The Edge of Darkness (1943)
A solid WWII movie about the resistance in Norway. There is the immediate plot, about an ally who was occupied by the Nazi Germans, and there is the wider allegory about ordinary people (the Americans watching the movie) rising up against true tyranny. Errol Flynn is of course famous for his swordsmanship in his earlier films, but he plays a thoroughly good man well, tortured by the facts but always out to do what is best. There are other actors that matter-Walter Huston as a prominent doctor in town, and Ann Sheridan as the principled, stoic woman. It's mostly a routine production, with obvious anti-Nazi sentiments that override much of the plot. And it starts a bit slowly, with a set up that mattered more when the movie was made and see in the theaters and the Germans were crushing Europe. Including Norway, which famously did not go neutral like Sweden did, and paid a high price. The people portrayed here are the ordinary folk who seem powerless next to a well armed occupying army, but who found a way to fight back, at least in their own microcosym. You can't get away from the predictable stances of everyone here-including the necessary traitor or two. There is little suspense, but there is a lot of tension, which is different-these are in the many scenes toward the end of military confrontations. It's here that director Milestone seems to still be making his famous "All Quiet on the Western Front" which is a great movie with a great script. This is not great, but it's not just because the script and novel are ordinary. There is a style of acting and filming here that is a bit false. Watch people get shot and throw their arms in the air in a way that is reall more like a creaky silent film. It's mostly solid, to be sure, and a supportive part of the war effort. Keep that context to get the most out of it. And feel for the real people who had to fight and live through the Nazi brutality.
A solid WWII movie about the resistance in Norway. There is the immediate plot, about an ally who was occupied by the Nazi Germans, and there is the wider allegory about ordinary people (the Americans watching the movie) rising up against true tyranny. Errol Flynn is of course famous for his swordsmanship in his earlier films, but he plays a thoroughly good man well, tortured by the facts but always out to do what is best. There are other actors that matter-Walter Huston as a prominent doctor in town, and Ann Sheridan as the principled, stoic woman. It's mostly a routine production, with obvious anti-Nazi sentiments that override much of the plot. And it starts a bit slowly, with a set up that mattered more when the movie was made and see in the theaters and the Germans were crushing Europe. Including Norway, which famously did not go neutral like Sweden did, and paid a high price. The people portrayed here are the ordinary folk who seem powerless next to a well armed occupying army, but who found a way to fight back, at least in their own microcosym. You can't get away from the predictable stances of everyone here-including the necessary traitor or two. There is little suspense, but there is a lot of tension, which is different-these are in the many scenes toward the end of military confrontations. It's here that director Milestone seems to still be making his famous "All Quiet on the Western Front" which is a great movie with a great script. This is not great, but it's not just because the script and novel are ordinary. There is a style of acting and filming here that is a bit false. Watch people get shot and throw their arms in the air in a way that is reall more like a creaky silent film. It's mostly solid, to be sure, and a supportive part of the war effort. Keep that context to get the most out of it. And feel for the real people who had to fight and live through the Nazi brutality.