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''Shout at the Devil'' is a 1976 British war adventure film directed by Peter R. Hunt and starring
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...
and Roger Moore. The film, set in
Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
and German East Africa in 1913–1915, is based on a novel by
Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints ...
which is very loosely inspired by real events (see the sinking of the SMS ''Königsberg''). The supporting cast features
Barbara Parkins Barbara Parkins (born May 22, 1942) is a Canadian-American former actress, singer, dancer and photographer. Early life Parkins was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...
.


Plot summary

Colonel Flynn O'Flynn, a hard-drinking American, manipulates British aristocrat Sebastian Oldsmith into helping poach
ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
in Tanganyika, which is part of the German-controlled pre-World War I territory of German East Africa. On hearing news that the American has returned to poaching, Herman Fleischer, the local German Commander of the Southern Provinces, relentlessly hunts O'Flynn with his ''
Schutztruppe (, Protection Force) was the official name of the colonial troops in the African territories of the German colonial empire from the late 19th century to 1918. Similar to other colonial armies, the consisted of volunteer European commissioned ...
''. Fleischer has his warship ram and sink O'Flynn's Arab
dhow Dhow ( ar, داو, translit=dāwa; mr, script=Latn, dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically spo ...
loaded with poached ivory. Sebastian and O'Flynn recuperate at O'Flynn's house where Sebastian meets and falls in love with O'Flynn's daughter, Rosa. They are married and have a daughter together. Sebastian and O'Flynn continue to make trouble for Fleischer by stealing taxes. Fleischer fights back by having his ''Schutztruppe'' attack and raze to the ground O'Flynn's home killing his granddaughter in the process. O'Flynn, Sebastian and Rosa decide to find and kill Fleischer as revenge for the death of the baby. But when it is discovered that Britain is at war with Germany,
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
officers convince O'Flynn to locate and destroy the German warship, ''SMS Blücher'' which is hiding awaiting repair. O'Flynn, Sebastian, and Rosa pursue Fleischer, who happens to be on the warship. Eventually they find her in an inlet and plant a bomb on board. O'Flynn sacrifices himself so that Sebastian and Rosa can escape while Fleischer's crew search for the bomb. Fleischer jumps overboard just in time to get away also, but as he comes ashore, Sebastian kills him with a rifle. Sebastian and Rosa then watch the ship as it is ripped apart by more explosions and burns.


Cast

*
Lee Marvin Lee Marvin (born Lamont Waltman Marvin Jr.; February 19, 1924August 29, 1987) was an American film and television actor. Known for his bass voice and premature white hair, he is best remembered for playing hardboiled "tough guy" characters. Alt ...
as Colonel Flynn Patrick O'Flynn * Roger Moore as Sebastian Oldsmith *
Barbara Parkins Barbara Parkins (born May 22, 1942) is a Canadian-American former actress, singer, dancer and photographer. Early life Parkins was born in Vancouver, British Columbia.Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company ...
as Mohammed, O'Flynn's Mute Servant * Rene Kolldehoff as Hermann Fleischer, German Commander of Southern Province * Horst Janson as Kapitänleutnant Ernst Kyller, ''SMS Blücher'' *
Karl Michael Vogler Karl Michael Vogler (28 August 1928 – 9 June 2009) was a German actor, probably best known for his appearances in several big-budget English language films. In ''The Blue Max'' (1966), he co-starred with George Peppard and Ursula Andress as the ...
as Kapitän zur See Heinrich Graf von Kleine, ''SMS Blücher'' *
Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...
as Mr Smythe *
Jean Kent Jean Kent (born Joan Mildred Field; 29 June 1921 − 30 November 2013) was an English film and television actress. Biography Born Joan Mildred Field (sometimes incorrectly cited as Summerfield) in Brixton, London in 1921, the only child of va ...
as Mrs Smythe *
Heather Wright Heather Wright (born 1950) is an English actress, noted for her performances in film and television. Her film credits include '' Psychomania'' (1973), ''The Belstone Fox'' (1973), '' Shout at the Devil'' (1976) and ''Inseminoid'' (1981). On televi ...
as Cynthia Smythe *
George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...
as Rachid El Keb *
Murray Melvin Murray Melvin (born 10 August 1932) is an English actor. He is best known for his acting work with Joan Littlewood, Ken Russell and Stanley Kubrick. He is the author of two books: ''The Art of Theatre Workshop'' (2006) and ''The Theatre Roya ...
as Lt Phipps * Bernard Horsfall as Captain Joyce


Original novel

The script was based on a novel by
Wilbur Smith Wilbur Addison Smith (9 January 1933 – 13 November 2021) was a Zambian-born British-South African novelist specialising in historical fiction about international involvement in Southern Africa across four centuries, seen from the viewpoints ...
. The critic from ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called the book "a bloodbath".


Historical accuracy

The book on which the film is based is vaguely based on real events, but takes significant artistic licence with historical facts. The main story is loosely based on events concerning the light cruiser SMS ''Königsberg'', which was sunk after taking refuge in Rufiji Delta in 1915.
Ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...
hunter P J Pretorius had gone aboard ''Königsberg'' disguised as a native to pace out the ranges for the Royal Navy's guns. In the film the German ship is named ''Blücher''; there was a vessel of this name, but it did not serve in Africa. The actual SMS ''Blücher'' was an armoured cruiser which sank during the Battle of Dogger Bank. The film implies that Portugal became a co-belligerent with Britain against Germany when the First World War erupted in August 1914, as the Portuguese supply O'Flynn and Oldsmith with a marked Portuguese plane and a Portuguese pilot to conduct surveillance in German territory. In reality, the Portuguese would not have permitted this, as they remained neutral until 1916. Although the motives for killing Fleischer are personal, Sebastian Oldsmith is, in fact, the only major character who is a citizen of a nation actually at war with Germany.


Production


Development

Film rights were bought by
Michael Klinger Michael Klinger (born 4 July 1980) is an Australian former first-class cricketer, who held the record for the most runs scored in the Big Bash League when he retired in 2019. Until the 2008–09 season, Klinger played for Victoria and for ...
, who would also buy the rights to ''Gold Mine'', ''The Sun Bird'', ''The Eye of the Tiger'' and ''Eagle in the Sky''. Poor-quality text, probably OCR. It was announced in 1969 that the film version would be made by
Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...
Inc. but it took a number of years for the adaptation to be financed. In 1971 Smith wrote to Klinger that, "It is now becoming critical that somebody start making films out of my books. This is essential for my career – which really needs a good film to take off in the
Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...
class." Klinger was highly enthusiastic about ''Shout at the Devil'' – his son referred to it as his father's equivalent of ''
Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind may also refer to: Music * ''Gone with the Wind'' ...
''. The producer himself called it a combination between '' The African Queen'' and '' The Guns of Navarone''. However it was an expensive film to produce. Klinger decided to first make a film of Smith's novel ''
Gold Mine Gold Mine may refer to: * Gold Mine (board game) *Gold Mine (Long Beach), an arena *"Gold Mine", a song by Joyner Lucas from the 2020 album ''ADHD Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characteri ...
''.


Screenplay

Smith worked on the script with Stanley Price, who also helped adapt Smith's novel ''Gold Mine'' for Michael Klinger. However, the film ending was changed; in the novel all three main characters die.


Filming

The film's budget has been reported as $9–10 million. Klinger said $3.5 million was provided by AIP. The film was shot on location in
Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
and – controversially due to the then-
apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
regime – in
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
. Shooting took fifteen weeks and began in March 1975. The South African portion of the film was based in the town of Port St Johns. Stars Roger Moore and Lee Marvin got along well. "They were very funny and liked each other a great deal", said director Peter Hunt. "They would socialise and get drunk together in the evenings, although they never had thick heads in the morning." "I love this gentleman", said Moore about Marvin. "Thanks to him I have given my best performance ever. I can only be as good as the other guy. Working with Lee Marvin hauls you up, forces you to try to reach his level." The movie was cut during post production with around 50 minutes cut out.


Soundtrack

The music was composed by
Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...
.


Reception


Box office

The film was one of the most successful British films of 1976 grossing £15 million. It was the 14th most successful film in the UK for the year 1976 having spent a week at number one (24 April 1976) on the box office chart.


Critical

Critic Richard Eder did not like the film much. He wrote, "The movie has too much plot. All that action, conducted by characters without character—except for Fleischer, whose childlike joy in hurting people is almost appealing—produces lethargy...the movie is a passable midget in absurdly long pants." Film critic Roger Ebert thought that "''Shout at the Devil'' is a big, dumb, silly movie that's impossible to dislike. It's so cheerfully corny, so willing to involve its heroes in every possible predicament, that after a while we relax: This is the kind of movie they used to make, back when audiences were supposed to have the mentality of a 12-year-old. It's great to be 12 again."


Follow ups

Klinger had the film rights to other Smith novels, ''The Sunbird'', ''Eagle in the Sky'' and ''The Eye of the Tiger''. ''Eagle'' and ''Eye of the Tiger'' were meant to be part of a four-picture deal between Klinger and Rank Productions. However, none were ever made. The relationship between Smith and Klinger, once warm, ultimately ended in litigation.


References


External links

* * * (illustrating comedic aspects of film) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shout at the Devil (Film) 1976 films 1970s adventure films British adventure films 1970s English-language films Films based on South African novels Films directed by Peter R. Hunt Films set in 1913 Films set in 1914 Films set in 1915 Films set in Tanganyika World War I films set in Africa Films set in Malta Films shot in Malta Films shot in South Africa 1970s British films