carrps

This was actually entertaining. The acting was quite good, and there was suspense and humor. The pace was just right -- not too frenetic, but it moved right along. The low budget was betrayed mostly by the sets. The concentration camp was obviously left over from a Western cowboy movie set. Log cabin watch towers? Also, the entrance to the camp looked like something from "F Troop." When a plane takes off from a supposed Nazi airfield, the buildings around the field look suspiciously like the sound stages on movie lots.

I also noticed the Hans Gruber name -- it was actually the name of the stamp shop being used by the hero and the heroine's father to pass secret information.

I actually liked that the Nazi colonel's secretary (who was secretly in love him) was not the stereotype that I expected, and her role was not what I expected either.

I just thought of this movie and decided to check out IMDb. How wonderful to see that others had the same memories of this movie as I did. I was a little kid when I saw this movie (we had Million Dollar Movie in Los Angeles, too!), and I remembered crying for hours afterward. Although I haven't seen it since, it still sticks in my mind. Please! Whoever! Get this movie out on DVD!

Interestingly, I don't remember Natalie Wood being in the movie. I was so young when I saw it, she hadn't crossed my radar yet. So, now I do want to see it again just to see her. To me she was one of the best child actors ever -- similar in nature to Christina Ricci's early roles.

But, of course, this is Jane Wyman's movie. In my memory, she was better here than in "So Big" or "Johnny Belinda." Ah, I'm getting misty-eyed right now.