| Morituri (The Saboteur) | |
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original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Bernhard Wicki |
| Produced by | Aaron Rosenberg |
| Written by | Daniel Taradash |
| Starring | Marlon Brando Yul Brynner Janet Margolin Trevor Howard |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Cinematography | Conrad L. Hall |
| Editing by | Joseph Silver |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox |
| Release date(s) | August 25, 1965 |
| Running time | 123 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Morituri (also known as The Saboteur and Code Name Morituri) is a 1965 film about the sabotage of a German merchant ship full of rubber. The film stars Marlon Brando, Yul Brynner, Janet Margolin and Trevor Howard. It was directed by Bernhard Wicki.
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Robert Crain is a German pacifist living in India during the Second World War. He is blackmailed by the Allies into using his demolition expertise to cripple a Nazi ship carrying rubber from Japan. The Allies hope to recover the ship before it is scuttled by the Captain because rubber was in short supply and essential for various uses in the war effort.
It was nominated for two Oscars in the 39th Academy Awards (1966), for best black-and-white cinematography and best black-and-white costume design.
The film did not do well on its original release, probably at least in part because few people understood its title. In an attempt to be more commercial, the film was reissued as "Saboteur: Code Name Morituri".
The title "Morituri" is the plural of a Latin word meaning "about to die". Urban myth (not academically agreed) suggested that Roman gladiators in the arena would begin their battles with "Morituri te salutamus" or "Morituri te salutant" (We/They who are about to die salute you). (See WIkipedia's article on this expression: Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant)
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