Before Winter Comes ** (1968, David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, Anthony Quayle) – Classic Movie Review 12,447

The intimate 1968 British comedy-drama war film Before Winter Comes stars David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, and John Hurt. Topol gets a well-deserved star vehicle – and his charm is the film’s main asset. 

Director J Lee Thompson’s intimate 1968 British comedy-drama war film Before Winter Comes stars David Niven, Topol, Anna Karina, John Hurt, and Anthony Quayle.

Topol gets a well-deserved star vehicle – and his charm as British Major Giles Burnside (David Niven)’s interpreter in all the languages and confusions of a World War Two wartime refugee and transit camp refugee camp in occupied Austria in 1945 is the film’s main asset.

Burnside is a by-the-book officer whose task is to send the groups of displaced civilians to either the Russian or American zone. Troubled over the translation of the many different languages, he finds one of the refugees, Janovic (Topol), speaks many languages and can help.

When Burnside (Niven) finds out that Janovic (Topol) is in fact a Russian Red Army deserter, he wants to send him back to Russia, but young officer Lieutenant Pilkington (John Hurt) bids to stop him.

Though Before Winter Comes has many telling scenes and tackles an important theme, overall it does not amount to enough, thanks to a script that can’t pack enough of the kind of level of the power, weight, seriousness and intelligence that is needed here. Anna Karina is wasted as love interest as lovely innkeeper Maria, romanced by Janovic until he discovers her affair with Burnside.

Andrew Sinclair’s script is based on Frederick L Keefe’s short story The Interpreter, which appeared in The New Yorker. Sinclair said Niven insisted on a title change as he did not play the interpreter. Niven’s fee was $250,000. John Hurt recalled “Niven was very helpful” during the shoot.

It is an early screen role for Topol, famed for Fiddler on the Roof on stage in London. J Lee Thompson called him ‘the Frank Sinatra of Israel, rugged, handsome, a Clark Gable type or a European version of Burt Lancaster.

Filming took place south of Salzburg, Austria.

Also in the cast are Ori Levi, John Collin, Karel Stepanek, Guy Deghy, George Innes, Tony Selby, Christopher Sandford, John Savident, and Pater Mathes.

The cast are David Niven as Major Burnside, Topol as Janovic, Anna Karina as Maria, John Hurt as Lieutenant Pilkington, Anthony Quayle as Brigadier Bewley, Ori Levy as Captain Kamenev, John Collin as Sergeant Woody, Karel Stepanek as Count Kerassy, Guy Deghy as Kovacs, Mark Malicz as Komenski, Gertan Klauber as Russian major, Hana Maria Pravda as Beata, George Innes as Bill, Tony Selby as Ted, Hugh Futcher as Joe, Chris Sandford as Johnny, Colin Spaull as Alf, Larry Dann as Al, Jeffry Wickham as Captain Roots, Alysoun Austin as A.T.S. driver, John Savident as British corporal, and Pater Mathes.

RIP Chaim Topol (September 9, 1935 – March 8, 2023). He is best known for his portrayal of Tevye, the lead role in the stage musical Fiddler on the Roof and the 1971 film Fiddler on the Roof.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,447

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