Lee Eisenberg Gregory Ratoff's Academy Award-nominated "Paris Underground" is one of the movies released immediately after WWII that took an almost absurdly heroic view of things. In this case, two women - one from the US, the other from England - are in France when the Nazis invade, and they start coming up with ways to smuggle British troops out. In this day and age it'll probably remind us of "Dunkirk", but obviously lacks the brutal realism. It's not any sort of masterpiece, but it still manages to be intense enough to hold the viewer's attention (especially the apartment scenes).Worth seeing, if only once.

mark.waltz Three years after Joan Crawford walked through an approaching crowd as the Nazis entered Paris (with her hair unmussed), veteran actress Constance Bennett took on the invading fifth columnists in order to help stranded English soldiers get out of the country safely. Aiding her in this is veteran English actress/music hall performer Gracie Fields who doesn't get to be comical here as she was in earlier films. The film really gets exciting during one moment when Bennett hides a soldier in the trunk of her car and deals with Nazi soldiers who help her change her tires. With suspicious landlady Eily Maylon supposedly reporting her activities to the Nazi's, Bennett is soon being watched, and this leads to an exciting confrontation where everybody in the complex is threatened with torture and death unless the members of the underground give themselves up. Unfortunately, the film doesn't represent reality well in the conclusion which goes for the traditional Hollywood happy ending rather than what probably would have happened in a real life situation.Made towards the end of the war, this pretty much seems to have lost its impact simply out of a "been there, done that" sort of feeling. Of course, there's the typical propaganda and a few moments of grave tension which are hand-gripping moments of true fear. Ms. Bennett was the film's producer which gives a good indication of why in her 40's she looks totally glamorous throughout. It's still entertaining, but one of those films on a much made topic that seems standard when compared to such classics as "The Mortal Storm", "Underground" and "Edge of Darkness".

oldblackandwhite Paris Underground (aka: Madame Pimpernell) is a solid British entry in the war/intrigue genre produced immediately after cessation of hostilities with Germany in 1945 by aging, but still glamorous, American star Constance Bennett and distributed in the United States by United Artists. Ms. Bennett, a somewhat flighty American married to a French foreign office official, and her middle-age spinster pal Gracie Fields, while fleeing the city during the fall of Paris in 1940, find themselves by happenstance carrying a downed British aviator in the trunk of their automobile. Turned back to Paris by a German road bock, they have to take the flier back to hiding in Gracie's apartment. One of the best and most suspenseful scenes occurs when the girls have a flat with the pilot in the car's rear, and a Nazi officer stops to assist them! By hook and crook they eventually manage to smuggle the young aviator to Free France. Delighted with their success, they establish and underground railroad that eventually gets hundreds of allied airmen back to their bases. With a combination of American audacity and British pluck, these two brave and resourceful women cause the occupying Germans a big headache. Sharply directed by Gregory Ratoff and atmospherically photographed by Lee Garmes, Paris Underground is tense, exciting, and believable. Acting by the two female leads is first rate with good support coming from Argentine actor George Rigaud as Ms. Bennett's husband, Kurt Kreuger as a suave but cruel Gestapo captain who would like to be more than friends with the ripely beautiful Ms. Bennett, and Eily Malyon as the grouchy concierge of Ms. Field's hotel. Editing is a little untidy in places, with some scenes taking too long to unfold. However, the story is never draggy, but engaging and exciting from beginning to end. Alexander Tansman's florid but stirring score, which drew an Academey Award nomination, drives the action along at a gallop.This picture bears some resemblance to glitzier Joan Crawford vehicle Reunion In France (1942). While not up to competing head-up with that big hitter in the entertainment department, the more staid Paris Underground is somehow more believable and is an enjoyable, inspiring little potboiler in its own right for fans of the war/intrigue thriller.

deschreiber I pretty much agree with the lukewarm review here entitled "Mediocre war heroine tale." This is far from a "gem," as some people would have it.The plot keeps moving and is mildly interesting, although without finger-biting suspense. We know pretty well how each situation will turn out, the romance, the hair's-breadth escapes, and so on. As the end approaches there is a little surprise, but it's all fixed up within minutes as victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat and medals are pinned on the heroines. Ho-hum. I barely kept myself from turning off the television.Outdoor scenes are all shot in studio and look very fake. The foggy night scene in the fields--puleeze! The music has moments when it goes over the top.Although the movie is set in France, French characters are insignificant, while the American and English ladies are large, ultimately heroic presences. It's certainly a narrow, nationalistic vision of "Paris underground." I did find it refreshing to see a movie, especially one focused on the conflicts of war, in which the lead characters are female.Don't get excited about seeing this. Don't set aside important time for it. But if you run into it accidentally, you probably won't think it's a total waste of time.I believe this film was also released with the title "Madame Pimpernel."