| The 25th Hour (La Vingt-cinquième Heure) |
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|---|---|
film poster by Howard Terpning |
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| Directed by | Henri Verneuil |
| Produced by | Carlo Ponti |
| Written by | François Boyeur Wolf Mankowitz Henri Verneuil |
| Starring | Anthony Quinn Virna Lisi |
| Music by | Georges Delerue Maurice Jarre |
| Cinematography | Andreas Winding |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | February 16, 1967 (US) |
| Running time | 121 minutes (US) |
| Language | French English Romanian |
La Vingt-cinquième Heure (The 25th Hour) is a 1967 war drama film, starring Anthony Quinn and Virna Lisi. It was produced by Italian producer Carlo Ponti and directed by french director Henri Verneuil. The film is based on a novel by C. Virgil Gheorghiu. It follows the troubles experienced by a Romanian peasant couple caught up in World War II.
In a small village in Romania, a local police constable frames Johann Moritz (Quinn) as being Jewish, because his wife Suzanna has refused his advances. He is sent to a concentration camp as punishment. Eventually he is deemed part of the Aryan race and obliged to enlist as a Waffen SS soldier. After the war, he is arrested and prosecuted as a war criminal, but is ultimately released and re-united with his wife and sons in Germany.
The picture is based on real events. It includes Hungary's government in collaboration with the Nazis, the encroachment of Romania by Stalin's troopers, and other happenings.