The title here is a bit of a come-on, as there is actually very little action and the script is inclined to be slow-moving. Also Paul Muni's character is not supplied with a direct motive for the commandant's murder. True, there is some tension, but less talk and more action would have helped. Fortunately, the movie starts well. The first ten minutes are really great. True, director John Farrow tries hard to keep building up suspense despite the handicaps of stilted dialog and miscasting in crucial roles - for instance, instead of playing the sadistic German commandant, George Macready plays the local schoolmaster! Actually, Alexander Knox would have been ideal in this role, but instead he is cast as the vicious German captain! This odd miscasting is shown up when it's Knox who says the chaplain's prayer before the commando raid, and Knox again who supplies the off-camera propaganda plug at the film's conclusion about corruption in high places.
Paul Muni tends to overact and is often indulgently shown in close- up where his penchant for eye-rolling gets full rein. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is surprisingly stiff as the admiral and Anna Lee makes a rather colorless daughter. Despite making a strained attempt to speak and look like a hearty Norwegian, Ray Collins, comes across strongly as the tortured Bergerson, but Lillian Gish plays his wife with an over-theatrical technique that approaches caricature.
Oddly enough, the most convincing performance comes from Flying Officer Robert Coote (though don't let this billing confuse you. Coote was a professional actor who had been making movies since 1931!)
The script is inclined to be slow-moving. The title, for instance, is a misnomer as there is very little action apart from the climactic raid.
Paul Muni tends to overact and is often indulgently shown in close- up where his penchant for eye-rolling gets full rein. Sir Cedric Hardwicke is surprisingly stiff as the admiral and Anna Lee makes a rather colorless daughter. Despite making a strained attempt to speak and look like a hearty Norwegian, Ray Collins, comes across strongly as the tortured Bergerson, but Lillian Gish plays his wife with an over-theatrical technique that approaches caricature.
Oddly enough, the most convincing performance comes from Flying Officer Robert Coote (though don't let this billing confuse you. Coote was a professional actor who had been making movies since 1931!)
The script is inclined to be slow-moving. The title, for instance, is a misnomer as there is very little action apart from the climactic raid.