A guy who has skipped across France stealing jewels and bedding dames while his countrymen are eating pastries and waving white flags all of a sudden decides to sacrifice himself? And the cop who has pursued him for half is career buys into the scheme?
I don't think so.
Flynn is devastatingly handsome here. That opening closeup. Look at that hair, man. And those features. Compare that to the Garbo wig he wore in Captain Blood, not to mention the silent-era makeup they slapped on him.
Flynn's performance is decent, but he didn't convince me he was a doomed man. Lukas was one-note. Ultimately this movie is too obviously plotted, from A all the way to B. Anybody who can't see the ending coming within the opening five minutes is very naive about how movies worked during the war.
The God mumbo-jumbo made it nearly unbearable.
The most realistic character is the old lady who brushes off the bloviating priest who preaches sacrifice, and then she asks one of the old geezers to pretend to be the saboteur to save 100 young Frenchies. Of course they all decline. Those pastries aren't going to eat themselves.
I can see why it bombed. I doubt there were 10 people in America who gave a shyt about France, even in 1944. Never mind dropping a nickle on a matinee to see this ending.
I don't think so.
Flynn is devastatingly handsome here. That opening closeup. Look at that hair, man. And those features. Compare that to the Garbo wig he wore in Captain Blood, not to mention the silent-era makeup they slapped on him.
Flynn's performance is decent, but he didn't convince me he was a doomed man. Lukas was one-note. Ultimately this movie is too obviously plotted, from A all the way to B. Anybody who can't see the ending coming within the opening five minutes is very naive about how movies worked during the war.
The God mumbo-jumbo made it nearly unbearable.
The most realistic character is the old lady who brushes off the bloviating priest who preaches sacrifice, and then she asks one of the old geezers to pretend to be the saboteur to save 100 young Frenchies. Of course they all decline. Those pastries aren't going to eat themselves.
I can see why it bombed. I doubt there were 10 people in America who gave a shyt about France, even in 1944. Never mind dropping a nickle on a matinee to see this ending.