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      A Prize of Gold

      1955 1h 38m Action Adventure Crime Drama List
      Reviews Sergeant Lawrence (Richard Widmark) is a military officer stationed in Berlin after World War II. He meets and falls in love with an East German refugee named Maria (Mai Zetterling), who wants to relocate with a group of German orphans to South America. Along with Sergeant Hammell (Nigel Patrick), Joe plans to steal a shipment of gold en route to England to finance the move. Although the robbery is executed to perfection, the trio begins to have second thoughts about parting with the loot. Read More Read Less

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      Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews The routine thriller was done in by too much sentimentality, a leaden presentation and a dumb plot. Rated: C+ Jan 30, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member WARNING, CONTAINS SPOILERS: "A Prize of Gold" is a fast-paced, thriller starring Richard Widmark, about a heist that goes terribly wrong. It isn't as bleak as the masterpieces of the genre ("The Asphalt Jungle," "The Killing," and "The Odds Against Tomorrow"), but then it isn't meant to be. It's an exciting piece of 1950s escapism featuring a top notch cast, location footage (Berlin and London), Richard Widmark driving around in a Messerschmitt scooter, and a wonderfully romantic theme song by Joan Regan. The heist, and the series of unfortunate events that undermine it, is well-plotted and thoroughly believable. Widmark gives his usual excellent performance as an American Sgt. who gives in to temptation for all the right reasons... and the mostly British supporting cast create equally well-rounded characters. Nigel Patrick is the villain of the piece, but even his character's motivations are understandable. In fact the plot hinges upon the conflict between Patrick's ruthlessness and Widmark's underlying compassion (which is what ultimately proves to be their downfall). Believing that the pilot and two crew members of the hijacked plane have been killed, Widmark decides to return the stolen gold and accept whatever jail time is coming to him. Ironically, the ensuing fight brings about the only two deaths in the film (those of Patrick and Widmark's buddy played by George Cole). The film's only weak point is the romance between Widmark and Mai Zetterling (a school teacher protecting a group of war orphans who's willing to compromise her moral to get her children passage to South America). The trouble is that the romance isn't given the amount of time required for the audience to believe that Widmark would be willing to jeopardize his career/future to prevent Zetterling from continuing to prostitute herself to a building contractor who is promising her the transportation fare. They meet, he pretends to interview her, and they have one date (at least, that we are shown). Widmark's already been established as being something of a ladies' man, and there's no reason to think that this romance would mean anything more to him. Had Zetterling's character been more fully developed (she disappears after the first half hour, only to make a brief appearance at the end), this film might have rated five stars. As is, it's a fast-paced thriller with a good, and not too predictable, plot. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      A Prize of Gold

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Sergeant Lawrence (Richard Widmark) is a military officer stationed in Berlin after World War II. He meets and falls in love with an East German refugee named Maria (Mai Zetterling), who wants to relocate with a group of German orphans to South America. Along with Sergeant Hammell (Nigel Patrick), Joe plans to steal a shipment of gold en route to England to finance the move. Although the robbery is executed to perfection, the trio begins to have second thoughts about parting with the loot.
      Director
      Mark Robson
      Producer
      Irving Allen, Albert R. Broccoli
      Production Co
      Warwick Film Productions
      Genre
      Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama
      Original Language
      English (United Kingdom)
      Runtime
      1h 38m