Released in february of 1941. Europe was already fighting the germans, but the united states hadn't entered the battlefield yet in a big way. The world's longest prologue tells us that this is the story of german refugees in the surrounding countries of europe, without any papers. They are constantly on the move, to avoid being arrested or returned to germany. Kern and steiner (glenn ford, fred march) are two such guys, who just want to work, but must keep moving on from place to place. Ruth, also a refugee (margaret sullavan) befriends kern, and they seem to hit it off. Some familiar faces: erich von stroheim is brenner, an agent in the german secret police, trying to get information on the refugees. Sig ruman is ammers. Bernard gorcey (leo gorcey's real dad... was in many of his bowery boy films) is the carnival barker... has about two lines. It's quite the two hour tale. The ups and down of political refugees during wartime, although in this film, it seems like there's a lot of fun, too much light humor to really get the sense of what the men are going through. I guess life must go on. Film was nominated for best music. Directed by john cromwell...he made some biggies... algiers, anna and the king. Film based on the novel by erich remarque. He had also written "all quiet on the western front", a huge hit in 1930, and was remade so many times. Sadly, sullavan died young at 50, from an overdose.
Review of So Ends Our Night
