Reader Recommendation: The Wages of Fear (1953)

Back in October we got an email recommendation from Pedro F. Pardo. One of the films he suggested was The Wages of Fear which sounded like it could be really intense. It also caught my eye because it was an old 50s movie that I have never once heard of. This could very well be a nice little hidden gem that I would otherwise never have heard of if it wasn't for Pedro's recommendation, so I was excited to watch it. I finally got a chance to watch it (sorry for the wait Pedro), and that just leaves me to tell you about this French/Spanish/English/German/Italian/Russian speaking film you've probably never heard about. Is it worth the tracking down you'll have to do to see it? Find out after the jump!


The story is a simple one. Four men are tasked with the transport of a load of nitroglycerine so that an oil well fire can be blasted and put out. The only problem is that they are in a small South American town with little supplies, and the only trucks available aren't equipped with all the necessary safety equipment to easily transport such a dangerous cargo. They are split into two teams, two per truck. Only one truckload is actually needed, but they're sending two just in case one of them meets an unfortunate end. If the trucks weren't unsafe enough on their own, the route they have to take is very long and filled with hazards. Do they have what it takes to make it? Can they survive the trip? And even if they do, will their fear leave them as the men they were when they left?

The trucks are huge and heavy, fully loaded with 1 tonne of nitroglycerine

I have to admit, when I first started watching this movie, I hadn't realized how long it was. It clocks in just short of 2 1/2 hours. For the first part of the movie where all the characters are introduced took a really long time, and I was honestly starting to feel really bored. They introduce Mario (Yves Montand), Jo (Charles Vanel), Luigi (Folco Lulli), Bimba (Peter van Eyck), Linda (Véra Clouzot), Bill O'Brien (William Tubbs), and a whole host of other characters. It takes a good 45 minutes before the actual main story line about the nitro even starts! And a good half of the characters introduced have almost nothing to do with the story, and once they driving starts, they're just out of the film and we never see most of them again. I was getting really worried that I wasn't going to like this movie, and I was in for almost 2 more hours of boredom. Luckily, that was far from the case once they got on the road!

An unstable construction platform they have to back the trucks onto in order to make a sharp turn

Once the action moved to the road, the film got quite intense. Fear and nerves start setting in on some characters, and then they start coming across the natural obstacles of the road they're on. One of the first is a section of road that is locally referred to as "the washboard". The winds have worn groves in the dirt road and made it like corrugated metal sheeting. If you go fast enough, you'll sail smoothly over the grooves, but once you're going the required 40 mph, you can't slow or else you'll vibrate the truck chassis violently. Obviously something you want to avoid when carrying nitroglycerine. But that's only the start on a rocky road filled with under-construction narrow cliff-side roads, rock slides, and even a lake of oil they'll have to get through! You want to talk about tension? This movie is FULL of it!

One of these is Mario, the other is Luigi, can you guess who is who?

I'd just like to go back to the characters for a moment. Some of the things about them were just strange, but admittedly, one thing I noticed is not the fault of this movie, but it's a little funny nonetheless. There are two characters, one named Mario, and the other named Luigi. One is tall and skinny, the other is wider, wears a hat and has a pretty good mustache. Can you guess which is which? Mario, the lead of the movie, is the skinny one, and Luigi is the mustachioed man. A little backwards if you ask me, but this movie obviously came out long before the famous duo that is colouring my own judgement. Another weird thing, is that Mario has an absolutely GORGIOUS woman who keeps fawning over him, totally enamoured by him. The girl is Linda, and for reasons I can't figure out, he constantly brushes her off and seems to like her one moment, and annoyed the next. He seems to really dislike her actually, and I have no idea why that would be, she does everything and anything for him, and she's a stunner! There's just no pleasing some people I guess.

An unnerving scene involving a huge pool of oil they have to get the truck through (That's not Luigi)

While The Wages of Fear started incredibly slowly, I ended up quite enjoying it once it got the show on the road... literally. I found myself holding my breath a number of times as they constantly found themselves in horrible situations that would be bad enough without a load of nitroglycerine threatening to explode at any moment. I liked a lot of the characters, especially those that go out on the truck run. It has some pretty good practical effects that I didn't really expect in such an old film. If you somehow get the chance, definitely check this one out. The long character development at the start is a small price to pay for such an intense movie. Thanks for the recommendation Pedro!