A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.
Acting
Brando's whispered German accent and Brynner's weary pragmatism.
Direction
Wicki's claustrophobic ship corridors build unbearable tension.
Writing
The lard scene. You'll know it. Bizarre and unforgettable.
Director
Bernhard Wicki
Marlon Brando
Robert Crain
Yul Brynner
Captain Müller
Janet Margolin
Esther
Trevor Howard
Colonel Statter
Martin Benrath
Kruse
Hans Christian Blech
Donkeyman
Wally Cox
Dr. Ambach
Max Haufler
Branner
Rainer Penkert
Milkereit
William Redfield
Baldwin
Oscar Beregi Jr.
Admiral (as Oscar Beregi)
Carl Esmond
Busch
Martin Kosleck
Wilke
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Brando notoriously hated this film, calling it 'Morituri—Must Mean Something Unusual' in interviews, which became its unofficial tagline. He was actively sabotaging productions by this point in his career.
The film's title comes from the gladiatorial salute 'Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant'—'We who are about to die salute you'—ironically spoken by Crain, a man faking his own death to avoid dying.
US
