Desperate Journey (1942)

Director:

Raoul Walsh

Writer:

Arthur T. Horman (original screenplay)

Release Date:

26 September 1942 (USA)

Genre:

War | Drama

Plot:

When Flight Lt Forbes and his crew are shot down after bombing their target, they discover valuable information...

Plot Keywords:

Factory | Bombing | Germany | Escape | WWII

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Errol Flynn	...	Flight Lt. Terrence 'Terry' Forbes
Ronald Reagan	...	Flying Officer Johnny Hammond
Nancy Coleman	...	Kaethe Brahms
Raymond Massey	...	Major Otto Baumeister
Alan Hale	...	Flight Sergeant Kirk Edwards
Arthur Kennedy	...	Flying Officer Jed Forrest
Ronald Sinclair	...	Flight Sergeant Lloyd Hollis
Albert Bassermann	...	Dr. Mather (as Albert Basserman)
Sig Ruman	...	Preuss
Patrick O'Moore	...	Squadron Leader Lane-Ferris
Felix Basch	...	Hermann Brahms
Ilka Grüning	...	Frau Brahms (as Ilka Gruning)
Elsa Basserman	...	Frau Raeder (as Else Basserman)
Charles Irwin	...	Captain Coswick
Richard Fraser	...	Squadron Leader Clark
Rudolph Anders	...	Kruse (as Robert O. Davis)
Henry Victor	...	Heinrich Schwarzmueller
Bruce Lester	...	English Officer
Lester Matthews	...	Wing Commander
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Frank Alten	...	Lieutenant (uncredited)
Louis V. Arco	...	Feldwebel (Sgt.) Gertz (uncredited)
John Banner	...	Conductor on empty troop train (uncredited)
Barry Bernard	...	Squadron commander (uncredited)
Walter Bonn	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Sven Hugo Borg	...	Mechanic (uncredited)
Walter Brooke	...	Flight Sgt. Warwick (uncredited)
Harold Daniels	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Helmut Dantine	...	German co-pilot (uncredited)
Leslie Denison	...	Radio operator (uncredited)
Carl Ekberg	...	Telephone repairman (uncredited)
Charles Flynn	...	Post sentry (uncredited)
Arno Frey	...	Pvt. Trocha (uncredited)
Eugene Gericke	...	Polish saboteur (uncredited)
Frederick Giermann	...	German sergeant (uncredited)
Eddie Hall	...	German soldier shooting at Lockheed plane (uncredited)
Carl Harbaugh	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Ludwig Hardt	...	Pharmacist (uncredited)
James Harker	...	Pilot (uncredited)
William Hopper	...	Radio operator (uncredited)
Kurt Katch	...	Hesse (uncredited)
Harry Lewis	...	Evans (uncredited)
Rolf Lindau	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Jack Lomas	...	Magnus (uncredited)
Frank Mayo	...	Decoder (uncredited)
Peter Michael	...	German gunner (uncredited)
Ray Miller	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Rudolf Myzet	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Pat O'Hara	...	Plotting officer (uncredited)
Don Phillips	...	Kenton (uncredited)
Otto Reichow	...	Pvt. Koenig (uncredited)
Henry Rowland	...	German fighter pilot (uncredited)
Richard Ryen	...	Staadtpoliceman Heinze (uncredited)
Ferdinand Schumann-Heink	...	Sentry (uncredited)
Hans Schumm	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Lester Sharpe	...	Driver (uncredited)
Rudolf Steinboeck	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Robert R. Stephenson	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Sigfrid Tor	...	Pvt. Rasek (uncredited)
Philip Van Zandt	...	Strolling German soldier (uncredited)
Roland Varno	...	Unteroffizier (uncredited)
Ernö Verebes	...	German sergeant (uncredited)
Frederick Vogeding	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Wilhelm von Brincken	...	Gate sentry (uncredited)
Hans von Morhart	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski	...	German soldier (uncredited)
Douglas Walton	...	British officer playing dice (uncredited)
Rex Williams	...	Sgt. Tause (uncredited)
William Yetter Sr.	...	Gestapo agent (uncredited)
Victor Zimmerman	...	Capt. Eggerstedt (uncredited)

Directed by
Raoul Walsh

Writing credits
Arthur T. Horman		(original screenplay)

Produced by
Hal B. Wallis	....	producer
Jack Saper	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Max Steiner
Hugo Friedhofer		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Bert Glennon

Film Editing by
Rudi Fehr

Art Direction by
Carl Jules Weyl

Costume Design by
Milo Anderson		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Perc Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Claude Archer	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Russell Saunders	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
C.A. Riggs	....	sound

Special Effects by
Edwin B. DuPar	....	special effects (as Edwin A. DuPar)
Byron Haskin	....	special effects (uncredited)
Nathan Levinson	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Duke Green	....	stunts (uncredited)
Harvey Parry	....	stunts (uncredited)
Allen Pomeroy	....	stunts (uncredited)
Buster Wiles	....	stunts (uncredited)
Jack Woody	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Leo F. Forbstein	....	musical director
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestral arrangements

Other crew
Owen Cathcart-Jones	....	technical advisor: R.A.F.sequences (as Squadron Leader O. Cathcart-Jones, R.C.A.F.)
Hugh MacMullan	....	dialogue director

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros. Pictures Inc.)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Dominant Pictures Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Warner Bros. (1949) (France) (theatrical)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1991) (USA) (VHS)

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #8145)

Filming Locations:

Lake Sherwood, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: While the men are walking through a swamp and Kirk is describing how much food he scrounged during the First World War, his words clearly don't match his lip movements.

Quotes:

Maj. Otto Baumeister: We have decent instincts, but we have also an iron fist!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shadows (1959)

Soundtrack:

Waltzing Matilda

Almost like watching a film version of a MEDAL OF HONOR video game...

If you're one of those people who loves playing World War II video games like the highly acclaimed MEDAL OF HONOR or CALL OF DUTY series, chances are that you're going to love this action-packed Errol Flynn adventure, filmed at a time when Hollywood was engaged to fight the dirty Nazis.

Remember that level in MEDAL OF HONOR: ALLIED ASSAULT when the lone Lt. Mike Powell infiltrated a German bunker complex in disguise and then caused mass panic amongst the enemy when he sabotaged an armory? What about that level in CALL OF DUTY when a team of American soldiers stole a roadster and raced against the pursuing Nazis? And what about that final level when Lt. Jimmy Patterson stormed a hidden airfield single-handedly, defeated the sinister Colonel Von Sturmgeist, and took off in a secret German aircraft in MEDAL OF HONOR: FRONTLINE? It's all here in this film. And what about those exciting and melodramatic symphonic scores by Michael Giacchino that really kept your adrenaline going while playing? It's here too, furiously and stirringly composed by the great Max Steiner.

Here too are the bumbling Germans who can't even shoot straight, as well as the sinister Nazi commander (Raymond Massey). And, of course, we have the small team of Allied heroes who single-handedly defeat the enemy (Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, and the delightful Alan Hale are among them), steal German uniforms for disguises, and enjoy blowing up stuff when they have nothing else to do behind enemy lines. Remember in MEDAL OF HONOR when there were no more Germans to kill at the moment and you blew up oil barrels with grenades while waiting for some more Germans to come and get you? That's the gag.

Equally effective in the cast is the petite Nancy Coleman in a small role, who reminds me so much of Kate Beckinsale in her closeups. The film is directed at a lightning pace by veteran Raoul Walsh, so there's hardly a dull moment in the film.

Grand escapist fun all the way--but like the video games it has inspired, don't expect anything deep here. Just turn your brain off and enjoy an Indiana Jones-ish film about a small team of Allied airmen performing far-fetched but exciting stunts against a giant mass of idiotic Nazis.