Lee Marvin and Roger Moore team up to con and eventually take down the German army during WW1 Africa in Shout at the Devil on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Black face. Elephant poaching. Killing Native Africans.
Those actions are not even the villains but those who are supposed to be our HEROES!!!! In the column of “They don’t make ‘em like this anymore” is director Peter Hunt’s War Epic Shout at the Devil. Teaming Roger Moore and Lee Marvin together as opposite petty criminals who eventually get involved in WW1 in Africa is tonally all over the place un-PC supposed romp – until it’s not and becomes super serious. Clocking in at a robust 150 minutes Shout at the Devil is an overwrought albeit uneven venture.
Colonel Flynn O’Flynn (Marvin) manages to hornswoggle would-be British aristocrat Sebastian Oldsmith (Moore) into a con that involves killing Elephants and getting dead animals’ tusks out of German-Occupied Africa. As one can expect things do not go according to plan. O’Flynn and Oldsmith continue to team up con after con against the Germans until they and O’Flynn’s daughter Rosa (Barbara Perkins) suffer the tragic consequences. O’Flynn and Oldsmith find themselves involved with the English (for fortune and glory – not vengeance) in the war efforts against the Germans. From Ivory Poachers to Conscripts into WW1 – O’Flynn and Oldsmith somehow find the courage to pull off an impossible mission.
Make no mistake Shout at the Devil is truly a film that could never be made today but remains fascinating because of this. The moment where Marvin and Moore gleefully mow down herds of Elephants for their ivory alone makes this film instantly troubling. Adding that they’re willfully profiting off natives in their search for fortune. Yes, the film can be looked at in different optics now, as a relic of an age, those optics have changed and now we can refocus as a critique of colonialism. Yes, but many will not be able to see beyond two white-white-white dudes shooting down animals for profit and exploiting native characters.
Even taking that out of account there isn’t much excitement to watching these two men bumble their way through criminal plan after criminal plan. The reason that Shout at the Devil doesn’t essentially work is because of the centerpiece of the film where the Germans along with their African conscripts raid O’Flynn and Oldsmith’s homestead. The over-the-top death of a character that colors the entire film. It isn’t the death but how it’s treated by O’Flynn and Oldsmith. It just doesn’t feel realistic.
Shout at the Devil is extravagantly shot by cinematographer Michael Reed and beautifully designed beautifully by Syd Cain. The film feels epic in its design and execution just all for nothing. The cast seems to be wasted away on a screenplay that’s gleefully stupid at every turn and doesn’t appeal to anyone except for its character. One can appreciate its big action scenes and not much else. There is definitely a reason why its remained obscure except for the super fans of Lee Marvin and Roger Moore.
The Transfer
I’m unsure if this is a new transfer or one that’s just given more space with updated compression tools leading to a healthier more verbose image. The image hasn’t a scratch or blemish throughout the runtime. The widescreen cinematography by Michael Reed looks wonderful. The image is beautifully reproduced here allowing for the filtered and often diffuse image to look as sharp. Another win for Kino Lorber.
The Extras
They include the following;
- NEW Audio Commentary by Lee Marvin Biographer Dwayne Epstein and Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell
- Theatrical Trailer
The all-new Audio Commentary by Lee Marvin Biographer Dwayne Epstein and Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell begins with their bonafides before diving into the strange production history before its beginning principal photography. Some of the other details include a promise that Marvin made to not drink during the production – including a great anecdote about that promise; their impressions when they first saw the film upon its initial theatrical release; the failure at the US Box Office and its success Internationally; the work here and career of director Peter Hunt; how they accomplished the elephant poaching scenes; the alligator scene and the hilarious production during that day; the relationship and machismo between Lee Marvin and Roger Moore; the production working in South Africa – and producer Klinger getting cast and crew going to the country during apartheid; a discussion of Lee Marvin on-set antics and how he entertained himself – including some truly wicked stories throughout; a great discussion of the miniature work in the film and miniature work in general and what separates good work and bad; a discussion of the rise of Lee Marvin’s films from obscurity/box office failures to cult classics; the work and career of Barbara Parkins; Lee Marvin’s experience in the Marines and how that came into effect here and multiple other TV series and Films; the what-if of who Klinger wanted to direct after watching his first film but was declined because of Roger Moore; a larger discussion about Moore outside of this film and how this film affected that and his relationship with Lee Marvin; a discussion of the critical response to the film at the time; discussions about the WW1 biplane they used in the film; a discussion of the political incorrectness of the piece; a discussion of the various actors appeared in the film; and much more. Epstein and Mitchell provide a fascinating commentary track about this very unusual film.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Shout at the Devil (3:41); Sergeant Ryker (2:05); Paint your Wagon (1:06); Monte Walsh (3:20); Prime Cut (2:34); The Spikes Gang (2:39); The Great Scout & Cathouse Thursday (2:37); Gorky Park (2:24); Gold (3:56); Ffolkes (2:14); Caravans (2:46); Wild Geese II (2:50);
The Final Thought
Shout at the Devil – long out of print – makes its return to Blu-ray thanks to Kino Lorber.