This film was a powerful indictment of the growing Nazi menace designed as a warning to wake up a complacent America which was steeped in isolationism at the time. MGM had been avoiding making such films, although Warner Brothers had made several that overtly criticized fascism by 1940.
The film opens with the 60th birthday party of an imminent German professor. His wife, two stepsons, and his son and daughter are at the table. This happy family moment is meant to contrast with the rest of the film, which is a downhill slide into intolerance and fear from that point forward, as Adolph Hitler is named chancellor of Germany that very night.
Margaret Sullavan plays the professor's grown daughter, engaged to Robert Young who turns out to be a fanatical party member who sees obeying as a duty above all else. James Stewart is the family friend and geeky guy who loves Sullavan's character from afar and also loves democracy and hates bullies - things that will get you in trouble in 1930s Germany. The role of the Jewish college professor who refuses to bend his teaching to suit government beliefs is probably the best of Frank Morgan's career. It's a good serious role for someone so often relegated to the comic relief at MGM.
Other people have said that the word "Germany" is never used, but I am almost sure I heard it. For sure, everything else said certainly indicates without doubt that this is the country that is being talked about. The one thing the film does not do is mention the Jews specifically and the danger that they are in under the new regime. The closest the film comes is Sullavan's character talking to Robert Young about "her people".
The film is a powerful one, and includes a good but brief supporting role for Maria Ouspenskaya as the mother of James Stewart's character. She is no frail old woman - she knows what is at stake and what she is up against. You get the feeling she has seen authoritarian governments come and go before.
Highly recommended - it packs a powerful and heart rending punch.
The film opens with the 60th birthday party of an imminent German professor. His wife, two stepsons, and his son and daughter are at the table. This happy family moment is meant to contrast with the rest of the film, which is a downhill slide into intolerance and fear from that point forward, as Adolph Hitler is named chancellor of Germany that very night.
Margaret Sullavan plays the professor's grown daughter, engaged to Robert Young who turns out to be a fanatical party member who sees obeying as a duty above all else. James Stewart is the family friend and geeky guy who loves Sullavan's character from afar and also loves democracy and hates bullies - things that will get you in trouble in 1930s Germany. The role of the Jewish college professor who refuses to bend his teaching to suit government beliefs is probably the best of Frank Morgan's career. It's a good serious role for someone so often relegated to the comic relief at MGM.
Other people have said that the word "Germany" is never used, but I am almost sure I heard it. For sure, everything else said certainly indicates without doubt that this is the country that is being talked about. The one thing the film does not do is mention the Jews specifically and the danger that they are in under the new regime. The closest the film comes is Sullavan's character talking to Robert Young about "her people".
The film is a powerful one, and includes a good but brief supporting role for Maria Ouspenskaya as the mother of James Stewart's character. She is no frail old woman - she knows what is at stake and what she is up against. You get the feeling she has seen authoritarian governments come and go before.
Highly recommended - it packs a powerful and heart rending punch.