Moviecut—Malta Story

source: Malta Story

Malta Story

Looking at the full cast list there is an actor Richard Leven - Soldier (uncredited). Richard (born Henry Richard Leven) was starting out after the war in theatre which never took off but his life was colourful and like many ex-servicemen there were difficult periods. His role during the war was a bomber pilot and he was a Squadron Leader at the age of 21. He was highly decorated, DFC, DFM and Belgium Croix de Guerre Palme and he flew more daylight bombing missions than any other pilot - 127. He died without family but at his funeral in 97 they had to start the service early; so many people wanted to speak about him and how he had helped them.

It is a gripping story that is told about the efforts made to make use of that stationary aircraft carrier in the middle of the Mediterranean. It is also poignant that Alec Guinness should play the part of a reconnaissance pilot because it is just this ruse that the British used to pretend that they hadn't broken the Italian and German ciphers thus enabling them to sink all the Gerry troop ships and always be just in time everywhere. A lame performance by the cast is diverted by the backdrop of a desperate situation on a tiny island that has been invaded by every great power since anyone can remember. If Ultra hadn't done it stuff these people would have been run over even though the Axis forces would have lost the war in the long run.

I have not seen this film for many years and was interested to see it again on Talking Pictures last night.I was in Malta just over 2 months ago.I recognised so many features from this film.I visited the war tunnels and the ops room depicted in this film as well as the citadel.The film was a fairly faithful depiction of events.It is a pity they decided to include a silly love story.Alec Guineas is woefully miscast as an RAF pilot.

Bought this one today as the price was right and I was pleasantly surprised. As has been stated by many of the other reviews of this film, no great performances in this one. None of the cast stand out and the characters are not particularly memorable. The real star of this movie is the story, one which certainly deserved to be told. I found it enthralling and certainly very tense in parts, a good Sunday matinée type film which is why I give it a 7/10. The use of stock footage was fine given the age of the film and for me it didn't detract from the action. I did see the same plane perform the same turn a couple of times though. Great to see George Cowley..oops I mean Gordon Jackson, so recognisable, in what must have been one of his earlier roles. Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think this would disappoint anyone who isn't expecting bullet time

MALTA STORY is an oddly unengaging little war movie made by Britain and featuring an all-star cast. The setting is Malta, where the British are heroically fighting back against the superiority of the Luftwaffe and the Italian forces, despite being outgunned and surrounded. A little espionage features in the tale but mostly this is a typical gung-ho RAF-based slice of propaganda, lacking the interesting characters seen elsewhere in the genre, such as THE PURPLE PLAIN to give one example. Alec Guinness takes the lead role but seems oddly disinterested in the whole thing, but the sight of nearly a dozen British film regulars in cameo roles (I'm talking Victor Maddern, Sam Kydd, Gordon Jackson, Noel Willman, the list goes on) keeps you watching and the use of genuine wartime footage adds to the realism of the experience. But things get bogged down in old-fashioned romance and I never really cared as much as I should have about the cast.

Having just read "Tobruk" by Chester Wilmot, a journalist who spent time in the Tobruk siege and reported diligently about it, this piece informed me of another similar siege that I was unaware of. The use of archive footage is fascinating, mixed in with a simple story of love that feels lighter and without the moralising heaviness and embarrassing "post modern" pretensions of many modern day films ... especially war films. Very much a product of it's time ... they really don't make them like this anymore. Some of it feels like a War time moral raising film. I even thought it was made in the war until I found out the 1953 date. But memories were still strong in those days of course, so there is a flavour of a story burning to be told to the world before times move on.