MovieChat Forums > Passage to Marseille (1944) Discussion > flashback central

flashback central

posted 17 years ago by ksf-2
15 replies | jump to latest

gee couldnt they have fit more flashbacks within the flashbacks within the flashbacks?? did you also notice that they used the same patriotic "Vive La France" battle cry , just like in Casablanca?

[–] archip57 15 years ago

Dear ksf-2,

Bravo! At least SOME sapient Cine-phile picked up on this device! I laughed out loud when I read your post....for YES...I cannot think of another film I have ever seen that has Flashbacks within Flashbacks within Flashbacks????!!!!

Very funny...someone should re-introduce this technique in a farcical way..."It reminds me of the time when I was in Tokyo"....

"OH NOOOOO you don't...you're not giving us another Flashback"! (Says the other actor/actress....)

"Actually. I was going into my Flash-Forward". Claims the Actor.

"Oh, well that's ok".

Cheers!

"Imagination is stronger then knowledge, because knowledge is limited". Albert Einstein

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] doughazelrigg 15 years ago

The flashback scene in Casablanca is textbook, so I guess here they were trying to triple the effect -- you get three times your money's worth in flashbacks

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] CherylMorris 15 years ago

"Passage to Marseille" was based on a novel called "Men Without a Country", by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.

"Passage to Marseille" follows the novel's "flashback within flashback" structure.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] CherylMorris 15 years ago

I ALWAYS wish Peter had more screen time, Herald7! Even when he was playing the lead in the film.

Peter Lorre in every scene would be the best . . .

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] archip57 15 years ago

Thank you for that tip on "The Locket" (1946)...

...I have NEVER heard of this "forgotten" 40's gem...

I hope to catch up with it one day...

For another interesting "Flash-back" festival...

All the best,

Archip57

"Imagination is stronger then knowledge, because knowledge is limited". Albert Einstein

[–] lnyk 15 years ago

I saw the last few minutes of this film,today.Who was the handsome actor who shed a tear?

[–] gribfritz2 12 years ago

Philip Dorn doesn't actually cry and since I wouldn't call George Tobias handsome, you must be referring to Helmut Dantine.

[–] X-Evolutionist 14 years ago

I just saw it for the first time yesterday. I'm looking here specifically to see what others thought of the flashbacks. I guess once they put a flashback in a flashback, it got to be an addiction.

I was happy to see a movie where Peter Lorre got a decent part. The poor guy is a star with "M" and then comes here, makes a few movies, and plays bit parts for the rest of his life. Truly sad.

X

Reasons Why I Believe in God:
http://X-Evolutionist.com/

[–] jedijosh-1 14 years ago

I found this when someone replied to my question if a movie ever had a flashback within a flashback on the message boards of Inglorious Basterds. In Inglorious Basterds there was a flashback within a flashback.

How I rate movies: 5 stars=F,6 stars=D,7 stars=C,8 stars=B,9 stars=A.1-4 stars are very bad.

[–] PR-7 13 years ago

and because I have no life, here's the sequence of flashbacks:

Story begins with reporter Manning speaking with Captain Freycinet.
At about 18 minutes, Freycinet flashes back to traveling on the Ville de Nancy, a ship that rescues Renault, Matrac, and others. Renault admits to being a prisoner, explaining why the three of them are on the high seas.
At about 38 minutes, Renault flashes back to living in a French penal colony, along with Matrac and Grandpere. The latter tells Renault and others of his plans to escape, and Renault tells why he wants Matrac to join them.
At about 49 minutes, Renault flashes back to Matrac's pre-war anti-fascism and false conviction for murder.

BTW, during that last flash-back, Matrac reminisces with his wife about how they first met. Could you imagine ten seconds of them flashing back to their first meeting each other!?! Argh!!!

.
Screwtape: "Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick."

[–] 12 years ago

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