France will live again!
1943-04-05
N/A
87 min
British World War II film set in occupied France, portraying the activities of members of the French Resistance and the Nazi tactic of taking and shooting innocent hostages in reprisal for acts of sabotage. The opening credits acknowledge "the official co-operation of General de Gaulle and the French National Committee". It was released as "At Dawn We Die" in the US.
This reminded me a little of "The Silver Fleet"- also made in 1943 - that tackled the thorny issues of collaborators who were really using their position with the occupying Nazi authorities to facilitate the work of the Resistance/escaping British captives. The cast here are solid, not great - led by John Clements and Godfrey Tearle (the Mayor) who alongside his daughter "Marie" (Greta Gynt) treads that dangerous path. It's got some good supporting performances from Yvonne Arnaud and the baddies - Karel Stepanek, Hugh Sinclair and the briefest of appearances from Herbert Lom that all help keep it moving along nicely, if not terribly distinctively, to a perfectly satisfactory ending.
