Plot
In 1943, German Sergeant Keller has sex with women of a German-occupied Yugoslav town. Some are willing, while others have to be persuaded. Keller tells Ljuba that he can arrange for her brother not to be sent to work camps. Keller, while out in the forest with Yovanka, is attacked by Partisans and castrated by Branko.
The Partisans order that five women be punished for consorting with Keller; their hair is cut off. German Captain Reinhardt points out to his superior that the women now pose a problem. If they remain free, they show the power of the Partisans. If they are locked up, they are being punished for fraternizing with the occupiers. The German commander orders that they leave town.
The women — Jovanka, Ljuba, the widow Marija, Mira and Daniza — decide to stick together. Daniza cuts her wrist in a suicide attempt, then reveals she is being punished for something she did not do: sleep with Keller.
Walking along a road, they witness a ambush by Partisans. While the Germans pursue their attackers into the woods, Jovanka takes the boots, coat and pistol of a dead soldier; the others do the same. They take shelter in a shepherd's hut and are found by two Home Guards, collaborators working for the Germans. The men pick Jovanka and Ljuba to rape, but Jovanka shoots them with her pistol.
They bathe in a mountain pool; when Mira undresses, the others see she is pregnant. Branko spots them and comes down for a closer look. Each of the women reveals why they slept with Keller, or in Daniza's case, rejected his advances. Ljuba suggests they join the Partisans, but Jovanka wants nothing to do with the war. She goes for a walk. Branko grabs her, then stops when he uncovers her shaven head during the ensuing struggle and starts laughing. He rejoins his unit, led by Velko.
Later, when Jovanka sees the atrocities committed by a small German unit, she is so infuriated that she shoots at the departing convoy. The other women join in. Fortunately for them, Velko, who had also planned to ambush the convoy, reinforces them. The surviving Germans flee, but Reinhardt is captured by Ljuba.
The women join Velko's unit, though Jovanka has to be persuaded to do so. Velko emphatically states that there must be no romantic relationships between the men and the women, as it endangers them all. Only Branko flouts the order. One night, while he and Daniza are on sentry duty, he persuades her to have sex with him. Three German soldiers slip past while they are sleeping afterwards. Fortunately, they are spotted and killed, but the couple's dereliction of duty earns them a death sentence, despite Jovanka's protests. Jovanka and Ljuba are included in the firing squad.
The next day, the Partisans set out to attack the women's town during the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the Third Reich, leaving Ljuba and Mira to guard Reinhardt (who will either be part of a prisoner exchange or executed). Mira goes into labor; while Ljuba comforts her, Reinhardt has the opportunity to take her weapon, but instead acts as midwife. Afterward, Ljuba asks him what he did before the war; he tells her he was a philosophy professor. He also informs her that no Partisans are taken prisoner; they are killed, so he will not be exchanged. He tries to escape, forcing Ljuba to shoot him.
Velko's unit infiltrates the town. He reveals his feelings for Jovanka by ordering her to leave town and help cover their retreat, but she disobeys him. The attack is a success. German dignitaries are blown up with a bomb delivered by Milan, disguised in a German uniform. A reconnaissance plane spots the retreating Partisans, and the Germans set out in pursuit. The Partisans abandon their camp and flee over a mountain. When the Germans get too close, Velko decides to remain behind with a machine gun to delay them. Jovanka insists on staying with him. While they wait, Jovanka says there will never be peace, but Velko says that people change, that she has changed and so has he himself.
Production
Gina Lollobrigida was initially cast as Jovanka. However, in mid-July 1959, she left the production. Various sources gave conflicting reasons for her departure: that she did not want to shave her head, that she objected to blacklisted screenwriters Wilson and Jarrico, or that she left because "longtime rival" Mangano (married to producer De Laurentis) had also been cast. Another source claimed that director Ritt got her removed. (While Wilson and Jarrico were omitted from the film's credits, the Writers Guild of America added them in 1998.) [2]
It was reported that four of the five main actresses really had their heads shaved, the exception being Bel Geddes, who was to perform in a Broadway play immediately after the film ended production. A modern source stated, however, that Moreau wore a skullcap. [2]
The producers wanted to film some of the scenes in Yugoslavia, but the Yugoslav government refused to cooperate; according to one source, officials felt that foreigners could not do justice to the country's past. Some scenes were instead shot in Italy and Austria. [2]
Parts of the dialogue were dubbed. [2]
Reception
The Variety review noted that "The film occasionally plots an overly familiar conflict, but it catches the fervency of the resistance movement." The article praised the performances of Basehart ("excellent"), Heflin ("one of his better roles") and Forrest ("scores with an electrifying scene, shouting of his mutilation by the partisans."). The actresses are also lauded: "Not all the roles are long, but they are universally rewarding, and the five actresses successfully fashion contrasting personalities." [3]
Howard Thompson, critic for The New York Times , disagreed, writing:
Even with the battle scenes and the ripsnorting finale, this Dino De Laurentiis production moves like molten lead under Martin Ritt's direction. ... only the tender relationship of Jeanne Moreau and Richard Basehart, as a captured Nazi, holds the slightest interest. Harry Guardino, Alex Nicol and Steve Forrest are sturdy sideliners in a thuddingly flat import that, once the five picked chickens begin to regain their tresses, seems like many predecessors. [4]
