Hornets' Nest (1970)

In 1944, during a sabotage mission, the sole surviving U.S. paratrooper is saved by a group of Italian orphans who later aid him in blowing-up a vital enemy dam.

Directors:

Phil Karlson, Franco Cirino

Writers:

S.S. Schweitzer (story), Stanley Colbert (story)

Stars:

Rock Hudson, Sylva Koscina, Sergio Fantoni

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rock Hudson	...	Turner
Sylva Koscina	...	Bianca
Sergio Fantoni	...	Von Hecht
Giacomo Rossi Stuart	...	Schwalberg (as Giacomo Rossi-Stuart)
Jacques Sernas	...	Maj. Taussig
Mark Colleano	...	Aldo
Mauro Gravina	...	Carlo
John Fordyce	...	Dino
Giuseppe Cassuto	...	Franco
Amedeo Castracane	...	Tonio
Giancarlo Colombaioni	...	Romeo
Ronald Colombaioni	...	Mikko
Valerio Colombaioni	...	Arturo
Giuseppe Coppola	...	Rico
Luigi Criscuolo	...	Paolo

Storyline

A commando unit is dropped behind the German lines in Italy and its mission is to blow up a strategic dam. However, the unit is ambushed and only its leader survives. He is picked up by a ragtag group of local youths, who strike a bargain with him--they will help him blow the dam if he will help them get revenge on the Germans, who have taken over their village and killed their parents.

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Plot Keywords:

year 1944 | death of parents | saboteur | child fights an adult | child uses a gun | 

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Taglines:

Bust The Dam!-- Blow Up The War!

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Genres:

Action | Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some war violence

Details

Country:

Italy USA

Language:

English German Italian

Release Date:

9 September 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Il vespaio

Filming Locations:

Gazzola, Provincia di Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Produzioni Associate Delphos, Triangle Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

A novelization of this movie was written by Michael Avallone.

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Goofs

After the German Captain kills the German Major, the Major is laying on the floor dead but his abdomen is clearly moving as he breathes.

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Quotes

Von Hecht: [after being shot in the arm by Aldo] Just what I need. A shoe shine. Congratulations. You've just captured a whole live German.

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Connections

Referenced in Django Unchained (2012)

User Reviews

Rock Hudson leads a little army of war waifs in WWII Italy against the Nazis

So-so wartime movie follows a group of children saboteurs commanded by an Allied officer whose aim is to blow up a dam vital to the Nazis in Italy. It happens during WWWII when Captain Turner (a moustachioed Rock Hudson )is lone survivor of an Army commando unit that parachuted into the Italian countryside . A small group of orphans must rescue the American captain to be hold by the Nazis. Then the wounded captain is saved , meanwhile the children kidnap a German doctor ( a sultry Sylvia Koscina but rather unlikely medic) . Turner wants the kids to help him blow up a dam and the boys want his help in getting avenge on the Nazis (Sergio Fantoni ,Jacques Sernas,Gerad Herter, Andrea Bosic) who had massacred his families and occupied their small village.

This warlike movie packs well-staged action scenes , double-crosses, thrills, blood-letting images and criticism about the futility of war but doesn't quite hang together. It contains some unsettling and disconcerting frames as when the kids attempt to rape the German medic and are suddenly interrupted by the healed captain. The nice international cast includes American , British, French and mostly Italian actors such as Sergio Fantoni, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Andrea Bosic , among others. Good musical score by usual Ennio Morricone and adequate cinematography by Gabor Pogany filmed on location in Italian outdoors. The motion picture is professionally directed by Phil Karlson, though drags in some places with little believable situations . There were no half measures in this filmmaker. He would make adventure movies or violent and noir films . As he directed Western as ¨Gunman's walk¨ , ¨They rode west¨, ¨Texas rangers, ¨Iroquois trail¨ and Gansters genre as ¨Phenix city story¨ and ¨Scarface mob¨. Furthermore, Elvis Presley vehicles as ¨Kid Galahad¨ and Dean Martin as ¨The silencers¨and ¨Wrecking crew¨ . Failure alternated with hits through his career, though Karlson's direction was more than successful in ¨ Walking tall¨ with invaluable help of Joe Don Baker . ¨Hornest's nest¨ is an acceptable and passable film with some scenes of relentless action that keep you breathless . This stirring movie will appeal to Rock Hudson fans and WWII buffs.