From the 1960s: The Prize

1963 Mystery Drama

From Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Directed by Mark Robson

Starring

Paul Newman

Edward G. Robinson

Elke Sommer

Diane Baker

Micheline Presle

Gérard Oury

Sergio Fantoni

Kevin McCarthy

Leo G. Carroll

Sacha Pitoëff

Don Dubbins

John Wengraf

Jacqueline Beer

This glossy, highly entertaining, espionage thriller surrounds the handing out of Nobel Prizes in Sweden and feels like an homage to the master of espionage-thrillers, Hitchcock.  It reminds me of being a cousin of North by Northwest and is written by that film's screenwriter, the esteemed Ernest Lehman.  The Prize even features an actor from NxNW, Leo G. Carroll (a Hitchcock favorite), in another role of an easily-befuddled authority figure.  Lehman based his screenplay on a 1962 novel by Irving Wallace.

Newman and Robinson are two of the six recipients of the prize and it is their stories on which the film concentrates.  Newman's category is literature.  He is disrespectful of the honor, saying proudly that he hasn't written anything in six years.  He makes it patently obvious that nothing interests him more than booze and women.

He is assigned a member of the Foreign Ministry (Sommer) to show him the ropes, fill in as interpreter when necessary and to act as his chaperone since he is one of the recipients to attend alone.

Robinson plays a famous German-born physicist, long an American, who is attending with his niece (Baker).

When the screenplay finds it necessary, we learn of the other prize winners.  The Italian Santoni & the American McCarthy are co-winners in medicine.  They never worked together or even met but their individual contributions result in a dual honor.  And that duality causes nothing but problems as each man is jealous and resentful of the other.  McCarthy has the worst case.  He's the one who thinks the other one must have stolen his work.

Husband and wife doctors (Oury and Presle) and winners in the field of chemistry have their own problems that deal with jealousy and lack of romance in their marriage and perhaps the fact that his mistress (Beer) is traveling with them.  In one of the film's comedy moments the middle-aged but still alluring Presle coaxes Newman (not exactly difficult) into allowing her husband to catch them necking in her hotel room.

Newman is introduced to Baker whom he finds a little spooky.  Perhaps he notices how her eyes dart everywhere and that she seems a little nervous and has a difficult time staying in the moment.

The drama of the film comes right away.  At the front desk of Stockholm's Grand Hotel, Newman and Robinson meet.  Newman is rather solicitous of the older gentleman.  They introduce themselves, each already being familiar with the other's accomplishments.  Robinson happily interrupts their friendly chat to have his picture taken.  

Robinson leaves Newman to go on a walk to meet an old friend (Wengraf) in the park.  A request is made that Robinson publicly repudiate the prize and the U.S. and defect to East Germany.  After Robinson vehemently refuses and is out on the street, he is shoved into the backseat of a car and whisked away.

All in a day's work

An impostor, who looks exactly like Robinson, is installed in his place.  Baker is told the man is her father, whom she thought long dead, but will be currently dead if she doesn't play along.

Then comes the moment that sets the rest of the film, a cat & mouse-chase thriller, into motion.  The writer and the physicist meet the next morning and Newman is astonished that Robinson doesn't know him, saying it's a pleasure to meet you.  The older man has no humor and gets angry when a reporter tries to take his picture.

Baker, nearby, not aware of the previous evening's meeting, looks alarmed and senses Newman's obvious confusion and that he is not going to let it go.  He gets a phone call from a man who may have some information but when he arrives at the man's apartment, Newman finds him dying on the floor.  He says some word in Swedish which Newman doesn't understand.

Two thugs (Dubbins and Pitoëff) are dogging him.  There's an attempted hit on a bridge and he's thrown into a canal.  Sommer, who has thus far assumed that Newman is either drunk or has a rich imagination or both, finally believes that something has indeed happened to Robinson and that Newman is in much danger.  She accompanies him to a hospital where it's believed (correctly) that Robinson is being kept.  By the time they can find him, he's been whisked away.

With the thugs still pursuing him, Newman wanders into a nudist camp lecture, wearing only a towel and making a fool of himself in the hopes the lecturer will phone the police and he'll be safe from the thugs waiting for him in the hallway.  If this scene reminds you of an identical scene with Cary Grant at the auction in NxNW, you wouldn't be the only one.

The following day Newman discovers that now Sommer is missing.  He begins piecing together some clues that they have been working on and realizes the Swedish word that dying man said is the name of a cargo ship docked in a nearby harbor.  Newman is sure that Robinson is now being held on the ship and feels that Sommer is probably there as well.

Two of the prizes, Baker and Sommer

The shipboard scenes are a bit improbable (but c'mon, all thriller-mysteries have scenes that are a bit improbable) but great fun.  I make sure my snacks are replenished and my drink full for this and the remainder of the story.  Sommer and Robinson are found together and the three of them manage to get off the ship by hiding in cars waiting to be unloaded.  

The goal is to get to the auditorium for the handing out of the Nobel Prizes and to expose the impostor on the stage.  In the meantime, of course, the bad guys (the two thugs and that man from the park) are also there and attempt to kill Newman and Robinson and ultimately do kill the impostor (a bit of hokum if I've ever seen it).

Newman and Sommer realize they are in love.  Baker and her uncle are reunited and she admits to Sommer that she's got a lot of explaining to do to Newman.  The two feuding doctors are no more.  The feuding chemists may be giving their marriage another try.  And you had no idea that life could be so exciting in Stockholm.

The public liked the film far more than critics did.  The latter group had a hard time with the meshing of comedy and drama, often echoing the notion that the movie didn't know which it wanted to be.  While I found a couple of the comedy scenes rather absurd, this is definitely a drama with some comedy touches and to say otherwise might require another viewing.  I again remind one of NxNW.  

For me I tend to love thrillers... cat and mouse-chase flicks... and in that regard I was not disappointed.  While The Prize was rightly not mentioned at Oscar time I found it entertaining from start to finish and being entertaining is my first requisite as you know.

Of course I saw it in the first place because of Newman.  I never missed his films and almost always liked or loved them at some level.  I admit I never completely understood what he was doing in playing a drunk.  Someone said he delivered his lines in a sort of droll snarl and I must agree.  One might think his real-life drinking might have given him some better ideas.  Oh, I kid one of my favorite actors.

From left: Newman, Baker, Sommer, Robinson, Carroll

Newman did say that he never had more fun making a movie than he did on The Prize.  Part of that fun may have come from Newman's relationship with Robinson.  They very much enjoyed one another's company.  I thought the older actor gave the film some class.  His acting fascinated me as he had to display very different traits of the two characters he was playing (even though he was supposed to have everyone think it's the same person).

Despite her obvious physical charms, Sommer didn't bowl me over in her American film debut.  The simple fact is, however, she wasn't given much to do.  The Golden Globes folks voted her as most promising newcomer although she shared the honor with Tippi Hedren in The Birds and Ursula Andress in Dr. No.

On the distaff side Baker came out the best.  After a number of youthful roles, she shows up in The Prize as an adult and one with an air of intrigue.  She spars well with Newman.  I thought she was a fine actress and I've never quite understood why she didn't have a more illustrious acting career.  Or do I?

Pitoëff stalking Newman

The supporting cast all turn in good performances. These were certainly glamour roles for all three of the lead actresses, Sommer, Baker and France's Micheline Presle.  They are the only three cast members still alive.  Ms. Presle turned 100 last month.  

I am a fan of a great deal of director Robson's work.  I have reviewed a couple of his films previously and have another four I want to do.  He was lauded for his homage to Hitchcock even if some critics didn't like the end result.  He had just finished working with Baker on Nine Hours to Rama which likely had something to do with the actress being cast here.  He worked with both Newman and writer Lehman on From the Terrace in 1960.  

Even though most of the movie was shot in Sweden, that government took a dimmer and dimmer view of the success of the novel, feeling proper respect was not shown to the Nobel Prize and the ceremonies.  So doors were found shut for some location shooting and the company had to settle for just photographing exteriors, particularly of the Grand Hotel and the Stockholm Concert Hall.  Some of the film was done in California.

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