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Betrayed (1954 film)

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Betrayed
Promotional movie poster for the film
Directed byGottfried Reinhardt
Written byRonald Millar
George Froeschel
StarringClark Gable
Lana Turner
Victor Mature
Louis Calhern
Wilfrid Hyde-White
CinematographyFreddie Young
Edited byJohn D. Dunning
Raymond Poulton
Music byWalter Goehr
Bronislau Kaper
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • September 7, 1954 (1954-09-07)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1.6 million[1]
Box office$4.1 million[1]

Betrayed is a 1954 American Eastmancolor war drama film directed by Gottfried Reinhardt and starring Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Victor Mature, and Louis Calhern. The screenplay was by Ronald Millar and George Froeschel. The musical score was by Walter Goehr and Bronislau Kaper, and the cinematography by Freddie Young. The picture, Gable's last for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, was filmed on location in the Netherlands and England, and was based on the story of turncoat Dutch resistance leader Christiaan Lindemans, also known as "King Kong". The supporting cast features O. E. Hasse, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Ian Carmichael, Niall MacGinnis, and Theodore Bikel. Betrayed was the fourth and final movie in which Gable played opposite Turner, and their third pairing set during World War II. (They played comrades, not simply lovers, in all three war films.)

Diana Coupland provided Turner's singing voice in the song "Johnny Come Home".

Betrayed was spoofed in the film Top Secret! (1984).[2]

Plot

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Betrayed is an espionage thriller set in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, and revolves mostly around the Dutch resistance movement.

Colonel Pieter Deventer (Clark Gable) is an intelligence agent of the exiled Dutch government, working to liberate his homeland from Nazi occupiers. He divides his time between secret missions in the Netherlands and trips to England to consult his superiors and a British general. Deventer is ordered to keep an eye on singer Fran Seelers (Lana Turner), who's suspected of collaborating with the Germans. Both Deventer and Seelers join the shadowy Dutch underground, making contact with a flamboyant resistance leader known as "The Scarf" (Victor Mature).

As "Carla Van Oven", Seelers is assigned is to use her feminine charms to gain the confidence of Nazi officers and gather information. In one scene, resistance fighters burst into a lavish dinner party where Seelers is singing, and shoot Nazi officers. Within the next few weeks, however, a considerable number of underground operatives are captured and shot while carrying out ambushes and sabotage missions. It begins to look as though Deventer's suspicions about Seelers were correct, which weighs on his heart, because the two have fallen in love.

Ultimately, as Allied troops and the local resistance begin to turn the tide against the Nazis, "The Scarf" is revealed to be the real collaborator, and Deventer executes him. Seelers, who had loyally served the underground and almost been killed, turns up safe with British troops, and the two lovers are reunited.

Cast

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Production

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Shooting of a scene for Betrayed in Maastricht. Clark Gable walks past a crowd (1953)

The film was at one stage known as The True and the Brave, with Kirk Douglas mentioned as a possible star.[3] Richard Widmark was at one stage a forerunner for the part played by Victor Mature.[4] Ava Gardner was to play the female lead, but was eventually replaced by Lana Turner.[5]

Filming took place in late 1953 and early 1954, on location in Holland and England.[6] Some shooting took place around Maastricht in Limburg. The interiors were shot at MGM's Elstree Studios near London.[7] The film's sets were designed by the art director Alfred Junge.

It was the final film Gable made for MGM under his contract, which ended in March 1954.[8] His next two films were released by 20th Century Fox.

Release

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Box office

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According to MGM records, the film earned $1,966,000 in the U.S. and Canada, and $2,211,000 in other markets, resulting in a profit of $821,000.[1]

Critical reception

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In a 1954 review in The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "By the time this picture gets around to figuring out whether the betrayer is Miss Turner or Mr. Mature, it has taken the audience through such a lengthy and tedious amount of detail that it has not only frayed all possible tension, but it has aggravated patience as well. Miss Turner and Mr. Gable have had many long-winded talks; Mr. Mature has thumped his chest like Tarzan and bellowed his boasts a score of times. An excess of espionage maneuvering has been laid out on the screen. The beauties of the countryside of the Netherlands have been looked at until they pall."[2]

Home media

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Betrayed was released on DVD and digital download on March 23, 2009, as part of the Warner Archive.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ^ a b Crowther, Bosley (September 9, 1954). "'Betrayed,' War Story, Opens at the State". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  3. ^ Schallert, E. (Jul 30, 1953). "River boat perennial bought; london tale of reincarnation set". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166494673.
  4. ^ Schallert, E. (Aug 28, 1953). "Vistarama exhibited; justin rival of power, spy role for widmark". Los Angeles Times. ProQuest 166536709.
  5. ^ "U.S. GROUP TO LEAVE FOR FILM IN AFRICA: Jeanne Crain, Dana Andrews Will Make 'Duel in Jungle' in Kruger National Park". The New York Times. July 18, 1953. p. 6.
  6. ^ THOMAS M PRYOR (Jan 27, 1954). "CHAMPION TO FILM E. E. HALE CLASSIC". The New York Times. ProQuest 113154208.
  7. ^ Warren, Patricia. British Film Studios: An Illustrated History. Batsford, 2001. p.85
  8. ^ THOMAS M PRYOR (Dec 18, 1953). "GREER GARSON TO DO A MOVIE IN ENGLAND". The New York Times. ProQuest 112727444.
  9. ^ "WBshop.com - The Official Online Store of Warner Bros. Studios: Betrayed (EST-MOD)". www.wbshop.com. Archived from the original on 2009-03-26.
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