Tons O' Spoilers Alert!!
This is a WWI prisoner of war film. It begins with allied soldiers (British, American and French) in a German internment camp for captured officers. Soon, one of the prisoners goes nuts and this sparks a deadly riot. In response, the Germans lock all the soldiers in a building and leave them there for weeks. Finally, out of desperation, the senior officer (Leslie Howard) makes a deal--the prisoners will stop offering resistance if the Germans let them out of the building and run it like a normal prison camp. SO, for a very long time in the film, a truce exists and all is well...and boring, as they're stuck until the war is finished.
In comes improbable incident #1. A man (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) who has fallen in love with the EXACT SAME WOMAN that Howard was in love with arrives in camp as a prisoner. Unlike those who are following the truce, he wants to escape desperately--and since his rival is in the camp with him, there's A LOT of incentive to do so. When Fairbanks eventually does escape, a local woman is found dead and it appears she was raped! This plot element clearly shows that this is a Pre-Code film--when such topics were still allowed and relatively common in films.
Because it appears that the escaped prisoner is a murderer/rapist, Howard signs a letter sent to Allied command--requesting the prisoner's return to face charges for this evil deed. Well, given that WWI was still occasionally fought as a 'gentlemanly war', the Allies force Fairbanks to return. The Germans sentence him to death and just before he is killed enters improbable incident #2 (perhaps 'impossible incident #1 is a better term)--a crazy man signs a confession that he and not Fairbanks had done the evil deed. But, knowing now that Fairbanks took his girlfriend away from him, Howard is torn--will he try to stop the execution or just stand back and get his revenge? Overall, the film has some very good acting and nice sets that look rather authentic. However, given the improbability of it all, as I said, you must suspend disbelief. If you can, it's worth seeing and definitely gets points for being original.
Super-Duper Spoiler to Follow: In the final scene where Leslie Howard is killed, watch him closely. After he's supposedly dead, you can see his eyebrow quickly move! I'm not sure how this got past the director or editor (and in many films this is the same person).
This is a WWI prisoner of war film. It begins with allied soldiers (British, American and French) in a German internment camp for captured officers. Soon, one of the prisoners goes nuts and this sparks a deadly riot. In response, the Germans lock all the soldiers in a building and leave them there for weeks. Finally, out of desperation, the senior officer (Leslie Howard) makes a deal--the prisoners will stop offering resistance if the Germans let them out of the building and run it like a normal prison camp. SO, for a very long time in the film, a truce exists and all is well...and boring, as they're stuck until the war is finished.
In comes improbable incident #1. A man (Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.) who has fallen in love with the EXACT SAME WOMAN that Howard was in love with arrives in camp as a prisoner. Unlike those who are following the truce, he wants to escape desperately--and since his rival is in the camp with him, there's A LOT of incentive to do so. When Fairbanks eventually does escape, a local woman is found dead and it appears she was raped! This plot element clearly shows that this is a Pre-Code film--when such topics were still allowed and relatively common in films.
Because it appears that the escaped prisoner is a murderer/rapist, Howard signs a letter sent to Allied command--requesting the prisoner's return to face charges for this evil deed. Well, given that WWI was still occasionally fought as a 'gentlemanly war', the Allies force Fairbanks to return. The Germans sentence him to death and just before he is killed enters improbable incident #2 (perhaps 'impossible incident #1 is a better term)--a crazy man signs a confession that he and not Fairbanks had done the evil deed. But, knowing now that Fairbanks took his girlfriend away from him, Howard is torn--will he try to stop the execution or just stand back and get his revenge? Overall, the film has some very good acting and nice sets that look rather authentic. However, given the improbability of it all, as I said, you must suspend disbelief. If you can, it's worth seeing and definitely gets points for being original.
Super-Duper Spoiler to Follow: In the final scene where Leslie Howard is killed, watch him closely. After he's supposedly dead, you can see his eyebrow quickly move! I'm not sure how this got past the director or editor (and in many films this is the same person).