Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

talisencrw I have always wondered how it must have felt to make a 'wartime' movie about a war you're currently living in, and lately I stumbled upon a quintet of films made during the Second World War with Errol Flynn, of all people, battling the Nazis. Because of it both being by Turner Classic Movies AND had one film directed by Lewis Milestone (with one of the finest anti-war statements ever made, 'All Quiet on the Western Front', under his belt) and the others by none other than Raoul Walsh, I was, pardon the pun, 'in like Flynn'. But as Flynn had been one of my favourite actors of the period simply on the basis of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', I honestly would have gone for it anyway. Yeah, you could say I love older movies! =)My best friend Earl remarked, 'By the end of WWII, they used up all of the good film titles,' and he probably has a point there, at least with this one, still getting quality usage THREE generations later, and with Mel Gibson to boot. But this was weird for a war film (looking at the resistance put up by a village of 800 Norwegians) bizarrely cast (with Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson and Ruth Gordon--all as the GOOD guys!), and had taped speeches by BOTH Churchill and Roosevelt. I read notorious British film critic Leslie Halliwell's review that everything was decent about the film except that it starred Flynn. He couldn't have been more wrong.I'm greatly looking forward to examining the other four films of the set, all directed by one of the most underrated American directors of all time--Raoul Walsh.

mark.waltz When a coastal town of Norway becomes the latest victim of Nazi oppression, the proud townspeople gather together to fight for their continued freedom, deal with traitors ("quislings") amongst their own and eventually show their power over German brutality. An excellent example of war propaganda, this masterful Warner Brothers drama is spared no detail in fighting against Hitler's machine of evil. Leading the way are rumored real-life Nazi spy Errol Flynn and "oomph girl" Ann Sheridan who shows that amongst her loveliness, she was also quite a good dramatic actress and had a truly wonderful spirit. Flynn is the leader of the resistance, a seemingly peace- loving fisherman who has no fear of losing his own life if his homeland can regain its freedom and the nasty fifth columnists all drowned with the help of the many fishing boats docked on their beautiful shores.Sheridan is the daughter of the town's beloved doctor (the always excellent Walter Huston), a peace-loving man who is against the resistance simply because of fear, but circumstances slowly change his mind. He's married to the quiet and wise Ruth Gordon (long before the days of her campy old ladies), and is looked up to by the town. Others highly involved include the local innkeeper (Judith Anderson, playing a wise, courageous and decent woman, a far cry from her many evil film roles) as well as other businessmen who don't want their livelihoods spoiled by the intrusion of these evil invaders. Some agree with the plan to fight, some want peace (particularly the local priest who must weigh his conscience later on as the situation worsens) and others want action immediately. Huston's family has its own issues with Gordon's factory owning brother (Charles Dingle) the biggest quisling of them all, an influence on their college age son (John Beal) who is exposed and banished.Of course, with any film dealing with wartime propaganda, at times, it is going to seem melodramatic or over-the-top, but the war years were filled with many tragic elements that fortunately didn't touch American soil outside the Japanese detention camps. The hard-working European farmers and merchants suffered greatly at the hands of German and Italian invaders, so there is no need for subtlety. Other movies have presented similar themes (my other favorite being 1940's "The Mortal Storm"), but "Edge of Darkness" is certainly one of the most riveting with its brilliant characterizations and often nuanced portrayals even of individual Nazi's. Case in point, Judith Anderson's love for a German soldier that isn't presented as betrayal, but does create conflict for her in the fact that the invasion of their town took her father's life. For this reason, she has become sort of a "Madame DeFarge" like character, although in this case, she isn't as vile. Her affections for both Flynn and Sheridan add a charming touch to her tough on the outside, pure sentiment on the inside, character, and for me, she's the most interesting of all the villagers.On the Nazi side, there's Helmut Dantine as the invading captain, a mess of a man who can't bear to listen to the anti-German tirades of various townspeople, particularly an aging professor whom he listens to as if he knows its the truth but just can't face it because of some sort of doomed destiny. He has a Norwegian mistress (Nancy Coleman) who is ill defined as a character, and I cringed a bit when she makes her final statement starting with "I would like to make a speech". Another apparent Nazi is really an ally plant who risks his life several times in his efforts to help the townsfolk. When tragic circumstances strikes Sheridan, Huston takes things into his own hands which culminates with a seemingly deadly result, and by this time, the Nazi's are worse monsters than anything that came out of Universal's stable of creatures. Excellent direction by "All Quiet on the Western Front's" Lewis Milestone holds everything together, and the screenplay by future director Robert Rossen (based on a novel by William Wods) is brilliant with only a few minor exceptions. Sid Hickox's photography is striking, and the music by Franz Waxman draws the viewer in emotionally from the time the opening credits roll. I only had issues with some of the cut away photo shots between the resistance and the Nazi's which made it seem that they were closer to each other than they obviously were. I could just see this being played in the movie theater in 1943 with audience members hissing every time the Nazi's did something despicable and large rounds of applause when they got their come-uppance. For that reason alone, this stands the test of time, because every time I have watched this (which has been many), I find myself wanting to do the same thing.

weezeralfalfa My review title is, of course, a take on the Warners film released 2 years earlier: "They Died With their Boots On", also starring Errol Flynn, as G.A. Custer, and featuring the annihilation of his cavalry command by a confederation of Native Americans attempting to defend their treatied homelands against the illegal invasion of swarms of gold seekers, who generally considered the N.A.s a much inferior race of 'savages', justifying their virtual annihilation, if necessary. Sound familiar? In this powerfully dramatized film, it's the Nazis who are playing the role of Custer and the gold seekers, who feel justified in overrunning the traditional territories of their neighbors, with the ultimate goal of replacing these peoples, considered genetically inferior, if not raving savages, with their own offspring. As in the case of Custer, the natives(Norwegians) have an advantage in a sizable numerical superiority and greater familiarity with the territory, if a marked disadvantage in armaments.Fulfilling its wartime purpose of encouraging public support to help defeat the Nazis, the film strongly suggests that, with sufficient outside support in smuggled armaments, 'resistance' groups in Nazi-occupied regions might be successful in significant sabotage and passive resistance projects, making a significant contribution toward the ultimate unraveling of the Nazi empire. The film ends with the locally victorious Norwegians trudging off into the forest near their fishing village, fearful of Nazi reprisals for their annihilation of the sizable German garrison, and presumably planning further sabotage operations until the Germans leave. Accompanying this visuals, we hear a historic FDR speech, featuring the plight of the Norwegians, along with a stirring final rendering of the recurring Luther hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" in the background, making the resistance against the Nazis seem more like a 'holy war' against the forces of evil. This is the only one of the 5 war-propaganda films starring Flynn released by Warners during the war that was not directed by Raoul Walsh. Lewis Milestone was born to Russian Jewish parents, who emigrated to the US when he was a teen. Thus, it's quite understandable that he relished the directing job of several anti-Axis films during the war. As with the present film, "The North Star" emphasizes the hopes and activities of 'resistance' groups within Nazi-controlled regions. The highly acclaimed "A Walk in the Sun" looks at the war from the myopic viewpoint of the ordinary soldier. "The Purple Heart" dramatizes the incarceration and trial of a group of American fliers captured by the Japanese. Like the fanatical Nazi Captain Keonig, in the present film, the fanatical Japanese commander involved commits suicide in the end: his indoctrinated assumption of what American servicemen are like, and the myth of the invincibility of the Japanese armed forces, shattered.Very ironically, Helmut Dantine, who plays Captain Keonig, imbued with the standard Nazi assumption of racial superiority, was the former leader of Vienna anti-Nazi activists, forced to flee to the US, winding up in LA. He played a similar role in several other wartime films, including "Northern Pursuit", where Flynn again plays his chief nemesis.The film begins with a Nazi patrol plane (which looks like a slightly modified Lockheed Hudson light bomber, used in several Warner wartime films) observes a Norwegian flag flying over a coastal German garrison, instigating a patrol boat to investigate. They discover the gruesome sight of hundreds of German and Norwegian bodies strewn all over outside and inside the compound and adjacent fishing village. Otherwise , both seem deserted , except for one deranged Norwegian, who is promptly machine-gunned. We will see a similar sight near the end of the film. Meanwhile, the remainder of the film consists of a flashback to events leading up to this massacre.The bulk of the film consists of characterizations of a spectrum of responses to the Nazi takeover: from outright cooperation with the Nazis, to uneasy neutrality, to determined passive and/or active resistance. Some change their position during the film. Another major section deals with the secret acquisition and hiding of armaments from a British submarine: part of a British plan for a coordinated uprising of all coastal towns against the local Germans. This plan is articulated by a British spy(played by Henry Brandon), as one of the garrison Germans. The last part of the film deals with the actual armed revolt. Although many Norwegians die, some seem immune to the German machinegun fire.Flynn's character, as the leader of the local resistance group, is named Gunnar, as was the most famous leader of Norwegian resistance(Gunnar Sonsteby), tales of his activities having already reached the outside when this film was scripted... Glamorous-looking Anne Sheridan, as Gunnar's gung-ho 'resistance' girlfriend, makes the most convincing romantic partner for Flynn in his 5 war-propaganda films...Nancy Coleman, who played an anti-Nazi German and Flynn's fleeting romantic interest in the previous "Desperate Journey", here plays the 'kept' Polish mistress of the collective German officers, who mocks them when they are facing annihilation, being shot in response...Richard Fraser plays the conflicted pastor: advocating non-resistance, but firing the first shots of the showdown, when the 'resistance' leaders are about to be executed.There's so much more to this film, but I'm about out of space.

Spikeopath Directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Errol Flynn, Walter Huston, Ann Sheridan & Ruth Gordon. It's based on a script by Robert Rossen which is adapted from a novel by William Woods. The story revolves around Trollness, a fishing village in Norway suffering under years of oppressive Nazi occupation. With the locals divided on what to do about it, with some having vested interests that are not totally worthy, a guerrilla resistance effort finally sparks into life.Very competent film making across the board, but the film at nearly two hours long is often a chore to get thru. It's refreshing, tho, to see a film about the Norwegian resistance, a great chapter in the war that we sadly don't see much of in cinema. While one of the best things about the film is in how it portrays that not all the Norwegians wanted the Nazis out. Some were happy to let them occupy, others were just too frightened to do something about it. Here in Milestone's movie a catalyst spurs the village into action and it's then that the movie gains impetus. This does come at a cost as such, tho, since the heroics in the rousing finale are over contrived. Nicely shot on California coastal locations to gain some "Norwegian" authenticity (Sidney Hickox on photography).Worthy, watchable but not one to sample too often. 6/10