This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

SEVEN THUNDERS is a long-forgotten wartime effort that shines a light on one of the darkest events to befall Vichy France. The story is set in the slums of Marseilles, where one particular district provides a haunt for Jews and British hiding out from their Nazi oppressors who are always on the hunt for them. The upshot being that the slums were eventually dynamited, by the Nazis as depicted in this movie.This film is something of a ponderous effort that could do with a bit more suspense in order to keep the slow pace from flagging. The huge tableau of characters means that it's difficult to get to know any one in particular, or indeed sympathise with the individual. Stephen Boyd has something of an action man role, brawling with a Nazi goon on a rooftop in one stand-out action scene, and the rest is a muddle of romantic moments, plot twists, and some mild horror elements. James Robertson Justice is cast against type as a sinister doctor with a fine line in murder and disposing of the bodies of his victims in the quicklime he keeps in the cellar!

This sick themed war drama has a psychotic doctor exploiting the situation with Nazis by killing refugee wannabees and potential prisoners of war by having them convert all their money into gold with the promise of getting them out of France. James Robertson Justice (the sweets factory owner from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang") is the nasty "Beast of Marseilles" who tells one Jewish undertaker desperate to meet his family over in England that he is saving him from the tortures of a concentration camp. While all of this is going on, the Nazis introduce much terror to the residents, including a lecherous fat soldier who after twice trying to rape the young heroine ends up having a date with the concrete below when he falls off a roof after having a fight with her lover.Generally unpleasant and slow-moving, this seems an odd story to be telling more than a decade after the end of the war. Stephen Boyd is the young hero fighting both the Germans and the evil Justice who enjoys his murderous ways as a painter would be uncovering his new artwork. This is an "A" version of the type of film that Tod Slaughter would have menaced in a decade before. The only thing that is of interest in this really is the manner in which the villain is exposed and ultimately dealt with.

What a pleasant find this movie was in a 10-movie set, called British War Cinema. It's not a combat film, nor an espionage or resistance film. At its core, it's a film about the hiding and freeing of two escaped British soldiers who wind up in Marseilles in 1943. Around that core story are four or five more stories, and the writers and director weave these nicely into a taught film with intrigue, betrayal, evil and romance. I won't divulge the plot here, but say that it includes French underground people and others who risk their lives to help people fleeing the Nazis. It also shows the dark side of those who took advantage of the plight of war. The romance is one of the more believable ones I've seen in war movies. And, this film shows something of the life in the seedy area of the Old Port, under Nazi control. The directing, acting, cinematography and music are all excellent. The destruction of the Old Port is shown with very good film footage from some source. I'm not aware of any other film that covered this war-time incident. The movie is based on a novel by Rupert Croft-Cooke. I didn't read the book and don't know if it's still available anywhere. So, I don't know how much the movie follows the book. But, based on the incidents in the film, the movie comes very close to some things that actually happened during that time. It thus has some historical value as well.The film opens in the Old Port area of Marseilles in 1943. The so-called Battle of Marseilles, or Marseilles Roundup in the Old Port took place on January 22 – 24, 1943. It was under the Vichy government at the time, and more than 12,000 French police were involved with the Nazis. We see very few policemen in this film – could it be because of sensitivities in 1957 when this movie came out? Surely, there would have been many thousands of people living in France then who had collaborated with Nazi Germany but were never prosecuted for it. Anyway, the roundup that took place was to arrest Jews. It resulted in more than 2,000 people being sent to death camps. The Old Port neighborhood was also considered a terrorist nest and seedy area, as depicted in the film. So, after the roundup, the authorities razed the entire Old Port, displacing some 30,000 people. The author and/or screenwriters added the character of Dr. Martout to the events in Marseilles, based on a real-life person who "operated" in and near Paris before and during the war. Dr. Marcel Petiot (1897- 1946), known as the "Butcher of Paris," was executed in 1946 for the killing of 26 people. He was suspected to have murdered more than 60 people. He supposedly had an escape underground operation for those fleeing the Nazis. In reality, it ended in the death of those who put their trust in him, as shown in the film. "Seven Thunders," had a more apt title, I think, with its first release in England – "The Beasts of Marseilles." I highly recommend this film for any war film aficionados and for any historical film library.

Not a stiff upper lip to be seen. Instead, French bordellos, bread sticks, wine, lust and seething emotions are on the menu as two British escapees from a German POW camp try to hide out in the occupied port city of Marseilles while waiting for a boat back to England.I say `try' to hide out, because their presence soon becomes an open secret - the Germans seem to be the only ones not in on it. And with all those friendly locals around, that's where the lust and other emotions come in – after all what's a chap to do while sitting around in a lively French city?As well as the highly original story line, other very striking features of this movie include the superb black & white filming which lovingly captures the teeming bohemian district of Marseilles. Also one can't help being struck by the astonishingly handsome cast of relatively obscure leading actors. The two British escapees in particular could have stepped straight out of a Mr Universe competition. The better known James Robertson Justice plays only a minor but memorable role.Just for sheer imagination, style and novelty, this movie stands out as a welcome variation on the wartime escape theme. By the way, don't switch off early because the Nazis provide a spectacular surprise ending.