In 1940, John Sidney Howard (Monty Woolley) is on a fishing trip in France when the Germans invade. He is asked by the Cavanaghs, an English diplomatic couple serving in nearby Switzerland, to take their two children, Ronnie and Sheila (Roddy McDowell and Peggy Ann Garner) back to England on his return trip.
Howard agrees, but the trip doesn't go as planned. Their train to Paris is stopped, they take a bus, but are strafed on the road by German fighters. Along the way, several more children join the group, including a French girl, a deaf boy, and a Dutch boy, and Howard finds himself serving as a "Pied Piper," leading these young refugees to safety.
Towards the end of the journey, they are captured by the Nazis, and imprisoned in a castle dungeon. Howard must deal with Major Diessen (Otto Preminger, in his premiere role as a film actor), a Nazi commander who suspects Howard of being an English spy. Fortunately - wouldn't you know it? - Diessen just happens to have a half-Jewish niece and needs Howard to smuggle her out of Germany.
This movie is slightly dated today, but still enjoyable. It's more of a fable than an actual wartime drama. (In real life, a Nazi commander like Major Diessen would have no hesitation about torturing the children to make Howard confess to spying.)
Still, the performances make the film work. Monty Woolley plays Howard as a grumpy old Englishman, and gives the film a lighthearted tone, which he keeps all the way to the end. Roddy McDowell and Peggy Ann Garner ("A Tree Grows In Brooklyn") do well in their roles. They are not bratty children, but well-defined characters.
Woolley and McDowell have an ongoing argument in the film over whether Rochester is a city or a state in America. Later on, Major Diessen asks Howard if he can arrange to have Diessen's half-Jewish niece sent to America, where she can live with Diessen's brother, who just happens to live in - guess where!
Anne Baxter appears as a young French woman who was the sweetheart of Howard's late son, an R.A.F. pilot recently killed in combat. Now, she helps Howard to smuggle the children across Nazi-occupied France. Baxter has scenes in this movie that show off her acting talent, which would bring her an Oscar in a few years.
Aside from the slightly trite story, the movie's only flaws are sins of omission. The characters in this film are good enough that we want *more* from them. For example, the grief that John Sidney Howard feels over his late son's death could have been better developed, and would have added more weight to his character.
Also, the two English children, Ronnie and Sheila, speak French and Dutch, and occasionally serve as interpreters for the other children in the group, but this "translating" relationship could have been developed even more. And never once does Howard say the one line that he *should* say in this movie: "With all these children, I feel like the Pied Piper!"
From what I can see, the only reason this movie hasn't yet been released on DVD is because Monty Woolley was never a big star, and is largely forgotten today. But he was a good actor.
Howard agrees, but the trip doesn't go as planned. Their train to Paris is stopped, they take a bus, but are strafed on the road by German fighters. Along the way, several more children join the group, including a French girl, a deaf boy, and a Dutch boy, and Howard finds himself serving as a "Pied Piper," leading these young refugees to safety.
Towards the end of the journey, they are captured by the Nazis, and imprisoned in a castle dungeon. Howard must deal with Major Diessen (Otto Preminger, in his premiere role as a film actor), a Nazi commander who suspects Howard of being an English spy. Fortunately - wouldn't you know it? - Diessen just happens to have a half-Jewish niece and needs Howard to smuggle her out of Germany.
This movie is slightly dated today, but still enjoyable. It's more of a fable than an actual wartime drama. (In real life, a Nazi commander like Major Diessen would have no hesitation about torturing the children to make Howard confess to spying.)
Still, the performances make the film work. Monty Woolley plays Howard as a grumpy old Englishman, and gives the film a lighthearted tone, which he keeps all the way to the end. Roddy McDowell and Peggy Ann Garner ("A Tree Grows In Brooklyn") do well in their roles. They are not bratty children, but well-defined characters.
Woolley and McDowell have an ongoing argument in the film over whether Rochester is a city or a state in America. Later on, Major Diessen asks Howard if he can arrange to have Diessen's half-Jewish niece sent to America, where she can live with Diessen's brother, who just happens to live in - guess where!
Anne Baxter appears as a young French woman who was the sweetheart of Howard's late son, an R.A.F. pilot recently killed in combat. Now, she helps Howard to smuggle the children across Nazi-occupied France. Baxter has scenes in this movie that show off her acting talent, which would bring her an Oscar in a few years.
Aside from the slightly trite story, the movie's only flaws are sins of omission. The characters in this film are good enough that we want *more* from them. For example, the grief that John Sidney Howard feels over his late son's death could have been better developed, and would have added more weight to his character.
Also, the two English children, Ronnie and Sheila, speak French and Dutch, and occasionally serve as interpreters for the other children in the group, but this "translating" relationship could have been developed even more. And never once does Howard say the one line that he *should* say in this movie: "With all these children, I feel like the Pied Piper!"
From what I can see, the only reason this movie hasn't yet been released on DVD is because Monty Woolley was never a big star, and is largely forgotten today. But he was a good actor.