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
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