The Wages of Fear

The Wages of Fear [La Salaire de la Peur] (Criterion #36).
1953 Les Films Cinédis S.A. & Janus Films.
Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck, William Tubbs, Véra Clouzot, Folco Lulli
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Available from Amazon.

Las Piedras is an isolated and hopelessly backwards small town somewhere in South America, and it's dominated by the presence of the Southern Oil Company, an American company that's been accused of exploiting its local workers and taking the law into its own hands. The Americans are only in control because they're "organized", and god help the local citizens with few opportunities to work or escape, and even less hope.

When The Wages of Fear was first released in the U.S., a lot of scenes from the first half of the movie were edited out. Some insisted it was because the first half was "too long"; others suspected that the scenes were cut because they were "anti-American".

We meet the four main characters, who are all stuck in Las Piedras, and have no way of getting out, since airfare is expensive. Mario (Montand) from Corsica, the optimistic playboy. M. Jo (Vanel) is a ex-gangster from Paris who specialized in running moonshine, and had recently found himself stranded in town. Bimba (Van Eyck) hails from Germany, and he is a quite, intense individual who worked for three years in a salt mine, and his father was killed by the Nazis. Finally, Luigi (Lulli) is a cheerful Italian who recently learned that he is dying from lung disease. M. Jo quickly alienates himself from most of the locals who hang out at the cantina because he always tries to present himself as a big shot.

(Before we go any further: Mario and Luigi are roommates. I'm not making this up.)

The SOC sees a massive fire break out at one of their oil fields, several hundred miles away, and the only way to extinguish that fire is by using nitroglycerine. With such little notice, and no adequate equipment available in Las Piedras, the only way to get the nitro to its destination is putting it in jerrycans on two large trucks. The SOC decides it's too dangerous for the unionized employees, thanks to the poor roads and the hazardous cargo, so they recruit local citizens to do the job. Many people, attracted by the $2,000 per driver wages, volunteer. Mario, Bimba, Luigi, and another man called Smerloff (Darío Moreno) are picked to do the job. On the appointed day, Smerloff fails to show up, so M. Jo is substituted in his place. The other three drivers suspect that M. Jo killed Smerloff to take his place.

Mario and M. Jo depart in one truck, followed by Luigi and Bimba who depart thirty minutes later, in order to limit potential casualties. The road ahead is a very dangerous one, filled with physical and mental obstacles, particularly M. Jo's increasing cowardice as the trip goes on. Sadly, at least two of our drivers will not be coming back alive.

It is the second half of The Wages of Fear and its increasingly suspenseful route to the oil fields that make it a great film. Four men with nothing going for them, and desperate enough for any kind of good money to escape their dreary existances take their lives into their hands transporting a cargo that could instantly kill them makes for some thrilling scenes. Highly, highly, highly recommended. Get this one immediately!