Reunion in France

Reunion in France (1942)

First important fact: this movie, about the first year of WWII when Hitler took over France, was released a month before "Casablanca." It does not compare in most ways with the drama, the humor, the writing, the music, the velocity, and the legendary actors of the more famous movie. But it is a very good movie with an interesting early pro-American, pro-French message. Joan Crawford crackles as much as she can in a topsy turvy role, going from spoiled and frivolous rich woman Michele de la Becque to (briefly) a refugee to, finally, an ordinary woman fighting with all her heart for France.

There are two male actors with important roles and they couldn't be more different. One is Michele's lover and fiancé, played with a cultured perfection by Philip Dorn, a Dutch actor who pulls off the pan-Euro, mostly French aristocrat and businessman well. Opposite him in every way is the homey, tough, humble American who shows up halfway through the film, John Wayne. I don't know if this really makes sense in the film, but I can see it on paper, since Wayne played a non-cowboy merchant seaman in the terrific John Ford film which prefigures this one in some ways, "The Long Voyage Home." He doesn't seem as wily and smart as a fugitive from the Nazis would have to be, behind the lines in occupied Paris, but he at least plays the role of an ordinary American ready to help the French, and this is the political message throughout.

In fact, the movie borders on a brilliant propaganda device, putting message ahead of plot now and then, just perceptibly. Crawford is so good even her speeches make a convincing case, and I'm assuming American audiences cheered her on by December of 1942 when it was released (on Christmas day). The scenes of the Germans taking over Paris are always horrifying, and they are again here. There is even a deliberate homage to Soviet director Eisenstein when a baby carriage runs off after the mother is killed by gunfire.

But back to "Casablanca." It's an interesting problem to solve, feeding the American audience worried about the war and about U.S. involvement. Because Hollywood was both a symptom of public opinion and a shaper of it, and these are two rather different kinds of films with very similar messages. Director Jules Dassin, who is not French but American, had just started making films in 1941, and there is a sense of expertise at the expense of intuitive magic. "Reunion in France" is strong, smart, and convincing. But it doesn't sizzle or build the aura of the time like it could. And yet, in its defense, it has no perspective at all on the events, since it was made while they were unfolding, even before they were unfolding since it has to anticipate to some extent how the film will settle six months after being written and shot. Watch it. It's really good.

If this slick MGM film had only been intelligently cast, it might have earned a 7 or possibly even an 8. However, it seems that when it came to assembling a cast, the powers that be put the names of actors on a roulette wheel and just spun it--as the final casting decision just made no sense at all. The first and biggest mistake was having Joan Crawford play a French lady. It was very odd that all the other French men and women had correct accents but Ms. Crawford didn't even try to sound or act the least bit French. She was simply way outside her range. Second, what numb-skull thought that pairing her with John Wayne would generate any sparks?! While he was not the only love interest for Crawford in the film, him pawing at her and kissing her just seemed weird and Joan seemed pretty uncomfortable with all this. There was just no way on this planet that such a pairing could occur!

As for the script, I really feel bad for the writers. They managed to create an exciting and different film to get the public behind the war effort. It was NOT a run-of-the-mill and showed some intelligence. But unfortunately all the nice machinations, decent dialog and exciting action got lost due to the casting and oddness of the final product. It's really too bad, but in the end this is just a time-passer and nothing more.

Crawford is excellent as a rich French bitch who discovers her patriotism and a slightly softer side to her character when Hitler invades France. John Wayne is the American flyer she gets involved with. The movie is "Reunion in France", a very early Jules Dassin, and it's a good one even if it does fall short of classic status. The plot involves Crawford's suspicions that her fiancée Philip Dorn is a Nazi collaborator, while at the same time helping Wayne escape from the Gestapo and Dassin rings a good deal of suspense from it. The first-rate supporting cast includes John Carradine, Albert Basserman, Henry Daniel, Reginald Owen and in a small and uncredited part of a salesgirl, an up-and-coming starlet called Ava Gardener.

With a storyline that feels like it was adapted from a sprawling novel, "Reunion in France" is a surprising film. Released during wartime, it details the hubris of the French nation, then the traitorous dealings of certain members of French society. The depressing storyline is contrasted with the unbreakable allegiance of Michele (Joan Crawford), a French socialite who never wavers in her love of France.

She meets an American (John Wayne) who is on the run from German authorities. Clearly, this is a predictable film of romantic intrigue set against the backdrop of Nazi occupation, not unlike "Casablanca".

But the impressive score by Franz Waxman, the fashions by Irene, and the script---with each line layered in double and triple meanings---imply something more. In the end, the film delivers a powerful message that audiences of 1942 would have embraced.

Strong performances abound in this film, including John Carradine, who slithers through every scene as a Gestapo officer. Watch for Howard Da Silva as Anton Stregel, Ava Gardner as a salesgirl, and Natalie Schafer (Gilligan's Mrs. Howell) as a self-absorbed opportunist.

I nearly stopped watching after the first fifteen minutes, but there is a reward for endurance.

This is not one of Crawford's better known films, but I was glad I caught it on TCM recently. I think Joan's character feels very believable. She starts out as a spoiled, entitled rich French girl who isn't really concerned about the world around her. The war changes her for the better and opens her eyes. But her background as a wealthy woman makes her believable when standing up to the Nazis. In her home, for instance, she never backs down - by gosh it's her freaking house! I like her spunk and it feels real because nothing really bad has every happened to her so she's not afraid of the Nazi intruders. She's more annoyed by them.

I liked it. Crawford it always entertaining to watch.