If Joan Crawford had hopes of reviving her career at MGM following the successes of THE WOMEN and A WOMAN'S FACE, she was disillusioned once again and it shows in this badly produced Hollywood melodrama posing as a war film with its "patriotism" message. It's probably not her fault that she was being given such poor material - or better yet, material more suited for any of the given rising starlets of her time - it was clear that MGM wanted her out; Norma Shearer and Greta Garbo had reaped the benefits of the better scripts the previous decade and had retired, and actresses such as Greer Garson were on the rapid rise and literally forcing her out, and at thirty-eight, the Adrian seams were coming apart leaving her basically naked for the savaging.
But, professional as she reportedly was, she made this film about a Frenchwoman (with an American accent and fabulous dresses) coming to terms with her own patriotism once Nazi Germany invades Paris. It's just too bad that nowhere is there really an "antiwar sentiment" throughout the film, full of stock footage, bad editing, and fluff; if anything, the duplicity of her leading man (Phillip Dorn) as he portrays a collaborator to the Nazi's (but then it's revealed he's working covert, probably to add to the suspense) and then the appearance of John Wayne, of all people, playing an American aviator, was only for the sake of playing the worn out love triangle her films endlessly presented, and by the time this movie came around, it was basically over. One more film, ABOVE SUSPICION, would have her cancel out her contract to MGM and begin her Warner Bros. phase, which would be more productive.
But, professional as she reportedly was, she made this film about a Frenchwoman (with an American accent and fabulous dresses) coming to terms with her own patriotism once Nazi Germany invades Paris. It's just too bad that nowhere is there really an "antiwar sentiment" throughout the film, full of stock footage, bad editing, and fluff; if anything, the duplicity of her leading man (Phillip Dorn) as he portrays a collaborator to the Nazi's (but then it's revealed he's working covert, probably to add to the suspense) and then the appearance of John Wayne, of all people, playing an American aviator, was only for the sake of playing the worn out love triangle her films endlessly presented, and by the time this movie came around, it was basically over. One more film, ABOVE SUSPICION, would have her cancel out her contract to MGM and begin her Warner Bros. phase, which would be more productive.