Alex da Silva It's 1936 Germany and 7 prisoners escape from a concentration camp. The Commandant vows to get even and has seven trees cleared to hang each man from as he is captured. Can he see his plan fulfilled? We follow the plight of one of the prisoners – Spencer Tracy (George) – as he attempts to avoid capture and escape the country.The film starts off with a narration by Tracy's fellow escapee and leader of the breakout - Ray Collins (Wallau). Unfortunately, half an hour into the film and this guy is still narrating. Tracy has barely spoken at this point and it gets irritating. We don't need this narrator, let Tracy lead the proceedings. So, I'm afraid the film loses a mark for this. As it also does for the final half hour or so when the character of waitress Signe Hasso (Toni) is introduced. She serves no purpose whatsoever and is clearly put into the film to provide a love interest which just doesn't work. The age gap is ludicrous - Tracy is like her dad and would have no time for such a distraction given his circumstances. Lose another mark.However, outside of this, the story is gripping and you, just like the main character, don't know who to trust. The best in the cast is working class citizen Hume Cronyn (Paul) who is extremely likable but you still just don't know what will happen with him. There are several sequences of note including a couple in which Tracy roams around a couple of towns alone and witnesses other escapees getting captured. But, most of all, the audience can feel the tension in Paul's bid for freedom. Who should Tracy trust? The seventh cross is waiting for him

sampson-8 As I watched this rather dull, plodding film with its strange narration I began to have a sense of fright beginning to build up. The work-a-day folks, the villagers and laughing children-very home-like, very much like here. The occasional scenes of brutish Nazi's were not to terrifying as the everyday citizen's acceptance of the new order. The movie portrayed this so well in the almost blank faces of the extras as they witnessed people being taken away and that awful suicide from the rooftop. Watching this film made me realize that-yes-it could happen here. Kudos to those faceless extras that brought home the real atmosphere of such an awful time.

Michael O'Keefe George Heisler(Spencer Tracy)is one of seven men that escapes from a Nazi concentration camp. The commandant has seven trees to be made into crosses to hang the captured escapees. Heisler battles hunger, thirst and fatigue and manages to be the last escapee to not be captured. He perceivers to carry out a bungled plan to reach sympathizers for temporary shelter, change of clothes and money. The one thing that keeps him going is the thought of his beloved Liesel(Jessica Tandy); but when he finds her she doesn't look the same as in his dreams...even worse she has married another man. He still needs help and a lot of luck to dodge Storm Troopers and get out of war torn Germany. Does Tracy ever turn in a bad performance? This also Ms. Tandy's screen debut. Others in the cast: Hume Cronyn, Agnes Moorehead, Ray Collins, Felix Bressart and Signe Hasso.

MartinHafer This film has one of the most unusual styles of the day. In many ways, its narration by Ray Collins is very reminiscent of the narration by William Holden in SUNSET BOULEVARD. That's because like Holden, Collins is dead and gives the narration post-mortum! A strange plot device but very effective for this sort of film.THE SEVENTH CROSS is a propaganda film meant to solidify the people back home in the war effort against Nazi Germany. However, the film is set in 1936--three years before the war began. The film finds seven political prisoners escaping from a concentration camp. The whole "seven crosses" reference regards the Commandant's (George Zucco) pronouncement that each of the seven men will be tracked down and hung from these crosses in the courtyard of the prison until they are dead--as a lesson to all those who would dare to consider escaping.The main character of the film is Spencer Tracy. What makes this performance interesting is that he says almost nothing through much of the film. Collins narrates and things occur around Tracy, but he's so hollow and beaten by life in the camp that he just stares with a somewhat vacant look. As the film unfolds, his performance opens up as well--showing more and more of the familiar Tracy as he slowly recovers from the agonies of his confinement.The rest of the cast is quite impressive. Many exceptional character actors (such as Felix Bressart, Hume Cronyn and his wife Jessica Tandy, Agnes Moorehead) were gleaned from the MGM roster for the film. Additionally, if you look at the extended list of the cast, you'll see that it is huge---much, much larger than usual. It's obvious that the studio pulled out all the stops to make this a first-rate production.Overall, a very successful film because unlike some wartime films, this one is timeless and can be enjoyed and admired today because it is a very well made film--with a taut script and excellent acting. As I said, some wartime propaganda films don't work as well today because they are shrill and simplistic. This film has depth and has more to offer than usual.