clanciai
Tyrone Power is completely deprived of all his Hollywood attributes here, he is shabby and unshaved like a bum, his good looks are purposely disposed of and as much altered as possible to the contrary, his character is doubtful, while Joan Fontaine outshines him all the way and constantly more and more, which makes it impossible not to burst out into tears when she does.It's a chapter out of the most critical point of the war after Dunkirk at the beginning of the long nightmare blitz of London, and all the bombing scenes couldn't have been made more real and convincing. Tyrone is a veteran from Dunkirk, almost decorated, bitterly disillusioned about the war and its glory and finds no meaning in any aspect of the struggle, while Joan in bursts of impressing honesty gives him second thoughts. But there is much more to it than their epitomized romance.Perhaps the most important ingredient is the other characters. Thomas Mitchell actually saves the show, Alexander Knox is the only one who immediately and thoroughly understands Tyrone's predicament of conscience, Gladys Cooper is gloriously superior as always, Nigel Bruce adds some vital Dickensian comedy, Philip Merivale as the doctor is another vital contribution, and there are others, some not even mentioned. On the whole, it's a perfect masterpiece of film pinpointing the very eye of the storm of the second world war.
crisbetts2075
This is a fairy tale, but, as fairy tales go, quite a nice one.It's interesting to see Hollywood's take on Britain under the Blitz - lots of chirpy cockneys cracking jokes as the bombs fall and irascible tea shop proprietors laying down the law.Most of Hollywood's ex-pat Brit community turns out in roles that must have been bread-and-butter to them - Gladys Cooper as the snooty old patrician lady, Nigel Bruce in amiable-oaf mode, Queenie Leonard as the tart-with-a-heart, Melville Cooper as the dopey uncle.Joan and Ty look gorgeous and do a professional job with the script, even when it gets a bit sticky (Joan's cliché-ridden eulogy of England is particularly painful).If you can swallow the stereotypes and suspend your disbelief, there are worse ways of spending 110 minutes!
krisztike099
Wow..it's a quite old movie but it's very beautiful^^ I love its romantic story and the cast was pretty good. The film is based on a superb book: Eric Knight-This Above All. It's a greatly composed philosophic-romantic story.I think if you liked the movie, you should read this book! It's one of my favorite books,I simply love it^^ You will be much poorer in feelings, if you don't read this book... And thank you for the quotes...I think the book contains some more.. and more memorable^^ By the way,does anyone know where I could find it in English? I've been searching for it on the internet, but i've found it nowhere...:(
theriddler01
I used to climb out of bed(midnight)and watch old movies on KTLA(Movies Til'Dawn)when I was very young.I had a number of siblings so I rarely got to pick our viewings.This was how I got around that.This picture is a very moving story of a disillusioned Canadian soldier(Tyrone Power)who has gone AWOL.He doesn't understand what WWII is about and doesn't want to fight.He meets a pretty young girl(Joan Fontaine)and she"sorts him out"!I believe he is injured by shrapnel in a German air-raid,and her father(Henry Stephenson/a surgeon)saves his life so he can go back and fight.It's a "tear-jerker"but very well done(so as to avoid it's becoming tediously so).I met Joan Fontaine on a ship(1994)and she couldn't believe that a person my age(44)would have seen this film(let alone remember it so well).I was absolutely delighted to have got to meet and spend some time with her.I had met her sister in the 1980's and helped her escape the paparazzi at The Beverly Hilton Hotel and I put her in a cab back to The Beverly Hills Hotel.Memorable Moments!!!
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