Tomorrow We Live

One of the titles this movie played under is AT DAWN WE DIE; confusingly, another is TOMORROW WE LIVE. It's directed by George King, who made his mark with cheap quota quickies in the 1930s, most notably the Tod Slaughter melodramas; it stars John Clements, the distinguished stage actor-manager, whose best-known movie role was as Harry Faversham in the great 1939 THE FOUR FEATHERS. That was British film making in the War, when the cinematic world turned upside down, and this story of how Clements wandered into town and found himself in the middle of underground operations and sabotage that was invariably forewarned with the Cross of Lorraine (the symbol of the Free French), drives everyone crazy.

It's certainly not a subtle movie on any terms; the mystery, of who was actually in charge of the Resistance in town and who were the collaborators were easy to figure out, simply by assuming this would hit every stereotype of the genre. Yet I found it carried out with such easy confidence in its competent cast, that it rolled right along, as easily as any American movie of the period. If you're in the mood for one of those movies with evil Nazis, freedom-loving Frenchmen who face a firing squad singing "Le Marseillaise" and the inevitable triumph of good over evil, this should fit the bill.

This is a ww2 drama made in 1943.

It is exactly my sort of film but I don't recall seeing it before I bought an expensive remastered blu ray.

I value the fact that I can buy remastered forgotten classics.

The blu ray comes with a 40 page booklet that claims the director is underrated,disagree there is a reason why his films are not well known,they are weak.

I can't buy Operation Secret or Cross Of Lorraine but somebody decided to issue this film? Crazy.

My god I can see why it is never on tv or why I don't remember it.

I am British,my parents used to groan when most British films came on tv when I was a kid.

I thought this was unfair and I love lots of British films from 1940s and 1950s.

But this film was not known to me and I miss I had not bought it without seeing it previously.

I a trying to not be negative but I can't find much to like about this film.

I have a high tolerance for war films but this disappointed me.

TOMORROW WE LIVE is an odd and obscure little wartime thriller that was made slap bang in the middle of WW2 when an Allied victory was hardly assured. Thus the film serves as something of a propaganda movie particularly in its depiction of the French resistance tirelessly fighting against the Nazi oppressors in occupied France. The movie was made with the cooperation of the Charles de Gaulle government (exiled in London at the time) and thus in itself serves as an important historical document of its time.

It's also a pretty good thriller and as with many resistance thrillers there's plenty of suspense inherent in the proceedings. While the settings and characters might scream 'ALLO 'ALLO a bit, there's an air of authenticity to the proceedings and a cast of actors all of whom give it their best in their roles. John Clements headlines as Jean Baptiste, a man desperately trying to avoid the Nazis and escape to Britain. Greta Gynt bags the most interesting part as the daughter of a loyal mayor with a few dark secrets of her own. The likes of Herbert Lom and Walter Gotell have little early career cameos. TOMORROW WE LIVE is the kind of film that just gets better as it goes on, building to a climax which is equally thrilling and moving.

I have seen around 20 features by Edgar G. Ulmer, and this is perhaps the worst of the group. I saw very good films that surprised me, but among the not-too-good pack, even "The Naked Venus" has some redeeming value. There is nothing to do about this one. It is even unintenionally funny, as in the final confrontation between Pops and The Ghost (who goes nuts) or the "propaganda scene" the next morning. It somehow made me remember the resolution of Emilio Fernández's masterpiece "Enamorada", when aristocratic María Félix takes the "soldadera" route and decides to follow her lover and join the Mexican revolution. But there is no revolution in this one, just a silly mellow date in San Francisco, too sticky for Ulmer's cynic universe.

War time drama about a French Resistance Group

Very interesting British film from the 1940s that can be seen on NETFLIX! A young man arrives in a French town occupied by the National Socialists who has explosive information from the Nazi troops that the British could put to good use. At first everything seems to be going quite smoothly, but after an attack by the Resistance, the SS takes care of the matter...

What was initially a tranquil film turns into a grim war drama in the second half, with surprising levels of harshness for the 1940s.

Not a masterpiece, but definitely worth discovering as a film document of the time!