They Raid by Night

Yes, the production values are lacking. Yes, there are abundant plot holes -- however, for a Poverty Row war movie from the 1940s, the movie is actually not half bad. While there are numerous shots of stock footage and people walking in to poorly painted curtains doubling for the winter-bound grandeur that is Norway, the acting is better than one would expect in a movie of the genre. The writing seems to be a half-tick better than the average fare of the time and genre. The fellow playing the Nazi commander isn't the normal "one note" evil Nazi so often seen both then and later in such movies. The fellow playing the chief commando on the raid is fairly effective, if not entirely believable in the part.

All in all, I recommend it for those who are World War II buffs and have 70 minutes to kill.

Granted "They Raid By Night" is not one of the best films of 1942, but it certainly is not the worst. Lyle Talbot and Charley Rogers turn in good performances unlike the rest of the cast. Talbot who had been in many "A" pictures for Warner Brothers/First National in the 1930s was now appearing in "B" pictures in the 1940s through no fault of his own. He was one of the founders of the Screen Actors Guild and the studios frowned on that and punished him, making it difficult for him to find work with the majors. One reviewer states the "film stars a man well acquainted with B-movies, Lyle Talbot" as though it was due to his lack of talent, which is not the case. The reviewer goes on to write that the film " not especially watchable-especially when there are so many better films like it already. This is clearly NOT another "Heroes of Tellemark"! Dumb and unconvincing." Unfortunately, he incorrectly spelled the title of the film he is citing. It is "Telemark" and Rotten Tomatoes gave the "Heroes of Telemark" a 67% rating and an average rating of 6.10/10, which is makes it fairly average.

Lyle Talbot leads a commando mission to occupied Norway to get a Norwegian general out of a POW camp. Opposing him is Victor Varconi as the local German Kommandant.

This PRC production has all the hallmarks of people trying to save money, including using drawn postcards as setting shots. The commando group is the most incompetent bunch of such I have ever seen. They are spotted within a couple of minutes, rescued by a blind man, and eventually leave him to stand guard with a gun over their prisoners.

The director is Spencer Gordon Bennett, who spent a good deal of the sound era directing serials. I am not expert on those, but of his features, I have yet to see one worth watching. Despite this, he continued to direct into the 1960s. I suppose he was cheap.

This is a war movie which is about occupied area.

The surface plot of three Allied men on a mission in the occupied area to rescue a general is a smokescreen for the real story.

The real story comes with the clever writing, writing so clever that even today many people don't notice it, but very evident to those with writing experience.

The real story is the people of the occupied area, and what they go through. The chief characters on the surface go through the usual cat and mouse game of espionage.

Meanwhile, the civilian characters, notably three of them, a blind man, a beautiful woman, and a toady, show what life is like for them, and what their aspirations are. The entire film is really about them, but it is so cleverly written that it isn't seen by many people.

It is well thought out and entertaining as well. It flows much better than about any movie you find today. Thumbs up.

Lyle Talbot (as Robert "Bob" Owen) fights Nazis in Norway, during World War II. Helping him out are native son George N. Neise (as Erik Falken) and British wisecracker Charley Rogers (as Harry Hall). Mr. Neise's old acquaintance June Duprez (as Inga Beckering) adds femininity and intrigue to the cast. Once engaged to Neise, Ms. Duprez has hooked up with properly accented Victor Varconi (as Otto von Ritter). Mr. Varconi gets the line, "My men have vays of making you talk." Spencer Gordon Bennet's "They Raid by Night", subtitled "A Story of the Commandos", features a very catchy theme song, and is good for a few unexpectedly good laughs.

** They Raid by Night (6/19/42) Spencer Gordon Bennet ~ Lyle Talbot, June Duprez, Victor Varconi, George N. Neise