Adventure drama during WW2 in Italy where a mixed group of people get trapped inside a cave after a bomb raid. But can they co-operate? And will they survive?Adventure drama during WW2 in Italy where a mixed group of people get trapped inside a cave after a bomb raid. But can they co-operate? And will they survive?Adventure drama during WW2 in Italy where a mixed group of people get trapped inside a cave after a bomb raid. But can they co-operate? And will they survive?
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFinal film of director Edgar G. Ulmer.
- GoofsThe setting is the mountainous area of Italy. On the outside, the terrain is very dry, undoubtedly with very little rainfall. Yet there is a raging torrential underground river in this cave. With the Mediterranean environment of this terrain, there is NO source for all of this water, as there is no alpine mountain above this cave. The director of this movie should have the cave in this movie a dry one as caves in this type of environment always are dry.
- Alternate versionsItalian prints credit both Paolo Bianchini and Edgar G. Ulmer as directors, while USA prints list only Ulmer.
- ConnectionsEdited into Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 9 (2002)
Featured review
Well made adventure drama....
Director Edgar G. Ulmer is mostly famous for one of the best film noirs ever made, Detour (1945)and therefore I was curious to see what else he has made.
This adventure drama about a group of people that gets trapped inside a fallout shelter/cave, is a exciting albeit slightly flawed film.
The group consists of a retired general(Brian Aherne), now working as war correspondent, a GI joe(John Saxon) who has been stripped of his rank,an Italian soldier( Nino Castelnuovo), army publicist(Larry Hagman) escorting the general, Italian civilian(Rosanna Schiaffino), Canadian POW(Peter Marshall) and a German soldier(Hans von Borsody) Despite different background, gender, these people must learn to co-operate in order to escape. There are some great scenes here when looking at this group and dynamics between them.
This film is like classical excerise in a philosophical discussion about ethics, human values and the darwinian model for survival.
Asking questions like:
Who is best leader?
Do everyone deserve a fair share of the small amount of food?
These and other vital questions are what film deals with and in way the film reflects society in a smaller scale.
The acting is very good and is surprise for modern viewers to see actors like Larry Hagman, now mostly famous for his role as JR Ewing in the soap opera Dallas, here showing a wider range then usual.
Same thing can be said about John Saxon who has(and still have) a long career, playing all kinds of characters. Here he does a good job playing a street smart soldier with disciplinary difficulties.
Rosanna Schiaffino is a new face for me but she is very believable as the only female stuck in cave surround by men. She very attractive something that causes tensions within the group.
Who should she choose?
Brian Aherne is just excellent, he plays his character with great subtlety, someone whos old ways doesn't really fit in with rest of the group. Time seems to have run away from him, and he can't keep up.
This film seems to be a lowbudget feature but Edgar G. Ulmer knew what he was doing, using the outmost of his small resources. The biggest flaw is in the script, where some character archs don't develop properly, the film is too long and should been shorter.
So future viewers that liked Lifeboat (1944), The Edge (1997), Sands of the Kalahari (1965)should get a kick out of this one.
This adventure drama about a group of people that gets trapped inside a fallout shelter/cave, is a exciting albeit slightly flawed film.
The group consists of a retired general(Brian Aherne), now working as war correspondent, a GI joe(John Saxon) who has been stripped of his rank,an Italian soldier( Nino Castelnuovo), army publicist(Larry Hagman) escorting the general, Italian civilian(Rosanna Schiaffino), Canadian POW(Peter Marshall) and a German soldier(Hans von Borsody) Despite different background, gender, these people must learn to co-operate in order to escape. There are some great scenes here when looking at this group and dynamics between them.
This film is like classical excerise in a philosophical discussion about ethics, human values and the darwinian model for survival.
Asking questions like:
Who is best leader?
Do everyone deserve a fair share of the small amount of food?
These and other vital questions are what film deals with and in way the film reflects society in a smaller scale.
The acting is very good and is surprise for modern viewers to see actors like Larry Hagman, now mostly famous for his role as JR Ewing in the soap opera Dallas, here showing a wider range then usual.
Same thing can be said about John Saxon who has(and still have) a long career, playing all kinds of characters. Here he does a good job playing a street smart soldier with disciplinary difficulties.
Rosanna Schiaffino is a new face for me but she is very believable as the only female stuck in cave surround by men. She very attractive something that causes tensions within the group.
Who should she choose?
Brian Aherne is just excellent, he plays his character with great subtlety, someone whos old ways doesn't really fit in with rest of the group. Time seems to have run away from him, and he can't keep up.
This film seems to be a lowbudget feature but Edgar G. Ulmer knew what he was doing, using the outmost of his small resources. The biggest flaw is in the script, where some character archs don't develop properly, the film is too long and should been shorter.
So future viewers that liked Lifeboat (1944), The Edge (1997), Sands of the Kalahari (1965)should get a kick out of this one.
helpful•142
- CurtHerzstark
- May 24, 2012
- How long is The Cavern?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 90 Nächte und ein Tag
- Filming locations
- Postojna, Yugoslavia(mountain exteriors)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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