollywood Reporter. Nex ...

Synopsis

Set in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, in 1928, with the spectre of Nazism on the rise, a young

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

Philippe Halsman Philippe Halsman ( lv, Filips Halsmans, german: Philipp Halsmann; 2 May 1906 – 25 June 1979) was an American portrait photographer. He was born in Riga in the part of the Russian Empire which later became Latvia, and died in New York City. Li ...

, is accused of patricide after his father's death during a hike through the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

. His strained relationship with his father, and the apparent evidence that he has been struck on the head with a rock, point towards the son's guilt. Halsman is put on trial, in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, where his case is taken up by one of the country's leading lawyers.

Cast

– Phillippe Halsman *

– Richard Pressburger *

– Liuba Halsman *

Stefanie Powers Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...

– Katherine Wilkins * Heinz Hoenig – Morduch Halsman *

Anja Kruse Anja Kruse (born 5 August 1956) is a German film and television actress. She played the title role in the 1984 historical series ''Beautiful Wilhelmine''.Klossner p.161 Selected filmography Film * ''The White Rose'' (1982) * '' Die Einsteiger'' ...

– Ita Halsman *

Heinz Trixner The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...

– Emil Groeschel * Christoph Schobesberger – Siegfried Hohenleitner *

Richard Johnson Richard or Dick Johnson may refer to: Academics * Dick Johnson (academic) (1929–2019), Australian academic * Richard C. Johnson (1930–2003), professor of electrical engineering * Richard A. Johnson, artist and professor at the University of ...

– Judge Larcher * Wolfgang Fierek – Leopold Zipperer * Adi Hirschal – Dr. Stein * Alf Beinell – Franz Eicher * Christian K. Schaeffer – Johan Weiler * Erik Jan Rippmann – Josef Eder * Cornelia Albrecht –

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

* Bernd Jeschek – Josef Weil

Production

Producer Lily Berger has stated that she wanted the movie to serve as a "definitive account of what happened" and that she hoped that it "helps to rehabilitate Philippe Halsman’s name once and for all." The film had a budget of approximately six million Euros. Filming took place partially in

, Austria during 2006 and 850 extras were hired for ''Jump!''. Berger has stated that Swayze considered the film "his most important work".

Reception

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' panned the film, calling it "Handsomely produced but dramatically inert." Linda Cook reviewed the movie for the ''

Quad City Times The ''Quad-City Times'' is a daily morning newspaper based in Davenport, Iowa, and circulated throughout the Quad Cities metropolitan area ( Davenport, Bettendorf and Scott County in Iowa; and Moline, East Moline, Rock Island and Rock Isla ...

'', praising the performances of Silverstone and Swayze.

References

External links

* * 2007 films 2007 drama films British drama films Austrian drama films English-language Austrian films Films set in 1928 Films set in Austria Films about murder Cultural depictions of Marilyn Monroe 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{Austria-film-stub