Customer Reviews

Betrayed [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Please do not listen to Phil Stout. I almost didn't order this dvd because of his review. I would recommend ordering directly from warner over ordering it here though. The quality of this dvd is not worse than any videtape. You can completly ignore Phil on this movie. The quality is as good as any 50's color movie released on dvd. This is not a CD as Phil states but a DVD-R (burned not pressed dvd). If you have seen other Gable color movies from the 50's the quality is as good or better than Magambo, Soldier of Fortune and the Tall Men. I do have public domain movies on dvd that are as worse as any movie ever released on VHS but this is not one of them.

Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Video Release Date: December 11, 1991

Cast:
Clark Gable
Lana Turner
Victor Mature
others

Gable is Dutch intelligence working under the Brits, training Lana Turner to work in Holland with the underground. She has a questionable background, but he trusts her. When people begin to die, and operations go awry, he begins to doubt her.

Victor Mature is also a member of the underground, called "the scarf," because he wears one, flamboyantly.

It becomes a question of which one is the traitor.

Not a bad film in the genre. Nothing special about it, except the cast. They all do their jobs well.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

I actually don't understand Studio policies.

For many years they were sitting on magnificent movies, such as this one, and never decided to release them on DVD.

Suddenly they seem to have discovered that they always had them, sitting in their vaults and voila, here they are,
popping up like popcorn, but at a price.

I must say that they also capitalize on such titles, because they are far from being cheap.

At prices ranging from 16 to 26 dollars for a simple transfer to DVD-R (the kind we all know and use daily in our
DVD readers on our laptops or PCs), with no extras to speak about (generally just the trailer), sometimes
not even provided with a decent menu or chapter option, and lacking optional subtitles or languages, they
could easily be taken as true rip-offs.

Yet, one must admit that although the movies presented here are WISIWIG (What You See is What You Get), all the copies
I have watched from both the Warner Bros. and Universal vaults, are still (for their age), in excellent condition.

The sound is usually as is, as it came when the movie was originally released. Therefore, one might expect a bit of
disappointment, but in reality the sound is usually quite crisp and good, so no problem there.

But as said, the price is that of a special edition, and these are a far cry from such an edition.
I therefore classify these among "strictly collector's or connaisseur editions", which would explain and justify
such fantastic pricing.

Yet, like in this case, I can only recommend these, since otherwise, they would be subjected to rest in the Studio
vaults for another twenty, if not fifty years until forgetfulness and carelessness take their toll on some gems
like "Bhowani Junction", "Not with My Wife, You Don't" or "Tell Them Willie Boy is Here".

Get them while you can, if you have a few bucks reserved for this.

I suspect that after this wave is gone, they will again disappear for a while...

Clark Gable , Lana Turner and Victor Mature compose this absorbing film .

It deals with the fiercy Dutch resistance movement against the German occupation .

Lana Turner will appear to Gable as the real traitor . Somehow the plot will reveal unexpected realities .

A honest film .

A great cast and snappy dialogue make this WWII spy thriller very entertaining. Set in Holland and England during 1943, there is intrigue, agents with dubious pasts, and a bombshell babe. Lana Turner is stunning with dark hair, as "Carla" a.k.a. "Fran". She is sensational as she sings a sultry song, and gets to prove that she was a highly underrated actress. I love the way she utters "Oh please !" when Gable tells her to get married and have children.
Clark Gable is strong, tough and manly as a Colonel in Dutch Intelligence; Gable was in his early fifties when this was filmed, and he looks very weathered but still handsome.

Other marvelous performances come from Victor Mature as "The Scarf", an underground leader, Wilfrid Hyde-White as a General of the British Intelligence, and Louis Calhern as both Dutch General Ten Eyck, and the narrator of the film.
O.E. Hasse is the intriguing Colonel Dietrich of the German Intelligence, who says "A spy has no character, he only assumes one"
Marvelous cinematography by Freddie Young and score by Walter Goehr, and fast-paced direction by Gottfried Reinhardt also contribute to make this a jolly good show.
Total running time is 107 minutes

This film is one of my all time favorites and I was not disappointed in the copy I received.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) presents "BETRAYED" (1954) - (108 min/B&W) -- Starring: Clark Gable, Lana Turner, Victor Mature, Louis Calhern & Wilfrid Hyde-White

Directed by Gottfried Reinhardt

During World War II, intelligence agent Col. Pieter Deventer (Clark Gable) is ordered to keep tabs on suspected Nazi collaborator Carla Van Oven (Lana Turner). Both Pieter and Carla join the Dutch underground, making contact with a flamboyant resistance leader known as "The Scarf" (Victor Mature). Carla poses as a sexy chanteuse, the better to gain the confidence of the lascivious Nazi officers. Within the next few weeks, several underground operatives are captured and shot, and it begins to look as though Pieter's suspicions concerning Carla are correct. The real collaborator is revealed some twenty minutes before the finale, but the suspense level is expertly maintained throughout. The location-filmed Betrayed would later be mercilessly lampooned in the 1984 spy spoof Top Secret!

Gable, Turner and Mature - not one of their best outings...but still watchable.

Special footnote: -- Clark Gable's last picture under his MGM contract. He first signed with the studio in 1930 (he'd first appeared at the studio as an extra in The Merry Widow). By the 1950's his box office was spotty and MGM found it difficult to justify his $500,000 per year salary. Gable too was anxious to enter into far more lucrative percentage deals and would do so exclusively for the remaining 6 years of his life. Although the movie proved to be a critical and commercial failure, Clark Gable was able to remain a Top 10 Box Office attraction for 1954 thanks to a successful re-release of Gone with the Wind.

BIOS:
1. Gottfried Reinhardt [aka: Gottfried Goldmann] (Director)
Date of Birth: 20 March 1913 - Berlin, Germany
Date of Death: 19 July 1994 - Los Angeles, California

2. Clark Gable
Date of birth: 1 February 1901 - Cadiz, Ohio,
Date of death: 16 November 1960 - Los Angeles, California

3. Lana Turner
Date of Birth: 8 February 1921 - Wallace, Idaho
Date of Death: 29 June 1995 - Century City, California

4. Victor Mature
Date of Birth: 29 January 1913 - Louisville, Kentucky
Date of Death: 4 August 1999 - Rancho Santa Fe, California

Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 3 Stars
Performance: 3 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]

Total Time: 108 min on DVD ~ Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) ~ (June 22, 2009)

I enjoy itvery much a well made movie. I do like old movie I give it 4 stars

First, I did not buy this product but 'burned' a DVD off the TCM channel and am watching the film at the moment for the 3rd time or so - this has some of my favorites, i.e. Clark Gable & Lana Turner - Gable despite coming to the end of his career is still great! And, Louis Calhern, another one of my favorite character actors - often one does not realize he is even in a movie (e.g. the uncle in 'High Society' w/ Crosby, Kelly, Sinatra, et al).

Second, I would probably rate this film 4* - but the ridiculous 1* rating from one reviewer has wrongly downgraded the overall average deserved. Amazon does not give one an option to rate various aspects of a film (or a musical CD) - this film is excellent regardless of the 'quality' (or lack of it) of the reproduction which is a completely different issue.

I've bought about a dozen Warner Archive made-on-demand discs. The quality of the film transfer is excellent on all of them except for "Betrayed." The picture in "Betrayed" is soft and blurry throughout, about equivalent to a good VHS tape.

I also question the aspect ratio of this transfer. Warner's listing for this disc at wbshop.com says, "Screen Aspect: 4 X 3 FULL FRAME." That would be a ratio of 1.37 : 1. And 4 x 3 is indeed what appears on my screen when I project this disc. But imdb.com cites an aspect ratio of 1.66 : 1. If so, part of the image is cut off on this disc.