Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Steineded How sad is this?

Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Rosie Searle It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

boblipton One of the titles this movie played under is AT DAWN WE DIE; confusingly, another is TOMORROW WE LIVE. It's directed by George King, who made his mark with cheap quota quickies in the 1930s, most notably the Tod Slaughter melodramas; it stars John Clements, the distinguished stage actor-manager, whose best-known movie role was as Harry Faversham in the great 1939 THE FOUR FEATHERS. That was British film making in the War, when the cinematic world turned upside down, and this story of how Clements wandered into town and found himself in the middle of underground operations and sabotage that was invariably forewarned with the Cross of Lorraine (the symbol of the Free French), drives everyone crazy.It's certainly not a subtle movie on any terms; the mystery, of who was actually in charge of the Resistance in town and who were the collaborators were easy to figure out, simply by assuming this would hit every stereotype of the genre. Yet I found it carried out with such easy confidence in its competent cast, that it rolled right along, as easily as any American movie of the period. If you're in the mood for one of those movies with evil Nazis, freedom-loving Frenchmen who face a firing squad singing "Le Marseillaise" and the inevitable triumph of good over evil, this should fit the bill.

JohnHowardReid Script continuity: Katherine Strueby. Made with the co-operation of General De Gaulle. Associate producer: John Stafford. Producer: George King. Executive producer: S.W. Smith. A British Aviation Production. (Available on a very good, full-length Odeon DVD).Copyright 20 March 1943 in the USA by Republic Pictures Corp. New York opening at the Abbey: 7 May 1943. U.K. release through British Lion: 5 April 1943. London trade show: December 1942. Australian release through G.B.D./20th Century-Fox: 31 March 1944. 7,882 feet. 87½ minutes. Cut to 78 minutes in the U.S.A.U.S. release title: AT DAWN WE DIE.SYNOPSIS: The daughter of a French mayor poses as a collaborator to allow a spy to escape to England with vital U-boat information.COMMENT: Although allegedly based on a true story, the plot follows a well-grooved path. Greta Gynt makes a surprisingly charming and attractive heroine. But John Clements is most unbelievable, while Godfrey Tearle seems unaccountably to be doing a masquerade part with a dubbed voice! Some of the other players are better, particularly and surprisingly Stepanek, who makes up for his late entrance with a full-blooded if conventional portrait of a sarcastic, sadistic villain. Sinclair is as unconvincing as usual, but Wendhausen is ideally cast and one is sorry when he is killed.However, too much of Yvonne Arnaud's French-type mother-figure doesn't help. The film would certainly benefit by some astute cutting, though the action scenes are fine. Direction, while mostly routine, does have occasional flashes of style. Photography is first-class, and so is art direction. Production values, despite the obvious use of models in some sequences, are quite fair.

Leofwine_draca TOMORROW WE LIVE is an odd and obscure little wartime thriller that was made slap bang in the middle of WW2 when an Allied victory was hardly assured. Thus the film serves as something of a propaganda movie particularly in its depiction of the French resistance tirelessly fighting against the Nazi oppressors in occupied France. The movie was made with the cooperation of the Charles de Gaulle government (exiled in London at the time) and thus in itself serves as an important historical document of its time.It's also a pretty good thriller and as with many resistance thrillers there's plenty of suspense inherent in the proceedings. While the settings and characters might scream 'ALLO 'ALLO a bit, there's an air of authenticity to the proceedings and a cast of actors all of whom give it their best in their roles. John Clements headlines as Jean Baptiste, a man desperately trying to avoid the Nazis and escape to Britain. Greta Gynt bags the most interesting part as the daughter of a loyal mayor with a few dark secrets of her own. The likes of Herbert Lom and Walter Gotell have little early career cameos. TOMORROW WE LIVE is the kind of film that just gets better as it goes on, building to a climax which is equally thrilling and moving.

malcolmgsw Somewhat out of the blue this wartime resistance drama has recently surfaced on Movies4Men.It is one of numerous similar films made around the same time of the war eg Flemish Farm,Freedom Radio which purported to show to English audiences what it was like to live in Occupied Europe.One wonders at this remove what their purpose was.Were they just rousing adventure stories or were they meant to show to the English audiences just how beastly the Nazis were and how the occupied nations were resisting them.I suppose the one standout of this film is the performance of Yvonne Arnaud.She is truly head and shoulders above the rest of the cast.This film is reasonably entertaining and worth a viewing