Well Deserved Praise

Absolutely the worst movie.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Devoted film fans might note a more than passing resemblance of Charles Bronson's character in Well Hell Broke Loose to that of Alan Ladd in his first star billed role of Lucky Jordan. But the difference in the films is the difference between Paramount building up their newest box office sensation and Paramount rather indifferently releasing this low budget independent film that gives Charles Bronson one of his first starring roles.The only real interest When Hell Breaks Loose has is Bronson's rather unique character. Come Pearl Harbor he's forced to join the army to get out of a jackpot with the law, he's a bookmaker by profession. As a soldier he's no model and serves rather indifferently and most of the time in trouble from Pearl Harbor to the last days of the war in Europe as his unit is in Germany mid April of 1945.Where through his German girlfriend Violet Renning he learns of a secret group of fanatical Nazi true believers called 'werewolves' who are determined to still inflict as much damage as possible on the allies even though they know the war is lost. One of these 'werewolves' is Richard Jaeckel, Renning's brother.Well we know they didn't succeed because when this film was released Ike was our president.Only Bronson who was looking for his big break to stardom seems to do any acting. Everyone else kind of goes through the motions. This one is for Charles Bronson's devoted fans. Others take caution.

"You know that guy would make a wonderful stranger. I don't know why you put up with him." — "Because he's my buddy, that's why." For this film that's a sample of scintillating dialogue. This movie was obviously shot on the cheap in a converted telephone booth. Newsreel footage is employed with a liberal hand by director/editor Kenneth G. Crane. Yes, it's a real cheapo, meanwhile-in-the-stock-footage effort with a few plyboard sets, a Mickey Mouse music score, a lot of dialogue and no action except a mild shoot-out at the climax.Bronson is not well served by the budget and this film would be a good example of how much the success of his films owe to their high- budget mounting. Without that back-up, he is a distinctly less attractive proposition. The support cast, the dull, wordy script, the routine direction and camera-work are not much help and though Bronson does his best he just cannot overcome these limitations. In fact, this film is worth seeing solely for the opportunity of viewing Misses Carlyle and Wakefield. Yes, Bronson is athletic. In one scene he jumps from a roof ledge to the street below. But otherwise he benefits little from Crane's relentlessly TV-close-ups style of unimaginative direction. Of course you can save a lot of money by making a movie this way — and saving money seems to be this picture's principal aim. Not only are the dialogue scenes in closet sets tediously dull, but the similarly economy-minded action spots are directed with an eye to the incorporation of as much stock footage as possible. Even the most undiscriminating action fans will find this one distinctly mediocre at best. When hell broke loose... Well, when did it?

"When Hell Broke Loose" is one of Charles Bronson's earliest starring roles. Up until that time, he mostly played minor supporting characters but here he is THE star of this low-budget production. Bronson plays a rather amoral guy who is always looking out for himself--which is tough, as he's in the Army during WWII--a place where everyone must work as a team. Not surprisingly, he's often in trouble and has a horrible record as a serviceman. However, when he falls for a German woman, for once he thinks about another person. It becomes VERY complicated, however, when they both learn that her brother is a so-called 'werewolf'--a member of a team who dress like American G.I.s and who are dedicated to killing Eisenhower and disrupting the peace. What's next? See the film if you'd like...or not.While Bronson does a good job in this early role, the film is pretty cheap--with only fair actors in support and lots of poor, grainy stock footage. It is interesting but just seemed cheap. Worth seeing if you love Bronson, otherwise easy to skip.

Charles Bronson enjoyed one of the longest movie careers of any of his contemporaries. Although he has had his detractors, his appeal has reached across the generations , from westerns to war films to cop/vigilante films.All hell literally breaks loose here as Bronson tries to save the day.In this film, Bronson begins to gravitate toward the kind of action film that he perfected in the 70's and beyond. His tough, heroic GI faced with a tough & unusual mission is very well acted. Although the script was nothing spectacular, the film is worth a look to see a legendary star on the brink of his memorable tough-guy career.