Five Branded Women

Five Branded Women
Film poster
Directed by	Martin Ritt
Written by	Ivo Perilli Michael Wilson Paul Jarrico Ugo Pirro (novel)
Produced by	Dino De Laurentiis
Starring	Silvana Mangano Vera Miles Barbara Bel Geddes Jeanne Moreau Richard Basehart Harry Guardino Steve Forrest Alex Nicol Carla Gravina Van Heflin
Cinematography	Giuseppe Rotunno
Music by	Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	March 15, 1960 (1960-03-15)
Running time	115 minutes
Countries	United States Italy
Language	English
Box office	$1,000,000 (US/ Canada)

Five Branded Women is a 1960 Italian-American film directed by Martin Ritt (his only war film) and produced by Dino De Laurentiis. It features an international cast including Silvana Mangano, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jeanne Moreau and Vera Miles. The film is set during the Nazi occupation of Yugoslavia and was shot in Italy and Klagenfurt, Austria.`

Plot

In 1943, German Sergeant Keller has sex with women of a German-occupied Yugoslav town. Some are willing, while others have to be persuaded. Keller tells Ljuba that he can arrange for her brother not to be sent to work camps. Keller, while out in the forest with Yovanka, is attacked by Partisans and castrated by Branko.

The Partisans order that five women be punished for consorting with Keller; their hair is cut off. German Captain Reinhart points out to his superior that the women now pose a problem. If they remain free, they show the power of the Partisans. If they are locked up, they are being punished for fraternizing with the occupiers. The German commander orders that they leave town.

The women — Jovanka, Ljuba, the widow Marija, Mira and Danica — decide to stick together. Danica cuts her wrist in a suicide attempt, then reveals she is being punished for something she did not do: sleep with Keller.

Walking along a road, they witness a ambush by Partisans. While the Germans pursue their attackers into the woods, Jovanka takes the boots, coat and pistol of a dead soldier; the others do the same. They take shelter in a shepherd's hut and are found by two Home Guards, collaborators working for the Germans. The men pick Jovanka and Ljuba to rape, but Jovanka shoots them with her pistol.

They bathe in a mountain pool; when Mira undresses, the others see she is pregnant. Branko spots them and comes down for a closer look. Each of the women reveals why they slept with Keller, or in Danica's case, rejected his advances. Ljuba suggests they join the Partisans, but Jovanka wants nothing to do with the war. She goes for a walk. Branko attacks her, then stops when he sees her shaven head and starts laughing. He rejoins his unit, led by Veljko.

Later, when Jovanka sees the atrocities committed by a small German unit, she is so infuriated that she shoots at the departing convoy. The other women join in. Fortunately for them, Veljko, who had also planned to ambush the convoy, reinforces them. The surviving Germans flee, but Reinhart is captured by Ljuba.

The women join Veljko's unit, though Jovanka has to be persuaded to do so. Vekjko emphatically states that there must be no romantic relationships between the men and the women, as it endangers them all. Only Branko flouts the order. One night, while he and Danica are on sentry duty, he persuades her to have sex with him. Three German soldiers slip past while they are sleeping afterwards. Fortunately, they are spotted and killed, but the couple's dereliction of duty earns them a death sentence, despite Jovanka's protests. Jovanka and Ljuba are included in the firing squad.

The next day, the Partisans set out to launch a two-pronged surprise attack on the women's town during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Third Reich, leaving Ljuba and Mira to guard Reinhart (who will either be part of a prisoner exchange or executed). Mira goes into labor; while Ljuba comforts her, Reinhart has the opportunity to take her weapon, but instead acts as midwife. Afterward, Ljuba asks Reinhart what he did before the war; he tells her he was a philosophy professor. He also informs her that no Partisans are taken prisoner; they are killed, so he will not be exchanged. He tries to escape, forcing Ljuba to shoot him.

Velko's unit infiltrates the town. He reveals his feelings for Jovanka by ordering her to leave town and help cover their retreat, but she disobeys him. The attack is a success. German dignitaries are blown up with a bomb delivered by Milan, disguised in a German uniform. A reconnaissance plane spots the Partisans, and the Germans set out in pursuit. The Partisans abandon their camp and flee over a mountain. When the Germans get too close, Veljko decides to remain behind with a machine gun to delay them. Jovanka insists on staying with him. While they wait, Jovanka says there will always be war, but Veljko says that people change, that she has changed and so has he himself.

Cast

• Silvana Mangano as Jovanka
• Jeanne Moreau as Ljuba
• Vera Miles as Danica
• Barbara Bel Geddes as Marija
• Carla Gravina as Mira
• Van Heflin as Veljko
• Richard Basehart as Cap. Reinhardt
• Harry Guardino as Branko
• Alex Nicol as Svenko
• Steve Forrest as Sgt. Keller
• Gérard Herter as Colonel von Elm
• Romolo Valli as Mirko
• Sidney Clute as Milan
• Pietro Germi as the partisan commander
• Guido Celano as Drago
• Giacomo Rossi Stuart

See also

• List of American films of 1960

External links

• 5 Branded Women at IMDb