Always liked both of the principals here, especially Leslie Howard. And this could have been a good war story with the premise of two old buddies reunited in a POW camp and plotting an escape. But it started to lose me when it unfolded, as it turns out that one cuckolded the other when one was pressed into service. Played impeccably by Leslie Howard, Capt. Allison pines for the bride he left behind, which stirs guilt in his best friend, Lt. Digby (Fairbanks), who had an affair with his wife.
Howard carries the picture and Fairbanks is not up to the task as the co-respondent and not in the same acting class with Howard. Fairbanks overreacts each time Howard talks about his wife, and a child could tell something was not right between the two. There is additionally a surreal air about the POW camp, as the men were allowed to build facsimiles of country cottages on the grounds of the camp to simulate home. This fanciful idea was granted by the commandant of the camp, played by a benign Paul Lukas. A couple of rousing fight scenes, but the story was tainted by the aforementioned flaws.
5/10 - The website no longer prints my star ratings.
Howard carries the picture and Fairbanks is not up to the task as the co-respondent and not in the same acting class with Howard. Fairbanks overreacts each time Howard talks about his wife, and a child could tell something was not right between the two. There is additionally a surreal air about the POW camp, as the men were allowed to build facsimiles of country cottages on the grounds of the camp to simulate home. This fanciful idea was granted by the commandant of the camp, played by a benign Paul Lukas. A couple of rousing fight scenes, but the story was tainted by the aforementioned flaws.
5/10 - The website no longer prints my star ratings.