The premise of The Seventh Cross sounds really good, which is why I rented it. Seven prisoners escape from a concentration camp in pre-WW2 Germany, and the leaders of the camp put up seven crosses with the intention of killing each prisoner who is caught. Told in the right way, this could have been an interesting, suspenseful movie, but the start of the movie shows six of the seven crosses occupied! Then, we hear a voice-over narration by Ray Collins, indicating the movie could still be saved. Maybe each of the escaped men narrate until they get caught and killed, and the next person takes over in the narration-that way even though we know who gets caught, we still can hold some semblance of suspense as to when they will get caught.
Sorry, folks. The Seventh Cross isn't nearly that clever. The seventh prisoner is Spencer Tracy, and for no reason, Ray Collins-who has already been caught and killed-narrates the rest of the movie. Spencer Tracy is the only prisoner with any screen time, and the rest of the movie is all about him. As usual, he gives his grumpy, one-dimensional delivery, and he never gives any indication he's been imprisoned for one day, let alone years. He's not emaciated, frightened, suspicious, traumatized, jumpy, desperate, or quick-moving. He's just Spencer Tracy. The only good part of the movie is the supporting cast, including husband and wife team Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Agnes Moorehead, Alexander Granache, and Felix Bressart, both of whom were real German refugees who found a new home in Hollywood!
Sorry, folks. The Seventh Cross isn't nearly that clever. The seventh prisoner is Spencer Tracy, and for no reason, Ray Collins-who has already been caught and killed-narrates the rest of the movie. Spencer Tracy is the only prisoner with any screen time, and the rest of the movie is all about him. As usual, he gives his grumpy, one-dimensional delivery, and he never gives any indication he's been imprisoned for one day, let alone years. He's not emaciated, frightened, suspicious, traumatized, jumpy, desperate, or quick-moving. He's just Spencer Tracy. The only good part of the movie is the supporting cast, including husband and wife team Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Agnes Moorehead, Alexander Granache, and Felix Bressart, both of whom were real German refugees who found a new home in Hollywood!