Malta Story (1953)

Crappy film

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I have not seen this film for many years and was interested to see it again on Talking Pictures last night.I was in Malta just over 2 months ago.I recognised so many features from this film.I visited the war tunnels and the ops room depicted in this film as well as the citadel.The film was a fairly faithful depiction of events.It is a pity they decided to include a silly love story.Alec Guineas is woefully miscast as an RAF pilot.

I never thought I'd see Alec Guinness and cringe! His romantic scenes are unintentionally laugh out loud funny. With his spindly arms and legs sticking out of his tropical khakis, all he can talk to his gorgeous young beloved about is how she's to serve tea when he brings her off Malta to Cambridge after the war, how marvelous the ancient ruins are and how unimportant it would be if they all died. Alone in a dark romantic passage saying goodbye, possibly going off to his death: "Shan't be able to see you for awhile", "Take care, darling", "Bye, then", and he KISSES HER HAND before loping off! Catch me before I swoon! When it comes to the military scenes, the hotter it gets the more boring the Brits act, either ironic or depressed. Old war buddies saying goodbye to each other, possibly forever, act like they are catching a train for the weekend. My goodness, Reginald, what a bunch of lip upper stiffs! From Here To Eternity, this ain't. What a relief to have Jack Hawkins on hand. He's the only full blooded human in the thing. Even the great Flora Robson is hobbled by the stiffness of the style. It will make you appreciate what a genius David Lean was to take Hawkins and Guinness and use them in the cause of brilliant filmmaking.

In the opening scene of "Malta Story" Mr A.Guinness bore such a startling resemblance to Noel Coward that I fully expected his first words to be "Certain women need striking regularly - like gongs" or some such world - weary bon mot.Unfortunately his dialogue is hardly deathless prose and even the Master would have had trouble bringing it to life.Indeed Mr Guinness wanders through the picture as if looking for a focal point and failing to find one.And therein lies the fatal weakness of the whole movie.Mr J.Hawkins likewise gives up early on and ends up giving a "Jack Hawkins" performance without an ounce of individuality.It could have been spliced from any of a dozen British war movies.Many of the early fifties usual suspects turn up and do their schtick to very little purpose. The Luftwaffe failed to bomb Malta into submission in much the same way as it failed to bring London to its knees.The courage of the Maltese people in the face of incessant danger was recognised by the King and the island was awarded the George Cross.A worthy subject you might think for a movie,but "Malta Story" does not even qualify for the term "worthy" in its most patronising sense.It gives the appearance of being hastily cobbled together to meet a deadline,perhaps before the actors lost the will to live.

Another British cinema flag waver. Real garbage on offer here once again. I cannot understand (and I am British) why this over the top, patriotic nonsense was ever made. EIGHT years mark you, from when the second world war had actually ended! Other commenter's here have remarked on the editing and apparent seamless use of archive footage. This is extremely poorly observed. The archive footage is in abundance. Model aircraft swing from wires in the 'action scenes' like so many children's kites in the wind. The usual map room sequences tattoo the movie to make us supposedly drawn into the whole Malta event. Guinness must have his worst acting performance ever. The shocking back drop dog fight scenes are laughable. Hawkins bores us all to death in the map room area. Ealing made many great movies. This clearly is not one of them. They should have stayed away from such unconvincing rot!