Then There Were Three (1961)

Redundant and unnecessary.

Good movie but grossly overrated

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

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

Even when they knew that they were losing the war, the Nazi's would not stop until they killed as many allies as they could. Even those once on their side and in danger of exposing their plans could become a target. Thus war drama, set on Italian after the death of Mussolini, has them determined to either capture or kill am Italian general in the hands of American soldiers, and their efforts to infiltrate the troop with a spy who appears to be American. The eyes of the Nazi's follow this troop as they choose from village to village, knowing that sudden attack after hours or even days of silence could throw the Yanks into total panic.Headlined by obscure names like Barry Cahill, Frank Latimore and Alex Nicol, this is interesting but often straggling as the story strives to develop some human interest beyond the quiet marching and infrequent attacks. Stops in Italian villages introduces the audience to those trying to get beyond their status in the war, the most memorable a very earthy Italian girl a la Loren, Magnani or Lollibrigida.Switching to the directives of the German officer leading the assassination plot shows them as crafty, calm but desperate. This humanizes the soldiers who are as tired of war as the Americans yet desperate to end it with dignity. It makes you feel sorry for them even though the German agenda was as evil as any war could get. The film seems to be made I'm a new wave technique which stylizes it to make the film seem more realistic and gritty.

It's not often you get a "war mystery" film, and of course when you do, you are usually dealing with spies.In this case, the mystery is about a German spy dressed up as an American soldier during World War II. He has forged papers, and his goal is to make it to a town where a resistance member is kept. This resistance member is a liaison between all the groups, and obviously knows connections to each. He would be a great prize.We see the command given to the spy, but not his face, and we are then taken to a site where American soldiers have been whittled away from their individual units, and eight join up, including the by the book lieutenant and the veteran sergeant.This is a top mystery and a top war film. It combines both elements, and it's difficult to say why without spoilers. Suffice to say that the characters are very believable, the action very credible, and the spy is exactly the type of person who would be seen as most successful.The title lets you know that when they are whittled down to four, they will find the spy (or he will succeed and exit). I don't think it's a spoiler to say that the ones who die before this are given high drama to their deaths, although the first is a wounded man who never lasts long enough for the high drama. With each casualty, our director succeeds in making you feel more and more empathy for them. The last American who dies is given the most tragedy, as we see him to be the possible hero.This is a lost gem, and easily the best of the war mysteries. Tons better than the blockbuster big budget bits of propaganda that are more famous.

A war time whodunit. Germans want to kill off a partisan prisoner who is about to be released by the Americans after they take the town he's being held in. Naturally the Germans concoct a complicated plan to get one of their guys, dressed as a GI, into the town where he's supposed to knock off the partisan once he's released from prison. Of course the Americans announce when that will be, though I can't imagine why. I'd think they'd just turn him lose but oh well.This one had me guessing right up until the end, though it was due partly a couple of cheap tricks used to point the finger at the wrong guy. I confess to not guessing who was the spy before it was revealed. That makes it a good whodunit in my book.As a war movie, it was not very good. The combat scenes were weak. There wasn't much excitement or grit at all. But it wasn't really a war movie. It was a mystery and in that respect I thought it was pretty good. And they didn't tell you who the bad guy was right at the start like so many so-called mystery movies do these days. I found it pretty entertaining.6/10 I guess there weren't really any spoilers in this review.

***SPOILERS*** With the retreating Germans desperately trying to recapture Italian guerrilla leader El Palagrino who had been recently liberated from a Nazi prison camp they come up with this intriguing idea to plant one of their top infiltration experts Capt. Spogle into a US Army unit and both track and then gun El Palagrino down. That's to be done in the the small Italian town of San Corrado where El Palagrino is now being held in protective by the US Military.Having no trouble at all linking up with a number of US Army stragglers who survived a bloody confrontation with the Germans Capt. Spogle is now in the perfect position to find his way back to San Corrado and complete his mission in knocking off the dangerous, to the German military, El Palagrino before he can organize his Italian guerrilla army. The only thing that Capt. Spogle, now using the identity of a fictitious US Army GI, has to worry about is if he's discovered by the GIs he's with! This would have Spogle end up being shot on the spot as an, in wearing a US Military uniform, Nazi spy! Having a secret radio transmitter on him Capt. Spogle can be traced by his fellow Germans and thus have those GI's with him saved from being killed by them! Not because the Germans have any good feelings about the GI's in Spogle's unit but because their needed to get back, together with Capt. Spogle, to San Carrado for Capt. Spogle to finish off Italian guerrilla leader El Palagrino!Despite its very meager budget the film "Then There Were Three" holds up pretty well compared to many like-wise war movies that cost a lot more to make with well known actors in them. Capt. Spogle in his attempt cover-up what he's really up to blows his cover by killing most of the GI's in his unit making it look like the Germans did it!***SPOILER*** It's when Spogle murders TL Ellis that his US Army unit commander Lt. Wilotsky starts to smell a rat , or Nazi, in that his outfit was somehow infiltrated by the Germans. Making it back to San Carrado with the help of a number friendly Italian villagers including the hot and sexy, who in fact unknowingly tipped off the GI's to Capt. Spogle's identity, Glovannia Lt. Wilotsky and the remainder of his men-two of them-prevented Spogle from murdering El Palagrino. Spogle now expose as the no good Nazi spy that he is tries to make it back to the German lines only to be gunned down by his own men mistaking him for an American soldier! In what turned out to be a fitting tribute for this low life murdering Nazi rat!