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Storyline
Sara and Kurt Muller and their three children are returning to her mother's home in Washington DC after 18 years in Europe. A Romanian Count living there discovers Kurt's attache case full of money. He also finds out from friends at the German Embassy that Kurt is working with an anti-Nazi underground group in Germany. He tries to blackmail Kurt. Kurt shoots him and must flee. When Sara hears no more of Kurt, she knows that her oldest son Joshua will soon leave to work in the underground. Written by
Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Summary
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Plot Synopsis
Taglines:
On her lonesome lips a smile.
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Did You Know?
Trivia
"The Screen Guild Theater" broadcast a 30 minute radio adaptation of the movie on January 10, 1944 with
Bette Davis and
Paul Lukas reprising their film roles.
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Goofs
Also during the breakfast scene between George Coulouris and Geraldine Fitzgerald, her hair is sensibly shorter in close-ups.
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Quotes
Kurt Muller:
[
in response to an Italian man on the train asking what he does]
I fight against fascism. That is my trade.
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Soundtracks
"America, My Country 'Tis of Thee"
(1832) (uncredited)
Music attributed to
Henry Carey ("God Save the King!") (1744)
Played often in the score
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So tedious... what a shame. An important subject, great actors but... it's painful waiting for something to happen. I love Dashiell Hammett too, but his fine hand is not perceived in this movie. The first hour of this film is comprised mostly of incessant small talk, stilted dialog and self-important strains of "America (My Country Tis of Thee)". Finally the action is set in motion one hour into the film. At that point it becomes compelling for about 15 minutes, then lapses into preachy monologues.
Despite the significance of the topic (Nazi resistance) especially in 1943 when the film was released, its mawkish sentimentality does not render this a robust examination of the theme in 2012. There is another film, released the year before, on this subject that we've all seen a few times at least... better to view that classic again than spend two vexing hours on this one.