Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
William Hurt | ... | Varian Fry | |
Howard Ryshpan | ... | Konditerei Owner | |
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Carol Shamy | ... | The Owner's Wife |
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Harald Winter | ... | First Brownshirt |
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Susan Almgren | ... | Eileen Fry (as Susie Almgren) |
Barry Blake | ... | Drury | |
Noel Burton | ... | Thompson | |
Emma Campbell | ... | Clifton's Girl | |
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Ian Finlay | ... | Ballroom Man 1 |
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Maitreya Friedman | ... | Ballroom Woman (as Maitreya Frieman) |
Alain Goulem | ... | Clifton | |
Christopher B. MacCabe | ... | Ballroom Man 2 (as Christopher Maccabe) | |
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Walter Massey | ... | Sydney |
Tom Rack | ... | Reinhold Neibuhr | |
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Michael Rudder | ... | Thomas Mann |
After witnessing the treatment of Jews in Nazi territory made him physically sick, cultured American gentleman Varian Fry starts en emergency rescue commission to raise funds and lobby to help intellectuals and artists, especially Jews, escape from Vichy France -where the Pétain government avoid occupation only by utter collaboration- to the US, and for lack of a better volunteer personally sets out in search of them. First lady Eleanor Roosevelt personally overcomes the reticence of the State Department. In Marseille he finds the people he specifically looked for, such as Marc Chagall, already housed by Harry Bingham, a Jewish US consulate official so he starts screening less obvious candidates and examines with Miriam Davenport and a German social democrat they pass for US clergyman Beamish how some can be rescued legally, others via a clandestine route, while colonel Joubert's State Police is at their trace... Written by KGF Vissers
Varian Fry (William Hurt) is an American who witnesses the cruel treatment of the Jews in Nazi Germany. He advocates for helping the artistic lights of Europe to escape the Nazis. He enlists the help of many including Mrs Roosevelt. In Vichy France, he finds the help of Miriam Davenport (Julia Ormond) but the situation starts to deteriorate.
This is a smaller TV movie based on the true story. However there are a lot of big name actors including Alan Arkin and Lynn Redgrave. The actors in this is enough to make this a reasonable movie. The subject matter is very compelling. Varian's mannerisms can be very stiff, and the dialog can be a little bit unnatural. However the story comes with a good dose of international intrigue. Also this movie needs to be made.