''From Hell to Victory'' (Italian: ''Contro 4 bandiere'', French: ''De l'enfer à la victoire'', Spanish: ''De Dunkerke a la victoria'') is a 1979 Euro War film directed by

Umberto Lenzi Umberto Lenzi (6 August 1931 – 19 October 2017) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and novelist. A fan of film since young age, Lenzi studied at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia and made his first film in 1958 which went unr ...

and produced by

Edmondo Amati Edmondo Amati (1920 – 2002) was an Italian film producer. He produced 55 films between 1964 and 1984, including '' Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist'' (2005), '' U-571'' (2000), ''Golden Balls'' (1993), ''Cannibals in the Streets'' (1980), ...

. The international cast stars

George Peppard George Peppard (; October 1, 1928 – May 8, 1994) was an American actor. He is best remembered for his role as struggling writer Paul Varjak in the 1961 film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'', and for playing commando leader Col. John "Hannibal ...

, George Hamilton,

Horst Buchholz Horst Werner Buchholz (4 December 1933 – 3 March 2003) was a German actor who appeared in more than 60 feature films from 1951 to 2002. During his youth, he was sometimes called "the German James Dean". He is perhaps best known in English- ...

Anny Duperey Anny Duperey (born Annie Legras; 28 June 1947) is a French actress, published photographer and best-selling author with a career spanning almost six decades as of 2021 and more than eighty cinema or television credits, around thirty theatre pr ...

Jean-Pierre Cassel Jean-Pierre Cassel (born Jean-Pierre Crochon; 27 October 1932 – 19 April 2007) was a French actor. Early life Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite (née Fabrègue), an opera sin ...

, Ray Lovelock,

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited a ...

, and Capucine. The screenplay by frequent Lenzi collaborators

Gianfranco Clerici Gianfranco Clerici (; born 29 July 1941) is an Italian writer of numerous screenplays for Italian film and television productions. He has collaborated with several directors of exploitation cinema, including Lucio Fulci and Ruggero Deodato. Many o ...

and José Luis Martínez Mollá is based on a story co-authored by the director. The film was a co-production between Italy, Spain, and France. The plot follows a group of six friends of different nationalities who are forced apart on different sides during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. It depicts a number of historical wartime episodes including the

Battle of Dunkirk The Battle of Dunkirk (french: Bataille de Dunkerque, link=no) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on t ...

and the Liberation of Paris.

Plot

On August 24, 1939, six friends take drinks in a suburb of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

; Americans Brett Rosson and Ray MacDonald, the French Maurice Bernard and Fabienne Bodin, German Jürgen Dietrich, and Englishman Dick Sanders. Despite the looming threat of war, the six resolve to meet again annually at this same location. Eight days later, Germany invades Poland, and the six are forced to go their separate ways. In the spring of 1940, Germany conquers France. Dick and Maurice narrowly survive the

evacuation of Dunkirk The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

, whereupon Maurice promptly joins the

Free French Forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army (french: Armée française de la Libération or AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (french: Forces françaises libres, l ...

while Dick is assigned to a new

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

(RAF) unit. Fabienne has joined a

French resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

cell, Ray is embedded in the RAF command as a war correspondent, and Jürgen is an officer in the German occupation force. Brett’s estranged son Jim enlists in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

, intent on becoming a

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. Brett, an agent with the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), is initially ambivalent about Jim’s decision, but eventually decides to put in his requested recommendation, hoping it will help them reconnect. Maurice and Ray briefly reunite in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where Ray is living with his daughter Mary, a

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

(WAAF) officer, and the two wonder where the rest of their group is, and whether they’ll ever be able to reunite. Jürgen and Fabienne eventually meet when he saves her from arrest by the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...

. The two make love, but Fabienne maintains that the two cannot be together because their countries are enemies, much to Jürgen’s disappointment. Meanwhile, Jim is dispatched with his unit behind enemy lines to sabotage German supply lines, a mission that leads to his meeting Maurice. The operation is successful, but the rest of the unit is killed in the process, and Jim and Maurice are forced into hiding with local French partisans. They are smuggled to the

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Now ...

of Nicole Levin, an old flame of Brett’s and partisan sympathizer. Nicole hopes she and Brett might meet again, but her hopes are cut short when

Waffen SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. The grew from th ...

troops arrive to arrest Nicole on suspicion of her guerrilla activities. Nicole gives Jim his father’s old cigarette case and asks him to speak to Brett for her. As Maurice and Jim hide in the cellar, Nicole is killed along with her servants when they try to intervene. Meanwhile in the skies above London, Dick is shot down and killed defending the city from

the Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

, only hours after briefly reuniting with Brett. Brett receives his cigarette case along with a letter from Jim, who expresses a desire to spend more time with him once the war is over. In the lead-up to the

D-Day invasion The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

of June 6, 1944,, Brett successfully leads a mission in the Nazi-occupied

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

to destroy a

V-2 The V-2 (german: Vergeltungswaffe 2, lit=Retaliation Weapon 2), with the technical name ''Aggregat 4'' (A-4), was the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile. The missile, powered by a liquid-propellant rocket engine, was develope ...

rocket fuel manufacturing plant, significantly damaging German defensive capabilities and ensuring a successful invasion. Ray is unable to accompany his daughter to the front due to medical treatment for complications from his

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, but manages to come to terms with it and part on good terms with Mary. Fabienne, meanwhile, bombs a German base, calling Jürgen beforehand to meet her across the street to spare him. She is subsequently found out and arrested trying to escape. In the final Allied push for Paris, three of the friends unknowingly cross paths as American

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

skirmish with German

panzer This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht ...

units commanded by Jürgen. Maurice and Jim fend off the tanks on the ground as Brett and his OSS men call in air support from a nearby hill. Despite Jürgen’s attempt to rush the American trenches and overwhelm them, the arrival of reinforcements overwhelms his panzers. Brett unknowingly kills Jürgen by firing on his command tank with a

bazooka Bazooka () is the common name for a man-portable recoilless anti-tank rocket launcher weapon, widely deployed by the United States Army, especially during World War II. Also referred to as the "stovepipe", the innovative bazooka was among the ...

, and Jim is mortally wounded by a stray explosion. He dies with his father and Maurice by his side. Paris is liberated on August 24, 1944, freeing Fabienne from prison. Brett and Maurice arrive, alone, at the same spot they had met five years prior. As Brett offers a toast to Dick, Ray, Jürgen, and Fabienne, the latter arrives on foot. The three embrace, together at last.

Cast

Production

The screenplay is credited to Anthony Fritz, while the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...

'' noted that some sources credits Umberto Lenzi,

and Jose Luis Martinez Molls. Some internationally distributed versions credit Umberto Lenzi under the pseudonym "Hank Milestone". Exterior filming locations include

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with interiors at

Cinecittà Studios Cinecittà Studios (; Italian for Cinema City Studios), is a large film studio in Rome, Italy. With an area of 400,000 square metres (99 acres), it is the largest film studio in Europe, and is considered the hub of Italian cinema. The studios we ...

. The opening sequence was shot in

Casa de Campo The Casa de Campo (, for Spanish: ''Country House'') is the largest public park in Madrid. It is situated west of central Madrid, Spain. It gets its name 'Country House' because it was once a royal hunting estate, located just west of the Ro ...

park in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. The film also uses stock footage from several other

Euro War Euro War, also known as Macaroni Combat, Macaroni War, Spaghetti Combat, or Spaghetti War, is a broad subgenre of war film that emerged in the mid-1960s. The films were named ''Euro War'' because most were produced and directed by European co-pr ...

films, including ''

Eagles Over London ''Eagles Over London'' ( it, La battaglia d'Inghilterra), is a " macaroni combat" war film from 1969 directed by Enzo G. Castellari.Severin Films DVD Case, 2009. Last accessed: September, 2009. It starred Frederick Stafford, Van Johnson and Fran ...

'' and ''

The Inglorious Bastards ''The Inglorious Bastards'' ( it, Quel maledetto treno blindato, lit=That damned armored train) is a 1978 Italian Euro War film directed by Enzo G. Castellari and starring Bo Svenson, Peter Hooten, Fred Williamson, Jackie Basehart, and Ian B ...

''.

Reception

The ''

'' noted that they had to "admire the resourcefulness of a relatively low-budget production which still runs to a quite respectable crowd of extras and such details as a genuine vintage fire engine in the London blitz scene" and that "taken on the level of a ripping yarn, ''From Hell to Victory'' is really quite amiable, although the routine script and direction make everything much more predictable than it need have been".

References

External links

* * {{Umberto Lenzi 1979 films Films directed by Umberto Lenzi Macaroni Combat films 1970s war films 1970s English-language films English-language Italian films English-language French films English-language Spanish films World War II films based on actual events 1970s French-language films 1970s Italian-language films 1979 multilingual films Italian multilingual films French multilingual films Spanish multilingual films 1970s Italian films