Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

MartinHafer The summary is NOT meant as a criticism. The Looney Tunes character, Pepe le Pew, was obviously based on Charles Boyer and in the film "Hold Back the Dawn" Boyer is at his le Pew best--pouring on the charm as he very aggressively courts a young lady!When the film begins, George (Boyer) insists on talking to an American film director (actually, the film's real director, Mitchell Leisen). He wants to tell him his story...as perhaps it will make a great film. The story then jumps to Mexico. George is a Hungarian refugee...and like so many refugees during WWII, he's trying desperately to get into the States. However, there was a quota system...with entry quotas for every nation decided by Congress. And, the Hungarian quota's already been met...meaning he will have to wait years in Mexico before he can legally immigrate! However, later he meets up with an old friend, Anita (Paulette Goddard) and she tells him that he could easily bypass the quota if he could just find some American sucker to marry! So, George goes in search of such a woman and after a day of searching, he hits upon a lonely American school teacher, Emmy (Olivia de Havilland) who has taken her young students to Mexico for a field trip. Their romance is whirlwind to save the least and the wicked George plans to dump her as soon as he can and connect up with Anita! But, fortunately, things don't quite work out this way. See the film to see what follows.The film presented a couple questions to me. Why cast a great French actor as a Hungarian? Why not have him play a Frenchman? Also, what sort of an insane school and school teacher would think of taking elementary school-age kids to Mexico for a field trip?! The logistics of it are a problem...plus it IS another country! Weird, huh?! Despite these minor problems, I did love this film. Boyer was simply at his best and the script is very compelling. In fact, it's a near perfect film and one that would make a great date night trip.

vincentlynch-moonoi Overall I feel pretty positive about this film, although the first third or so of the film seemed a bit uneven -- some good aspects, some not so good. But the story is an interesting one -- which I'm sure our Republican friends would hate...because it's about illegal immigration from Mexico...but with a twist...apparently the immigration problem with Mexico in the mid-1900s was more of Europeans making their way to Mexico to cross the border into the United States. In this case, Charles Boyer is a bit of a shady character from eastern Europe; he is in Mexico and decides to marry an American woman only as a means to get into the United States. Along comes the somewhat prim teacher, Olivia de Havilland, who is taking some students on a field trip. Boyer seizes the opportunity, and within hours they are married. Boyer's plan is to dump de Havilland after becoming an American citizen, move east (she is from Azusa), and continue in his crooked ways with accomplice Paulette Goddard. Things take some unplanned turns, and Boyer begins to feel guilty about his plan, and eventually begins to fall in love with de Havilland (no big surprise there). Goddard rats on Boyer to de Havilland, but to an immigration official she stands up for him...and then leaves him. But on the way back to California, she is in a serious auto accident and lays apparently dying in the hospital. He comes to her side...illegally, and she pulls through and he gains his way into the country...with good intentions.I've grown to enjoy Charles Boyer more in recent years, and while he was right for this part he seems too sedate here, almost as if his heart wasn't quite in it.I recently watched another Olivia de Havilland film -- "The Heiress" -- and it occurred to me while watching it that Olivia de Havilland was the direct opposite of Bette Davis. Both were great actresses, but most of the roles that one starred in could not have been played by the other. And this film is another good example of that. Able to display a sense of nativity/innocence, but equally able to play the ability of be strong when required...and both in the same role. It's a very good performance.Paulette Goddard seems to get the short end of the stick here as the self-described "tramp" in the film. It's not an impressive role for her.Walter Abel, a very able character actor, is good here as the American immigration inspector. Rosemary DeCamp, an underrated actress, has a small, but good supporting role.Be patient. The film strengthens as it goes on and has some fine moments and touching scenes, particularly on the part of Olivia de Havilland.

moonspinner55 Charles Boyer, stuck in Mexico due to immigration problems, plans to get into the United States by way of marriage to schoolteacher Olivia de Havilland, who is under the impression that Boyer really loves her. Beautifully-made romantic drama from director Mitchell Leisen has a complicated scenario which sometimes falls prey to its uneven tone (the linchpin of the plot has Boyer deceiving de Havilland as long as possible, which undermines their courtship sequences with a bit of sourness). Still, the look of the picture is fascinating, the art direction and cinematography vivid and memorable...and, as always, Olivia plays a simple, goodhearted woman like nobody's business; she simply glows in roles such as this. Boyer is also fine--though, because of the mechanics of the plot, he isn't terribly sympathetic. Adapted from Ketti Frings' (then-unsold) novel, "Memo to a Movie Producer" by Oscar-nominated screenwriters Charles Brackett and Billy Wilder; de Havilland also received a nomination, as did the film as Best Picture. A gem. *** from ****

Neil Doyle Charles Boyer, Olivia de Havilland and Paulette Goddard deserve high praise for their performances in this poignant and touching slice of Americana from Mitchell Leisen (who later directed de Havilland in 'To Each His Own'). Basically the story of a European gigolo (Boyer) who wants to get into the United States without a long wait in Mexico. His girlfriend and ex-dancing partner (Paulette Goddard) convinces him to marry an unsuspecting American schoolteacher (de Havilland)in order to gain fast entry before ditching her. Colorful supporting characters come to life--most notably Walter Abel as an immigration officer and Rosemary de Camp as a pregnant woman who wants her child born in the U.S. Boyer narrates the story to a film director (Mitchell Leisen) and we see the story unfold in flashback from his point of view. Excellent work by all concerned. My only complaint is the abrupt ending--which I understand was a result of trouble with Boyer who wanted certain scenes rewritten--a final scene between him and de Havilland would have been preferable to what seems like a letdown for the finale. As it is, it looks like choppy editing before "The End" flashes on the screen. Still, a romantic drama with an abundant amount of dry humor and some crackling dialogue by Paulette Goddard who sparkles in her role as "the other woman". Her confrontation scene with the schoolteacher is one of the highlights of the film. De Havilland was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for this, but lost to her sister, Joan Fontaine, for 'Suspicion'.