Whirlpool (1959) User Reviews

Pedestrian crime drama

[claude_frollo · 6/10 · 7 September 2002]

"Whirlpool" is one of those movies which delivers less than you'd expect. The dilemma of the film's central character is promising - as becomes clear from the first five minutes, she is on the run both from the law and from her former criminal associate - but the pacing is rather slow and there's not quite enough tension to hook the viewer.

Another major problem lies in the casting of this character. Lora is an anti-heroine, granted, but Juliette Greco makes her so coldly unsympathetic throughout the action that it's hard to see how anyone could find any potential for redemption in her. (Lollobrigida or Loren might have brought a bit more warmth and humanity to the role.) On the plus side, the other characters are all decently acted, and the gorgeous Rhineland scenery and good musical score are points in the movie's favour.

Not a bad film overall, then, but a disappointment when you consider what it could have been. 6/10.

"...it won't be long...."

[Brucey_D · 7/10 · 23 September 2018]

This mostly isn't flash-bang-wallop cinema; it is mainly a somewhat thoughtful character study set along the late 1950's Rhine, as beautiful but hardbitten Lora hitches a ride on the barge 'Clementine' in an attempt to escape the clutches of her murdersome partner, Hermann (who is on the run from the Police), and her former life of "garbage and filth", as she puts it.

The scenery along the Rhine valley makes a colourful and picturesque backdrop to this film, and at the time (especially by comparison with black and white TV) it would have looked absolutely fantastic on the big screen. Now, the available video versions of this film seem to have been transferred from a slightly deteriorated print, and between that and the colour changes that often occur when back projection is used (as it is for many external close-ups), the result is that some of the background colours look somewhat muted and changed. But for me this doesn't detract greatly from the film, and merely adds to the period charm of its look.

From the little that I have seen of it, life on the Rhine must be much the same now as it was then. A significant difference appears to be that (in some kind of one-upmanship game or something) the larger Rhine barges now often have a small car parked on the aft deck, ready to be craned off, presumably for local transport. That navigable rivers like the Rhine have treacherously narrow and fast-running stretches seems hard to believe, but they do; in some places barges travelling upstream are barely able to make way even at full throttle, and downstream traffic passes close by them at a relative speed of about twenty-five knots or so. They don't make any great emphasis of the risks at the helm of a barge containing 1000 tonnes of avaiation fuel, but they would have been quite real.

The cast is mostly excellent and they do a good job. However lovely Muriel Pavlow is cast slightly against type, as a somewhat catty and jealous lady bargee, and for some reason in this film William Sylvester looks peculiarly like John Gregson's evil American twin brother or something.

I don't think this is going to make anyone's 'top ten best ever' but I enjoyed this film somewhat more than I expected to, enough to watch it a second time.

Slower than the Rhine

[Marlburian · 6/10 · 20 September 2018]

As others have noted, this film moves at a slow place, with nothing much seeming to happen. Perhaps the real star is the Rhine itself, with a number of touches of a travel documentary.

When I fast-forwarded though a recording, I briefly wonder if the villain was played by Richard Todd, and the hero reminded me of Alan Ladd. When I watched the film at normal speed, both the actual actors struck me as a bit low-key, and the most striking impression was made by Marius Goring's hair, especially in his first scene!

I'm unsure why Herman had to knock out the nightwatchman, and he did seem to have a bit of luck in his search for Lora.

Interesting mix of character study and crime thriller

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 22 April 2017]

WHIRLPOOL is an interesting mix of character study and crime thriller, a low budget British production with a deliberately foreign look and appeal; much of the action takes place on a barge floating down the Rhine and the film was indeed shot on location in Germany. It starts off with a bang and goes from there, and despite being a low-key romance for part of the running time, it holds the interest throughout.

The main thing working against the film is the budget, or lack thereof. A lot of the close-ups on the barge are achieved via cheesy back projection effects which have dated badly in the intervening years, but as somebody used to dated FX this didn't bother me too much. What's notable are the naturalistic performances from the cast, chiefly the stunning Juliette Greco who really gets to grips with her character's depth and conflicted nature. William Sylvester makes a solidly imposing villain and Marius Goring is as interesting as ever.

Rank Stupidity

[malcolmgsw · 4/10 · 16 October 2017]

This was the type of dismal Hodge podge that was being made by Rank under the aegis of John Davis in a futile bid to combat television.Obviously distributors from various countries were satisfied by the inclusion of actors from their territories.The problem is that they don't gell.William Sylvester seems to be doing James Cagney as Cody Jarrett in White Heat.Greco is rather a somnambulist.The plot moves at the speed of the barge.A bigger budget film from Rank didn't get them out of their predicament.

Watchable, but nothing much here.

[bombersflyup · 3/10 · 6 November 2019]

Whirlpool holds the attention, but meandering and a little dull.

Many things are said that hold weight and need be addressed, but aren't. So it's rather incomplete and vague. No performance positively stands out, Lora doesn't quite captivate in the spotlight, with Rolph stone-faced and Herman as one-note.

Meandering around Lorelei

[suchenwi · 8/10 · 27 December 2007]

This is a strange movie. Though British made, it is set all in Germany, and the stars are French, German, and American. Some shooting and manhunt occurs, but I wouldn't call it a thriller. Rather, a stage for Juliette Greco to act her heart out as femme fatale on the run? Or, a study of the Rhine river, and the life of the skippers plying it?

This movie is certainly not for the hurried. It mostly meanders along, just like the river. It takes its time to look at details, like Dutch wooden shoes and what one can do with them; and the people. Even the plainclothes cops on manhunt don't seem to be hurried in their cat-and-mouse game.

The dramatic situation of a pilot-less ship, loaded with thousand tons of kerosene, in dire straits, is resolved in a very low key. We've come to see much more explosive action in thinner stories in recent decades...

One major goof: the shootout at the overland bus terminal is blatantly unrealistic. The buses look very British, and of course: since the 1930s, there are no long-distance bus lines in Germany, because a law forbids them wherever they would compete with a railroad connection. (Exception from Cold War: lines to/from Berlin). But in Cologne there just never were public buses going to Hamburg or Strasbourg. In a later scene, correct German buses of the period are seen. And the brief street scenes with cars of 1959 always warm my heart... :^)

The AmCo DVD has deteriorated colours. Just like looking today at photos from the same time... but that's not annoying, I'd rather book it as charming. And bought at 3 euro, one cannot really complain. I was moved and thrilled by this movie. The "black Lorelei" (Juliette Greco) enchants all men around her, while still struggling to set foot. O.W. Fisher is charming, but just too good, while William Sylvester is just too bad. Still, I liked the style of this movie, with many things I haven't seen in movies before. One of my favorite scenes: the talk at the postcard stand.