Fifty Years of Film in 50 Weeks, #20: Escape, 1940

"This is far and away the most dramatic and hair-raising picture yet made on the sinister subject of persecution in a totalitarian land, and the suspense which it manages to compress in its moments of greatest intensity would almost seem enough to blow sizable holes in the screen." (from the 1940 NY Times review by Bosley Crowther.)

Escape, 1940

Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Writers: Arch Oboler and Marguerite Roberts, from a novel by Grace Zaring Stone
Cinematographer: Robert H. Planck
Produced by: Mervyn LeRoy and Lawrence Weingarten for MGM
Starring: Norma Shearer, Robert Taylor, Conrad Veidt, Nazimova, Felix Bressart, Albert Bassermann, Philip Dorn, Bonita Granville

Why I chose it
This one was recommended by two film friends. It was a tough choice, but I was in the mood for an MGM film with one of the "Queens" of MGM, Norma Shearer. Considering WWII was underway in Europe and looming for the US in 1940, it seemed appropriate to pick a war-themed adventure.

'No-spoiler' plot overview 
Mark Preysing (Robert Taylor) is an American who travels to Bavaria in 1936 to meet up with his actress mother Emmy Ritter (Nazimova), who as a German citizen had come back several years before to settle her husband's estate. What Mark learns, after considerable trouble, is that his mother has been captured by the Nazis and placed in a concentration camp because of perceived financial irregularities. He enlists the aid of a friendly doctor and local friends, along with the Countess von Treck, formerly an American, to navigate the hostile regime, personified by the Countess's boyfriend General von Kolb (Conrad Veidt), to get his mother out of Germany before she is executed for her "crimes." With the help of the doctor, they induce a death-like coma to try to smuggle Emmy out in a coffin. Complications ensue.

Production Background 
This film was the second of the year MGM star Robert Taylor made with director LeRoy; the first was the fan favorite Waterloo Bridge, another war-themed drama, with the emphasis on the romance. His romantic partner here, MGM queen Norma Shearer, was looking to end her acting career and was just finishing out her contract. Filling out the cast were several actors who had recently fled Germany: Conrad Veidt, whom LeRoy had pursued vigorously for the role of the General; Albert Bassermann, who made his Hollywood debut in 1940 and was cast in six films, including Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent also in 1940; Felix Bressart, a reliable character actor playing parts calling for a European; and Philip Dorn, who worked in Germany but was originally from the Netherlands. Hitler banned the movie for its antagonistic stance towards his regime, and later banned all MGM films.

Some other notable film-related events in 1940 (from Filmsite.org):

• Disney's groundbreaking Fantasia (1940), an outgrowth of the "Silly Symphony" series, was comprised of classical music pieces and matching animation. The film received a special certificate at the 1941 Academy Awards for its revolutionary Fantasound (early stereo or 'surround-sound').
• Vaudeville and radio stars Abbott and Costello made their big-screen film debut in One Night in the Tropics (1940). However, the two comics were not the major stars of the film, but just minor contract players (they reprised some of their famous stage acts, including a rudimentary "Who's on First"). 
• Actor/director/producer/writer/composer Charlie Chaplin released his first "all-talking, all-sound" feature film, The Great Dictator (1940). Charlie Chaplin was the first to ever receive three simultaneous nominations, as producer, actor, and screenwriter for the film. 
• Walter Brennan became the first performer to win three Academy Awards for acting with his win in 1940. He won Best Supporting Actor for his performances in alternating years, for Come and Get It (1936), Kentucky (1938), and The Westerner (1940).
• The musical Down Argentine Way (1940) featured the first starring role for Betty Grable. It also featured Don Ameche and Carmen Miranda in her US film debut.

My Random Observations

• Escape grabbed my interest from the opening, in which we see Nazimova as Emmy Ritter prostrate in the hospital ward of a concentration camp. She's desperate but indignant and not afraid to mock her captors. Her heartreading emoting sets the tone for the film. 
• Norma Shearer played her usual heroine combining elegance and pathos, but she seemed especially subtle here, especially when dealing with her Nazi lover (Veidt). I was delighted to find this tidbit: in his book The American Cinema, critic and writer Andrew Sarris briefly analyzes and categorizes the work of directors during the Golden Age, and places Mervyn LeRoy in the "lightly likeable" category. While he mostly points out his perceived flaws, Sarris singles out LeRoy's direction of Norma Shearer and Conrad Veidt's scenes together as a career high point. 
• Is our hero Mark Preysing's naivete typical of the American public at the time? His mother is German, and yet he seems shocked everytime he faces examples of the totalitarianism and threats of the Nazi regime. I found it a stretch that it took him so long to realize he was facing tall odds to break his death-row Mom free. Of course, my twenty-first century perspective may warp my expectations of how characters behave in these situations. 
• I need to see more of Philip Dorn's work; as the sympathetic doctor he was quietly charismatic. Despite his soft, friendly features, you never were sure he could be trusted. 
• Overall, a compelling film, that despite some implausible plot developments and coincidences, captures the ominessness of the Nazi regime on the verge of the U.S. entry into WWII. I'm rather surprised it isn't better known. It's not a classic like Casablanca, but it's aided by innovative visuals and the committed performances of the leads and the European emigres.

Screenshots

The doctor (Philip Dorn) tells captured Emmy Ritter (Nazimova)
that he may be able to help get a message to her son.

Preysing (Robert Taylor) encounters his first unfriendly Nazi.

Dr. Henning (Albert Bassermann) struggles to tell Preysing
he needs to abandon the search for his mother.

Preysing walks into a Nazi minefield looking for his mother.

I love the position of the Nazi symbol here.

A winter scene in small-town Bavaria: Preysing meets the 
Countess.

The General holds his teenage girl audience captive with
his charm and storytelling skills.

The Countess and the General in a relationship reckoning.

You know it's love when the Countess blows off the town 
parade to have tea with Mark Preysing in an empty cafe.

An awkward situation at the opera when your American escort is 
under suspicion by the Gestapo and you have to introduce him around.

The Doctor has an unusual interest in Preysing's business,
but all can be settled over a couple of beers.

Old friend Fritz Keller (Felix Bressart) tries to talk 
sense into Preysing.

Preysing plays solitaire to calm his nerves when the Nazi guards
at the next table decide he needs their company.

Let's make sure that Emmy Ritter is really in that coffin!

Bonita Granville (right) plays her usual venomous teen role
while the Countess tries to be nonchalant.

The General grills Preysing while a concerned Countess
contemplates how she'll get out of this jam.

Mother and son together--things are looking up.

Where to Watch

The film isn't available on any of the usual streaming services, but is released on DVD in the Warner Bros. Archive line. I borrowed a copy from a friend.

Further Reading
Read the TCM article here, full of production tidbits as usual.
The full text of Bosley Crowther's NY Times review is here.

Dramatic actors go all screwball in IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER

This is a first in a series of posts honoring Ms. Olivia de Havilland, one of the great ladies of classic cinema, who is celebrating her 100th birthday this year.

So, you have Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, and Olivia de Havilland in a film, and you end up with ... a screwball comedy?  Well, if the movie gets made in 1937 and all three stars are coming off dramatic roles, perhaps it's understandable. The movie is IT'S LOVE I'M AFTER.

In looking for an early and lesser known film of Ms. De Havilland's to watch for the first time, I came across this one and was delighted.  All three stars are up to the comic demands of their roles, and despite a bit of over-the-top silliness (not altogether unexpected), I highly recommend the film.  It's on DVD from the Warner Archive label.

Leslie Howard, who I've only recently seen outside GONE WITH THE WIND where I find him sadly miscast, is a revelation here.  He is in full ham mode as celebrated Shakespearean stage actor who is a stereotypical egotist and in love, although constantly engaged in a snipe-fest with, his leading lady Bette Davis.  He prances and poses throughout the film but retains our sympathy while we laugh at him.  As for Ms. Davis, her role could be considered a warm up for, or younger version of, her Margo Channing in 1950's ALL ABOUT EVE. Ms. de Havilland is perfect as the young innocent who develops a consuming crush on Howard just by watching him act.  She is beyond lovely; her luminous beauty and infatuation are both depicted in the shot in which we see her for the first time watching Romeo's death scene:

"Oh Romeo, drop that poison right now and run away with ME!"

Her frustrated fiance, played straight by a handsome but somewhat wooden Patric Knowles, looks on, not anticipating the lengths he's about to go on trying to win back her affections.

Directed by Archie Mayo, the screenplay makes the most of propelling the plot forward by overtly incorporating plots and dialogue from contemporary and Shakespearean plays.  Shakespearean dialogue is also injected with insults when the dead Romeo whispers to his hovering Juliet that she has been eating too many onions again.  A play called "A Lover's Triangle" forms the framework of the plot as Howard agrees to Knowles' plan to drive de Havilland back into her fiance's arms by playing the cad and wreaking havoc after moving into her home as a barely-invited guest.  Eric Blore as the butler (!) has an unusually large role and makes the best of it, always in an advanced state of frustration trying to keep Howard from indulging the lesser angels of his nature.  His comic energy most often comes from bouncing off of Howard, and is at its apex in a scene where he acts and sounds out different types of birds to keep Howard in line (interestingly TimeOut London calls his performance 'execrable'):

Davis is trying to figure out why Eric Blore is doing jumping jacks while making bird calls at a refined garden party.

Apparently this project was initiated by Howard, who wanted to have some fun after several dramatic roles including in THE PETRIFIED FOREST, also with Bette Davis.  Warner Bros. had to put pressure on Davis to work with Howard again, as their relationship was rocky, and who had also wanted some vacation time after an exhausting year of dramatic roles.  Ms. de Havilland was on her way up, and, unfortunately, had to fend off the advances of Howard quite vociferously during filming.  With two beautiful leading ladies, clearly Howard was enjoying every second of the attention he was getting.

Notable tidbits to recommend the film:
--Likability of the three main characters
--Terrific comic ensemble scenes.  There is a scene early on where Howard noisily pushes his way into de Havilland's mansion in the middle of the night and is going on loudly about how raised is his 'ire', when all the servants think they hear "FIRE" and come to the rescue with filled water buckets.  [Ok, I guess you just have to trust me on that one.]
--Apparently men in tights were a thing to contemporary women of the time:  a joke is made near the end of the movie about how women love to see male actors wearing this kind of costume.  Uh huh, yeah.
--A film inside joke (and GWTW connection) when de Havilland claims how she had a crush on Clark Gable (!) before the one on Howard's character. "I was in love with Clark Gable last year and if I can get over him I can get over you!" "Who's Clark Gable?"

What I disliked:
--Bonita Granville overplayed her signature spoiled brat part and should have been dialed down several notches, even if this was a screwball.
--Not enough George Barbier, who played de Havilland's exasperated father with perfection, or Spring Byington, as her mother.
--As mentioned earlier, Patric Knowles comes across too wooden here for my taste.
--Eric Blore's extreme characterization - at times - would have bothered me more if not for how well he worked with Howard.

Here are a few key moments from the film:

Romeo (Howard) and Juliet (Davis) battling over who gets the first curtain call

Howard strikes a dramatic pose as he contemplates the next move in his complicated love life

Blore as Howard's faithful, if continually frustrated, conscience

Knowles is dismayed when de Havilland seems unfazed by Howard's caddish ways

George Barbier is at his wits end thanks to his daughter's fascination for uninvited houseguest Howard

Howard tells de Havilland she has too many moles(!)

"Remember, my darling, 'all the world's a stage'"