The Cross of Lorraine (1943)

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dombrewer
It seems very strange to begin with that the cast of characters assembled to play French prisoners of war in this WW2 drama include French actors like Jean-Pierre Aumont and then Americans and Brits like Hume Cronyn, Cedric Hardwicke and Gene Kelly. Never mind - they're all French, and most refreshingly it is Aumont who ends up having the central role of the gentle lawyer forced into a position as translator for the Nazis and potentially his comrades' saviour rather than Kelly. Both are excellent however, as are the rest of the strong cast including Peter Lorre as one of the sadistic guards. For a film made during the height of the war it really pulls no punches and doesn't flinch away from the atrocities and even draws attention to the fact that being a POW in a Nazi camp was as good as a death sentence -as one character chillingly comments the Germans are likely to turn them all into soap. It owes a debt to Renoir's "La Grande Illusion", no bad thing, but builds to an exciting and explosive climax. It's extremely underrated and is probably one of the best American war films of the 40s - see it if you can. 11 years 6 months ago