This Civil War anthology adapts three Ambrose Bierce stories "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "Chickamauga" and "The Mockingbird".This Civil War anthology adapts three Ambrose Bierce stories "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "Chickamauga" and "The Mockingbird".This Civil War anthology adapts three Ambrose Bierce stories "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", "Chickamauga" and "The Mockingbird".
- Awards
- 1 win
Photos
Pierre Boffety
- Johny (segment "Chickamauga")
- (as Le Petit Pillou)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis feature was a selection of the first New York Film Festival (1964).
- ConnectionsEdited from Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1961)
Featured review
THE MOCKINGBIRD (Robert Enrico, 1962) ***
The first segment of the French anthology based on Civil War writings by Ambrose Beirce IN THE MIDST OF LIFE, this is actually the least of the three stories (being somewhat draggy at 37 minutes) but still pretty good taken on its own merits. If anything, it sets the tone perfectly for the other two: being partially a story about childhood (like CHICKAMAUGA) and also sort of a plot-within-a-plot (like AN OCCURRENCE AT OWL CREEK BRIDGE), in this case a flashback to the protagonist's past. As expected, the period detail feels authentic and is exquisitely captured by the camera. Regrettably, some of the narration here is only presented in unsubtitled French!
The premise involves a soldier on guard in a forest shooting an unseen enemy who tries to cross the lines; in the excitement (being young and, thus, inexperienced), he recalls his life growing up and in particular how he was separated from his twin brother. This sets up the predictable but nevertheless effective twist ending, where it transpires that the man he killed was his own sibling (leaving one in doubt whether the latter was conscious of the other's identity and had come to greet him)! Incidentally, the title refers to the children's pet which is heard chirping a tune subsequently picked up by the fallen twin!
I followed this with yet another horror effort from this director – the made-for-TV but feature-length 'haunted house' tale THE GHOSTLY RENTAL (1965) and, for the sake of comparison, I also intend checking out the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode from 1959 of "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge".
The premise involves a soldier on guard in a forest shooting an unseen enemy who tries to cross the lines; in the excitement (being young and, thus, inexperienced), he recalls his life growing up and in particular how he was separated from his twin brother. This sets up the predictable but nevertheless effective twist ending, where it transpires that the man he killed was his own sibling (leaving one in doubt whether the latter was conscious of the other's identity and had come to greet him)! Incidentally, the title refers to the children's pet which is heard chirping a tune subsequently picked up by the fallen twin!
I followed this with yet another horror effort from this director – the made-for-TV but feature-length 'haunted house' tale THE GHOSTLY RENTAL (1965) and, for the sake of comparison, I also intend checking out the ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS episode from 1959 of "An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge".
helpful•13
- Bunuel1976
- Oct 7, 2011
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- In the Midst of Life
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 35 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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