From Hell to Victory (1979)

On August 24, 1939, at a small French cafe, six friends are about to go their separate ways. They vow to reunite on that day each year at the cafe. The film follows each of their lives: one... See full summary »

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Anthony Fritz (screenplay), Umberto Lenzi (story),

Stars:

George Peppard, George Hamilton, Horst Buchholz

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
George Peppard	...	Brett Rosson
George Hamilton	...	Maurice Bernard
Horst Buchholz	...	Jürgen Dietrich (as Horst Bucholz)
Anny Duperey	...	Fabienne
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Dick Sanders (as Jean Pierre Cassel)
Capucine	...	Nicole Levine
Sam Wanamaker	...	Ray MacDonald
Ray Lovelock	...	Jim Rosson
Georges Claisse	...	Karl Wessel
May Heatherly	...	Mary Jennings (as May Hatherley)
Howard Vernon	...	SS Major Karl
Ritza Brown	...	Jim's girlfriend
Franco Fantasia	...	Captain Vanderkreut (as Frank Farrell)
André Lawrence	...	Jean
Lambert Wilson

Storyline

On August 24, 1939, at a small French cafe, six friends are about to go their separate ways. They vow to reunite on that day each year at the cafe. The film follows each of their lives: one begins work with the French resistance, one joins the French commandos, another is forced to join the Nazi army, one becomes a flier, and the two others are just simple officers. On the day Paris is liberated, the three surviving friends meet at the cafe and get drunk.

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Plot Keywords:

commando | nazi | commando mission | german soldier | combat | 

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Taglines:

Six Friends are Swept Up in WWII Action

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Genres:

War

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Italy Spain France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apo tin Kolasi sti niki

Company Credits

Production Co:

Jose Frade, Les Films Princesse, Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The German tanks in the climactic battle scene were U.S. M-41 Walker Bulldog light tanks, built in 1951.

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Connections

Featured in Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)

User Reviews

Reunion Film

Not that George Peppard and George Hamilton were any kind of buddy duo in the way Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas were, but they did do two well received films together, The Victors and Home from the Hill. But for a reunion film it would have been nice if they had gotten something better than this.

In fact this is a reunion film of a bunch of players who seem to hit the heights of their careers around the beginning of the Kennedy years. Peppard, Hamilton, Capucine. Horst Bucholtz all were at their respective peaks around 1961. None of them ever really reached any kind of screen immortality and with only Hamilton left among them were not likely to see another reunion film.

Thankfully not another one like Contro 4 Bandiere. It's a cobbled together film of action sequences from other products and newsreels. The plot has six friends of varying background in Paris having good times a week before the start of World War II. They pledge to see each other at that Paris cafe every year, but war does intervene and they're all not on the same side.

Some make it, some don't and if you're interested to see who shows up then watch Contro 4 Bandiere.