Mademoiselle France (1942)
"Reunion in France" (original title)

Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country.

Director:

Jules Dassin

Writers:

Jan Lustig (screenplay), Marvin Borowsky (screenplay),

Stars:

Joan Crawford, John Wayne, Philip Dorn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Joan Crawford	...	Michele de la Becque
John Wayne	...	Pat Talbot
Philip Dorn	...	Robert Cortot
Reginald Owen	...	Schultz
Albert Bassermann	...	General Hugo Schroeder
John Carradine	...	Ulrich Windler
Ann Ayars	...	Juliette
J. Edward Bromberg	...	Durand
Moroni Olsen	...	Paul Grebeau
Henry Daniell	...	Emile Fleuron
Howard Da Silva	...	Anton Stregel (as Howard da Silva)
Charles Arnt	...	Honoré
Morris Ankrum	...	Martin
Edith Evanson	...	Genevieve
Ernst Deutsch	...	Captain (as Ernest Dorian)

Storyline

Frenchwoman Michele de la Becque, an opponent of the Nazis in German-occupied Paris, hides a downed American flyer, Pat Talbot, and attempts to get him safely out of the country.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | collaborator | dunkirk | military | designer | 

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Taglines:

The Picture Of The Hour! France In Open Revolt! Leaping From The Headlines! The Underground Of Paris!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German French

Release Date:

25 December 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reunion

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 99 min (Turner library print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Keenan Wynn was listed in an early production chart as a cast member, and Hans Conried was in a news item as a cast member, but neither were in the final release print.

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Quotes

Michelle 'Mike' de la Becque: There is something you and/or the German army can do. Nevermind, I'm sure it's punishable by death.

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Connections

Featured in Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Concerto for Violin in D Minor"
(1844) (uncredited)
Written by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Second movement played on violin by George Travell

User Reviews

The second half is fabulous, worth getting through the long set up...

Reunion in France (1942)

First important fact: this movie, about the first year of WWII when Hitler took over France, was released a month before "Casablanca." It does not compare in most ways with the drama, the humor, the writing, the music, the velocity, and the legendary actors of the more famous movie. But it is a very good movie with an interesting early pro-American, pro-French message. Joan Crawford crackles as much as she can in a topsy turvy role, going from spoiled and frivolous rich woman Michele de la Becque to (briefly) a refugee to, finally, an ordinary woman fighting with all her heart for France.

There are two male actors with important roles and they couldn't be more different. One is Michele's lover and fiancé, played with a cultured perfection by Philip Dorn, a Dutch actor who pulls off the pan-Euro, mostly French aristocrat and businessman well. Opposite him in every way is the homey, tough, humble American who shows up halfway through the film, John Wayne. I don't know if this really makes sense in the film, but I can see it on paper, since Wayne played a non-cowboy merchant seaman in the terrific John Ford film which prefigures this one in some ways, "The Long Voyage Home." He doesn't seem as wily and smart as a fugitive from the Nazis would have to be, behind the lines in occupied Paris, but he at least plays the role of an ordinary American ready to help the French, and this is the political message throughout.

In fact, the movie borders on a brilliant propaganda device, putting message ahead of plot now and then, just perceptibly. Crawford is so good even her speeches make a convincing case, and I'm assuming American audiences cheered her on by December of 1942 when it was released (on Christmas day). The scenes of the Germans taking over Paris are always horrifying, and they are again here. There is even a deliberate homage to Soviet director Eisenstein when a baby carriage runs off after the mother is killed by gunfire.

But back to "Casablanca." It's an interesting problem to solve, feeding the American audience worried about the war and about U.S. involvement. Because Hollywood was both a symptom of public opinion and a shaper of it, and these are two rather different kinds of films with very similar messages. Director Jules Dassin, who is not French but American, had just started making films in 1941, and there is a sense of expertise at the expense of intuitive magic. "Reunion in France" is strong, smart, and convincing. But it doesn't sizzle or build the aura of the time like it could. And yet, in its defense, it has no perspective at all on the events, since it was made while they were unfolding, even before they were unfolding since it has to anticipate to some extent how the film will settle six months after being written and shot. Watch it. It's really good.