The Angry Hills (1959) - film review

An American journalist Mike Morrison arrives in Athens just as the Allies are about to pull out on the eve of a full-scale Nazi invasion of Greece.  Morrison is immediately contacted by an agent named Dr Stergion who offers him a large bounty if he will deliver a piece of paper to British Intelligence.  The paper has on it a list of names of several Greek collaborators who are willing to work as spies for the Allies.  Before Morrison can hand over the list, his cover is blown and he escapes in a British convoy just before the Nazis take the Greek capital by force.  Rescued by fishermen, Morrison finds himself in a small village in the hills outside Athens.  Aware of the threat that Morrison poses, Gestapo agent Conrad Heisler sends German troops into the hills to hunt him down...

Fired by Colmbia after a fierce falling out over The Garment Jungle, director Robert Aldrich found himself in exile in Britain for his next two films, both wartime thrillers.  After helming Hammer’s Ten Seconds to Hell (1959), he was invited to direct The Angry Hills by independent producer Raymond Stross.  Aldrich was pleased with neither film and regarded this period as one of the low points of his career, although both films stand up remarkably well today, mainly because they tacitly avoid the clichés that are often found in war movies of this era.  

The one weakness that The Angry Hills does have is a plot that lacks substance and momentum, leaving the star Robert Mitchum looking like a tired passenger for much of the film.  This failing is at least partly compensated for by the atmospheric film noir-style cinematography (the night sequences are particularly effective) and some respectable turns from the supporting cast.  Stanley Baker gets the most interesting role, a Gestapo officer coping with divided loyalties, and offers a far more complex and interesting portrayal of a Nazi than the more conventional one supplied by Marius Goring, who combines the camp and the sinister with worrying ease.

© Derek Adamson 2010

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