Synopsis

Storyline:

The story in this movie deals with the perseverance of Spaniards to take back their country from the French who have conquered Spain under Napoleon as he marched over Europe. A huge cannon, perhaps the largest in the world at that time, is discarded by the army as they retreat from the French invaders. A “ragtag” group of Spanish loyalists find “The Gun” and begin to restore it so they may tow it across Spain to the French stronghold in Avila and use it to open the giant walls for an invasion. Luckily Britain has sent someone to retrieve the cannon for England so they can have it to fight the French also AND to make sure that the French don’t get the gun! A shoemaker and his voluptuous girl friend are the leaders of the peasants trying to get the gun to Avila. The Brit can’t get help to get the giant gun back to his ship without the peasants and the shoemaker won’t help him unless they all go blast Avila open first. The Brit has the knowledge needed to fire the weapon and the …

Written by

Eduardo Randallo

User Reviews: I was a bit more than a kid when I saw "The Pride and the Passion" for the first time in theatres back in the late 50’s and I remember I thought it was kind of slow and even boring at times. But then I saw it again not long ago and surprisingly -because it usually goes the other way around- I found it a watchable and sort of interesting epic spectacular in the times when Napoleon ruled in Spain.

Though "The Pride and the Passion" doesn’t match in my opinion other directing works of Stanley Kramer such as "The Defiant Ones" or "Judgment at Nuremberg", this film has a sort of heroic and epic that reaches a reasonable level. It has well dosed and skillfuly handled action sequences, wide open sceneries in Spain, good color photo and a very appropriate musical score that gives it a sense of greatness. However I still think it could have been a bit shorter and that would have improved the product.

Cary Grant renders a very convincing performance as the British officer that knows how to shoot the huge cannon; Sophia Loren is good too and Frank Sinatra, if not brilliant whatsoever, comes out acceptably as an Spanish "guerrillero" leader and by the middle of the film you get used to him.

Not a classic or even a classical late 50’s or early 60’s epic spectacular "The Pride and the Passion" is an acceptable historical action film worth a watch.