Director: Irving Pichel
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Top Billed Actors: Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Anne Baxter
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 3 more:
Outstanding Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
Best Actor - Monty Woolley
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Edward Cronjager
Plot: A crotchety old man is tasked with escorting two children from Nazi-occupied France back to London. His party of kids grows the closer they get to freedom.
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Top Billed Actors: Monty Woolley, Roddy McDowall, Anne Baxter
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 3 more:
Outstanding Motion Picture - 20th Century-Fox
Best Actor - Monty Woolley
Best Cinematography, Black-and-White - Edward Cronjager
Plot: A crotchety old man is tasked with escorting two children from Nazi-occupied France back to London. His party of kids grows the closer they get to freedom.
As we move along in 1942, we better start to come to terms with the amount of World War II pictures, The Pied Piper (1942) being the next one up. There isn't much trivia associated with this film so this opening paragraph shall be brief. This is an adaptation of a novel that came out just that year which in turn is based on the fairy tale. It also stars a teenage Anne Baxter who will go on to play Eve in All About Eve (1950). Monty Woolley earns his first of two Oscar nominations and Roddy McDowall is making a name for himself with his second appearance as a child actor in the Project after acting in the previous year's Best Picture winner.
Like the previous entry in the Project, this film tells a story of how war affects the periphery rather than battle sequences and campaigns. The narrative takes Woolley as a reluctant old man who accumulates refugee children as he makes his way from France to London. It's eye opening how difficult it was to travel as the Nazis were securing their hold over France. Woolley is positively delightful as a man who isn't afraid to have a row with anybody and all of his interactions left me laughing. He has an excellent rapport with McDowall as they discuss if Rochester is a city or a state. I kept wondering how this was going to come back to the story later and the reveal is rewarding enough for this ongoing bit. There's some striking images as well, especially whenever the troupe of traveling children are on a train or bus.
There isn't much to dislike about this film. With that being said, I can't see why it was nominated for Best Picture. Yes, the screenwriter (and novelist) managed to establish an endearing tale set against the backdrop of a violent war. But at less than ninety minutes and without a lot of high stakes scenarios until the very end, it amounts to a routine movie good for entertainment and laughs. This obviously isn't a bad thing, it just doesn't clear the hurdle of the typical Best Picture nominee.
Overall, I couldn't help but be charmed by Monty Woolley's irritable but humorous demeanor and his reluctant affinity for the children he guides. It's incredible to see this tone achieved against the background of war.
My Score: 7/10
Like the previous entry in the Project, this film tells a story of how war affects the periphery rather than battle sequences and campaigns. The narrative takes Woolley as a reluctant old man who accumulates refugee children as he makes his way from France to London. It's eye opening how difficult it was to travel as the Nazis were securing their hold over France. Woolley is positively delightful as a man who isn't afraid to have a row with anybody and all of his interactions left me laughing. He has an excellent rapport with McDowall as they discuss if Rochester is a city or a state. I kept wondering how this was going to come back to the story later and the reveal is rewarding enough for this ongoing bit. There's some striking images as well, especially whenever the troupe of traveling children are on a train or bus.
There isn't much to dislike about this film. With that being said, I can't see why it was nominated for Best Picture. Yes, the screenwriter (and novelist) managed to establish an endearing tale set against the backdrop of a violent war. But at less than ninety minutes and without a lot of high stakes scenarios until the very end, it amounts to a routine movie good for entertainment and laughs. This obviously isn't a bad thing, it just doesn't clear the hurdle of the typical Best Picture nominee.
Overall, I couldn't help but be charmed by Monty Woolley's irritable but humorous demeanor and his reluctant affinity for the children he guides. It's incredible to see this tone achieved against the background of war.
My Score: 7/10