Situation Hopeless -- But Not Serious

Another film to be avoided by those currently being traumatised by lockdown. Or simply traumatised by lousy movies.

Even those who consider themselves knowledgeable about the cinema are unaware that Robert Redford ever made a film with Alec Guinness, and when they've seen this leaden travesty of Robert Shaw's 1960 novel 'The Hiding Place' they'll know why. Saddled with a noisy music score by Harold Byrns, director Gottfried Reinhardt seldom gets the tone right, the occasional bursts of slapstick being among the unfunniest things in it.

Poor Shaw's original story could have made a great film; but he must have watched this mess between his fingers. Alec Guinness hated both Munich and the film, writing that he couldn't "act comedy any more" and dismissing himself in the film as "a sort of lifeless doll impersonating myself in 'Lavender Hill' or 'Fr Brown'".

Austria ironically would have been a more apt setting, as there have been a couple of cases in recent years of maniacs keeping prisoners in their cellars; although their victims tend to be young girls (as in the same year's 'The Collector') rather than grown men.

Two American soldiers stationed in Germany during World War II are captured by an odd German shopkeeper (Alec Guinness); he imprisons the two men in his basement and keeps them there long after the war is over. Strange, unhappy, insecure comedy-drama is extremely well-cast but is really too creepy to laugh at. As the soldiers, Michael Connors and Robert Redford have some good moments, but one can't help but feeling this is just an actors' exercise for both (they're green, but commendable). Alec Guinness is forced to walk a fine line in his characterization; it's imperative to the story that we don't hate the shopkeeper, and Guinness works hard at finding nuances in the man to keep him complex and interesting. If newcomers Connors and Redford are young actors just finding their way, then Guinness is in the Master's class. *1/2 from ****

If you're an older individual or a younger one with more of a brain than most, you'll probably enjoy the humor of this film. It's not laugh out loud hilarious but it has some good performances in it. It's one of the best performances ever given by Mike Connors. Redford is good in it too and so is Alec Guinness, which should really surprise no one since he was a great actor.

But this is an older comedy that requires some intellect to enjoy it. Suffice to say, if you're a fan of Adam Sandler, you probably won't understand it.

It's also based on the first novel of actor Robert Shaw (Quint from "Jaws.") The novel is more serious than this film though, and the film was not as critically acclaimed as the novel. Many don't know Shaw was also a great writer as well as a great actor. He even wrote "The Man in the Glass Booth," one of the most famous plays ever written.

But overall, it's a fun story and a very original idea.

It's interesting to note that later on, Shaw and Robert Redford's names would be linked up again when they both appeared in the film "The Sting." And Alec Guinness also has worked with Shaw on stage in different plays.

Some excellent acting and several funny scenes but apart from that not much, I am afraid. A very weak plot, I dare say.

The premise of the ironically titled Situation Hopeless - But Not Serious is a bit zany, and that's exactly what you'll get when you watch the entire movie. A meek, friendless German man, empowered by his Nazi uniform, captures two American parachuters and keeps them in his basement in hopes of gaining their friendship. They try to sweet-talk him into releasing them so they can get back to the war, but he's determined to keep them. He feeds them well, washes their clothes, gives them regular friendly conversation, lets them listen to music, and allows regular baths and shaves if they want. At Christmastime, he even brings them a little Christmas tree. However, the movie takes a very weird turn when the war ends and he doesn't want to release his 'friends'.

Why did I watch this obscure pseudo-comedy, you ask? It was Alec Guinness's time as Star of the Week, and I happened to get my hands on this very hard-to-find movie. Imagine my surprise to see the opening credits: the two American soldiers were Mike Connors and Robert Redford! This was only his second theatrical movie, but after five years of television, he must have been popular enough to get the "and" in the credits. Because of The Great Gatsby, I'm a forever fan of his. So, no matter how silly or boring the movie got (and it got very silly and very boring) I refused to turn it off. I did nod off a couple of times during the second half, but I'm sure even Robert Redford would forgive me. Unless you really love wacky movies from the 1960s, just watch The Great Gatsby again instead, and whatever is your favorite Alec Guinness movie.