The Pied Piper

I have to admit it...I like Monty Woolley. You can count on the old curmudgeon to make any movie worth watching, Woolley is definitely one of the classic screen's best scene stealers!

In "The Pied Piper" Woolley plays an Englishman who is visiting France when the Germans invade in 1940. Realizing his place is back home, he packs up and begins his trek to England...but with the unwelcome addition of 2 French children (Roddy McDowall and Peggy Ann Garner) whose parents fear for their safety in Nazi-occupied France.

But what should be a relatively easy journey turns into a nightmare, as French civilization crumbles around them. Every time Woolley and his companions face a crisis, another desperate child joins the group, until he finds himself the leader of quite a menagerie.

Others in the cast include Anne Baxter as "Nicole," who helps Wooley outsmart the German occupiers and Otto Preminger as "Major Diesson," the ranking Nazi who also finds he has use for Woolley and his children.

"The Pied Piper" doesn't shy away from the grim realities of war and the suffering it imposes on everyone, both young and old. One can only imagine the impact this film had on moviegoers in 1942. The film was released just 7 months after Pearl Harbor.

I happened to be only 9 yrs old when I saw this movie for the first and only time in 1967 in Novato, CA ....Even I could understand it at that age...The 2 scenes I remember best were when Woolley's character: 1. ...Asked the Nazi officer if they've captured "him yet". The officer asks: "Who?", and Woolley replies firmly: "Hitler". Officer replies back in the negative, then Woolley defiantly but bravely yells back: ''BAHH!", then strides out of the officer's room. 2...Is brought another stray child to his group by someone unknown. A woman in Woolley's group tries to speak to the child to find out more. The child replies in an unknown language. Then the womans exclaims: "That sounds like Dutch!" (The reason I remember this so much is at age 9 I was shocked to see a war scene of an orphaned child speaking a foreign language. Where were the parents?, I thought. They must have been killed...)

Finally tracked down a tape of this 1942 filming of the Nevil Shute novel, and found it quite enjoyable. Monty Woolley is perfect in the lead, a crusty Brit on vacation in Switzerland who is persuaded, with WW2 imminent, to take a friend's two small children to safety in England. Other children join the group along the way, with the German army always around the next corner, leading to an exciting finale when the group is captured by a Nazi commander, played by Otto Preminger. Among the children are Roddy MacDowall and Peggy Ann Garner, and Ann Baxter plays a French girl who helps Monty and his charges elude the Germans. (Baxter's French accent is very convincing.) Two gripes: (1) the film is shot mostly in darkness and in close quarters, and one yearns for the director to open it up. (2) The aforementioned Preminger is over the top in his portrayal - which was of course standard in 1942. But the movie is worth seeing, and worth releasing on DVD. Now to find another "lost" Nevil Shute movie: Landfall. Any suggestions?

Curmudgeonly Briton "Howard" (Monty Woolley) is doing his best impersonation of "Rudolf Rassendyl", fishing peaceably and minding his own business, when the Nazis decide to invade France. He has to get home and is persuaded to take the two "Cavanaugh" children to safety with him. There's "Ronnie" (Roddy McDowall) and his sister "Sheila" (Peggy Ann Garner) who manage to irritate their new guardian just by being there, but they are just the start of his problems as they act like a magnet for other endangered children. Before he knows it, it's like he has his own herd of cats to try and smuggle out from under the nose of the menacing "Maj. Diessen" (Otto Preminger). Terrified of being heard to speak English, he and his charges gradually learn a little about themselves and this erstwhile selfish gent starts to demonstrate an whole new set of human traits hitherto a mystery to himself. Can he manage to get them, and himself, to safety though? It's a showcase for an on-form Woolley that features a few brief appearances from Anne Baxter and J. Carrol Naish as the adventure builds slowly but quite menacingly to a denouement that has something of last year's "Pimpernel Smith" to it. McDowall's is an engaging young character and the story exudes quite a healthy degree of sentiment-free mischievous charm as Woolley delivers the goods once again.

Although not action packed this movie moves along at a good pace with plenty of twist and turns and a good deal of wit. When Howard, played by Monty Woolley, is fishing on his holiday in Eastern France he wants nothing more than peace and quiet. When the Germans invade during World War II, he escapes with two and finally a hodge podge of children, and peace and quiet are the last thing he will get. They must trek to saftey and outwit the Germans. Woolley is perfect as the gruff elderly man than seems likely to have been a strict disciplinarian. The kids will melt anyones heart including his. This movie is a classic and it is hard to believe it isn't even available on VHS let alone DVD.