Like the refugees in this film who are periodically stopped by communist officials and asked to show their papers, director Anatole Litvak and his crew must halt the action every few moments while screenwriters George Tabori and Peter Viertel (uncredited) conduct an extensive soul search and conscience exam. Makes for a rather tedious journey, wouldn't you say? Every so often, as in the drinking scene at the inn, Litvak entertainingly threatens to hijack the proceedings but then the solemn screenwriting duo assert themselves and we are plunged back into dullness. And I do mean dullness. Jason Robards' movie debut is quite possibly his most forgettable acting job (although "Comes A Horseman" is serious competition) and as for the re teaming of Yul and Deb let's just say they couldn't quite fit the Siamese genie into a Hungarian bottle, and leave it at that. Solid C.
Review of The Journey
