When Hell Broke Loose (1958)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

***SPOILERS*** The film in its opening credits "First Introduces" actor Charles Bronson as GI Steve Bpland to the movie going audience ignoring the fact that Bronson has already been in the movies and on TV with at least some 50 credits under his belt-According to the IMDb-since 1951! Brosnson or Steve Boland plays a just drafted into the US Army, to prevent him from serving time for for illegal bookmaking, right after the the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor who in fact continues his bookmaking and ends up in the brig for it right up until almost the end of the war! It's in the final days of WWII in Europe that he finally sees the light by risking his life to prevent a number of Nazi guerrillas or Werewolves from knocking off the Allied Supreme Commander Gen. Eisenhower. That's to be carried out in an ambush that PVT. Boland's German girlfriend Ilsa's, Violet Rensing, fanatical Nazi brother Karl,Richard Jeackel, and equally crazy, about preserving Hitler's 3rd Reich, friend Ludwig, Arvid Nelson,are determined to carry out!Up until then Boland has been a complete screw up as a member of the US Army landing in jail as well as on garbage or KP duty during his entire time servings, by digging ditches, his country. It's when he met Elsa as he says at the end of the film he found a reason for his very existence in life and that paid off by him preventing the Werewolves in changing the course, by knocking off Gen. Eisenhower, of the second World War! Most of the action takes place in WWII stock footage due to the films limited budget but the final scene with Boland taking out the Nazi Werewolves almost single handed was top notch as well as made the never sticking his neck out for anyone PVT Boland into a genuine hero.***SPOILERS*** Sadly it was Ilsa who risks and gave her life by trying to alert the US unit that Gen. Eisenhower was with that it was about to be ambushed by her brother Karl and his fellow Werewolves and got shot, by Ludwig, in the back for it. Charles Bronson more or less played the same character in the movie that he played all throughout his career but added some humor into it as a bookie who never took anything seriously, even WWII, until the chips were down and then showed his true colors: Red White & Blue!

"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.

When Hell Breaks Loose (1958) ** (out of 4) Routine, low-budget WWII drama start off the day Pearl Harbor is bombed and we see con man Steve Boland (Charles Bronson) pretty much turn the other way not caring about his country. He eventually gets busted for a crime and is forced to join the service where he finds himself getting into more trouble for not caring about what he's doing. All of that changes when he falls for a woman (Violet Rensing) whose brother is working for the Germans in an attempt to kill General Eisenhower. WHEN HELL BREAKS LOOSE is about as standard a "B" movie can be when it comes to WWII. Instead of any real action scenes we're basically given a few small items where soldiers shoot guns while the "big" stuff is replaced by a bunch of stock footage from earlier movies and/or newsreels. This here obviously gives the film an extremely fake look and it's nearly impossible to ever feel like you're really in the middle of a war. Another problem is that the story itself is just so silly and predictable where you never can connect with any of the characters. The lead guy is made to be such a jerk that you really can't help but laugh in disbelief and especially during the opening where he pretty much doesn't blink an eye to Pearl Harbor getting attacked. Another problem is that there's really no sort of character development so when Bronson's character goes from a jerk to a hero overnight, it's simply not believable. Don't even get me started on the so-called love story. With all of that said, the film remains slightly entertaining if you're a fan of "B" movies and especially if you're a fan of Bronson. The star actually gives a pretty good performance considering what he had to work with. I didn't totally buy him as the con man but when it came time for him to fight and push people around, it's easy to see why studio people put him in movies. Bronson's appeal is going to be the main reason to check this film out. Getting to see him in such an early role will keep people entertained.