Of Pure Blood (1986) starring Lee Remick, Patrick McGoohan, Gottfried John, Richard Münch, Katharina Böhm, Edith Schneider, Carolyn Nelson directed by Joseph Sargent Movie Review

Of Pure Blood (1986)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Lee Remick in Of Pure Blood (1986)

A New Generation

Alicia Browning (Lee Remick) was having a normal day at the modelling agency she ran until a man from the state department arrived with the bad news that her son had died whilst in Germany. After a visit from Dr. Felix Neumann (Patrick McGoohan) she begins to question what she is being told and decides to head to Germany to find out for herself. What she discovers rocks her world as first she learns that she has a grandson but also learns that she is an original daughter of Hitler's master race and because of her son's pure blood a new group trying to create a master race wanted his son. The discovery of her own heritage brings Alicia into confrontation with her mother who had kept her past a secret whilst also making her reveal things about herself.

To call "Of Pure Blood" a movie which deals with the "Third Reich" as well as a "Fourth Reich" nice may sound wrong but that is what it is because it is cleverly put together. It has this slow series of reveals all of which have a knock on effect and trigger a thought. Without going in to detail this makes it intriguing with scenes such as Alicia talking to a couple of her son's friends who mention the master race, blonde hair, blue eyes both of which Alicia and her son had and makes you think. There are a lot more of these elements all of which combine to create a drama which continually draws you in to what is going on.

Gottfried John in Of Pure Blood (1986)

But "Of Pure Blood" whilst sounding like it could build into a modern day conspiracy movie about a master race uprising it isn't. Instead it is all about Alicia discovering through her son's death her own heritage and how she was one of the children of the master race with her mother having being impregnated by an SS Officer. The revelation brings with it consequence, confrontations, the revealing of secrets, changes of character and Alicia coming to see how some of her character traits are down to her heritage.

This story is brought to life thanks to the casting of Lee Remick and Patrick McGoohan who create believable characters and don't deliver their lines like they have only just read them off the script. I say this because "Of Pure Blood" is a made for TV movie but from a time when they were as good as some big screen movies. In fact "Of Pure Blood" is so nicely put together with solid direction from Joseph Sargent that it is hard to believe it didn't warrant a big screen run as it has that sort of intrigue filled story.

What this all boils down to is that "Of Pure Blood" is an entertaining drama with plenty of intrigue, revelations and consequences. It is by no means perfect but nicely put together with good performances and a style which draws you in.


LATEST REVIEWS