Edge of Darkness

source: Edge of Darkness

Errol Flynn made some of the best and most exciting WW2 films. Here he's part of an ensemble in this story about a small Norwegian fishing village under Nazi occupation. Many of the villagers want to fight back against their occupiers but they have no weapons. Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan are the two main leaders of this resistance group. Sheridan's father Walter Huston wishes to avoid fighting and wait the war out. Then you have her uncle and brother, who are Nazi collaborators. Eventually tensions within the village boil over and the citizens revolt against the evil Nazis. The cast is excellent. In addition to the three big stars I list above, who all do commendable work, there's an outstanding supporting cast. Judith Anderson is a ballsy resistance fighter who is in love with one of the Nazis but doesn't let that sway her loyalty. Ruth Gordon gives one of her patented sensitive and soft-spoken performances. Charles Dingle and John Beal play the rat bastards who sell their own out to the enemy. One of them has a moment of redemption by the end. Morris Carnovsky is extraordinary as an elderly man who stands up to the Nazis despite the danger. Roman Bohnen is a scene stealer as a patriot who has to overcome his fear. Helmut Dantine plays the scar-faced Nazi in charge of the occupation. Many other fine actors in small parts, some of whom may only get one scene to make an impact but they make the most of it. Powerful script, beautiful cinematography, and excellent direction. The climactic battle scene is intense. It's an unflinching war movie with little to no comic relief, a rarity for Warner Bros, who usually threw Alan Hale or somebody into these pictures to add some lighter moments. But this is a serious movie about bravery and the sacrifices that so many made in the war. The story doesn't call for lightheartedness. It's one of the best war movies Flynn or WB made.

Sidney Hickox's cinematography is a fine example of the best of black and white productions of the 30s and 40s. Hickox employs depth of focus, zoom, tracking, black and white noir-style contrasts, minatures, mattes and montages with equal finesse. Added to this are carefully executed camera angles, which perfectly capture the appropriate moods which Director Lewis Milestone wishes to achieve. It is a film which can give pleasure even with the sound turned off. Milestone is completely successful in coaching his cast to work in ensemble fashion, which parallels the comraderie of the Norwegian people trying to off-stand the oppressive Nazi troupes which hold the village in captivity. Milestone's productional team, from the editing and art direction to the set decoration and scoring, are uniformly fine. But I still didn't like it. Mr. Milestone, in his quest for anti-war themes, to my mind, got carried away with these unpleasant subjects to the point of their becoming an obscession. Throughout his career the returned to these themes, creating technically memorable, but consciously skewed works. Like all such genre films, Milestone fell into the traditional pitfall: exploiting effect, without delving into cause. True, effects are the stuff of drama, which in turn becomes a commentary on the ultimate limitations of the craft -- or of writers, who either are unwilling or unable to express a rounded portrait of total truth and balanced essences. "Edge of Darkness" remains a studio propaganda film, intended to mobilize its audience into patriotic thinking and actions. It's all about we-good-they-bad -- without any hint the enactment depicting merely different sides of the same coin.

Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston are all great. The whole aspect of the towns people having to control their anger at the Nazi's is an good plot, and the action scenes are very well done. A very different war movie, well made, nice cast, well written.

Edge Of Darkness is one of the most underrated movies by one of the most underrated directors, Lewis Milestone. This World War Two "propaganda" piece or morale builder rises far above its genre in the hands of the cinematic master best known for his magisterial World War One picture All Quiet On The Western Front. The story of a revolt brewing against Nazi occupiers by the people of a Norwegian fishing village, scripted by Robert Rossen, is reeled out in Milestone's fluid, sensuous cinematic style with spellbinding suspense from beginning to end. Sets are first rate, with the magic of Old Hollywood art transforming the California coast into a misty Scandinavian fjord. Leading man Errol Flynn turns in perhaps his best job of acting. His dashing image is completely lost in the role of a humble fisherman not entirely confident as the leader of the local Resistance movement. No dashing uniform here, just a pea coat and a plain merchant sailor's cap. And no mustache! Flynn and leading lady Ann Sheridan both turn in the solid, understated performances their roles called for, but it is a superb cast of supporting players that really shines in this one. One of the great charms of this memorable movie is the rich character development amongst the supporting parts. Walter Huston, as the town doctor trying to sit the fence, and Judith Anderson, as a Resistance worker hopelessly in love with a German soldier, are dominating as always. But the show is practically stolen by Roman Bohnen, as a henpecked, middle-aged store keeper with dreams of glory, and the ubiquitous Henry Brandon, as a suave SS officer who may not be all he seems. Helmut Dantine, a refugee Austrian anti-Nazi in real life, plays the German commandant with razor-edge ruthlessness. Likewise outstanding are Ruth Gordon as the doctor's sadly unbalanced wife, Charles Dingle as her Quissling brother, John Beal as her wavering Quissling son, and Nancy Coleman as the commandant's frightened Polish mistress. Monte Blue, Frank Wilcox, Art Bridge, and Morris Carnovsky add their always reliable presences. Thanks to consummate acting skill, Rossen's intelligent script, and Milestone's precise direction, you will come to know these characters as well as your neighbors by the shattering end of this two hour movie. Franz Waxman's florid score themed on Martin Luther's stirring hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is My God" with snatches from Wagner sweeps the action along to a rousing climax.Sid Hickox is credited for the sublime cinematography, but as I have stated elsewhere (see my review of The General Died At Dawn), Milestone's graphic statement was the same no matter who was behind the camera or in the editing room. Sweeping camera, silky smooth scene changes with creative dissolves, panning mise-en-scene were all the master's trademarks -- much imitated and highly influential on the film noir style that came to dominate pictures of all genres during the 1940's. Notice how at the beginning of the final scene in Edge of Darkness the flapping flag dissolves into a sheet of paper in a typewriter! Edge of Darkness is a classic of the war/intrigue genre and one of the great movies of all time. First rate Old Hollywood entertainment from the master Lewis Milestone.

This should have been a good movie. But it is the exact opposite way of creating a story or characters. It's a movie about Scandinavian resistance to German oppression during World War II. A bit silly when the Germans speak of themselves as a master race to them, when Hitler idolized the very blonde women that are the only female survivors of the movie, but that's just one of the multitude of clichés you'll find here. It is easily the worst movie Errol Flynn ever did, and I do mean "ever". It is one of the worst examples of character writing you will ever find. It is the opposite of what most writers want to do. It has usually been cool to take what appear to be one dimensional characters and evolve them into multiple dimensions. The screen writer here does the opposite. Some start by seeming to be believable, but devolve into pitiful one dimensional clichés. It is probably the most predictable movie you will ever see, even by 1943 standards. Yes, you will groan as you properly predict not only who gets killed, but exactly how and when, and you'll hope you are wrong, but the contrived writing here will make you wonder why big time producers actually pay money to those hacks. Too bad, because this could have been a better film if written by just about anyone else.

One of the things that all of the films about Norway during World War II fail to mention is why the Nazis were there in the first place. All of the Scandinavian countries would have gladly sat out this war as they did World War I. In fact all, but Sweden got into it for various reasons. In the case of Norway, it's simply the long Norwegian coastline. Even before the Soviet Union was invaded, Hitler saw the necessity of preventing supplies from getting to the Soviets should they break the Hitler-Stalin pact and enter the war on the allied side. The convoy route used was the one into the Arctic Ocean into Archangel and Murmansk. No other route was possible for American lend lease. The Nazis operated bases from Norway and sank a lot of allied shipping in the North Atlantic. So this is why this small village and so many others like it were occupied and why the country was invaded. The Norwegian people from the king and queen on down, knew their country was in a sideshow theater, yet they did resist as best they could. In fact Mr. Churchill did mount a counterattack in Norway, but the invasion failed and British troops had to withdraw. From time to time he brought up freeing Norway during allied conferences, but could get no support for it from Roosevelt or Stalin. Errol Flynn stars in Edge of Darkness and the usual Flynn derring-do is kept on hold. Probably in keeping with the stoical nature of Scandinavian character. He's not exactly Captain Blood in this one. He's a fisherman, but his natural qualities of leadership come through as he leads the resistance. Edge of Darkness is the story of one coastal Norwegian village who put up with Nazi occupation beyond what was humanly bearable. The rape of Ann Sheridan finally touches off a revolt. It's not a star vehicle per se. Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan have a great deal less dialog than they would in most films. Edge of Darkness is a study of the various townspeople and the way each one of them deals with the Nazi occupation. Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon are the parents of Sheridan and John Beal. Huston is the town doctor and tries to remain above the battle. Gordon, like Patricia Collinge in The Little Foxes, retreats into nostalgia. Sheridan is a resistance member and Beal was an informer in Oslo, but only the immediate family know it at first. However the performance I like the best is Charles Dingle's. Dingle has always been one of my favorite character players ever. He's Gordon's brother, the owner of the cannery, and he quite deliberately chooses to collaborate with the Germans. He's the kind of villain you love to hate as is Helmut Dantine the commanding officer of the Nazi garrison. We learn Dingle's fate at the beginning of the film and as the action unfolds in flashback the audience really rejoices in that fate. No mistake about it, Edge of Darkness is a World War II propaganda film, but still entertaining today

This terrific movie is remarkable for many things. It holds you in a vice-like grip from its unforgettable beginning. Nazi troops see the old flag of Norway flying and go to investigate but find hardly anyone still alive. Helmut Dantine is remarkable as one of the most humane and believable Nazi captains ever portrayed on film. The Germans have some respect for the Norwegians, some but perhaps not enough. Attempts to interact and work together are sabotaged by irreconcilable differences. The camera work and score are both magnificent. One interesting thing here as the movie's nominal star, Errol Flynn (playing a Norwegian named Gunnar (!) ), takes a back seat to riveting and magnificent performances by the supporting cast. Special standouts, besides Dantine, include Judith Anderson, Walter Huston, Nancy Coleman, Ann Sheridan, and John Beal. Watch it and you will never forget it.

During WW2, a Norwegian fishing village is no longer flying the Nazi flag. After entering the village to find out why, the Nazi invaders are shocked to find carnage – dead bodies everywhere. The film then goes into flashback to describe the events that have led to this moment. There are pockets of resistance in the village that Nazi Captain Helmut Dantine (Koenig) has to contend with – small scale stuff but a continuous presence and fisherman Errol Flynn (Gunnar) and doctor's daughter Ann Sheridan (Karen) are usual suspects. Flynn, Sheridan and Dantine lead the cast admirably in their roles but not everyone fares so well, especially with the clichéd dialogue they are given. Cases in point are Polish floozy Nancy Coleman (Katja), the awfully saccharine Ruth Gordon who plays Sheridan's mother and the idiot headmaster Morris Carnovsky. They somewhat ruin the film in that we just don't care what happens to them. This is bad news given that they are given key sequences to act out. All meaning to their scenes gets diffused with other sentiments, mainly – what awful acting and stupid behaviour. Even doctor Walter Huston as Dunne's father left me indifferent and I've liked him in other films. I've been to Trondheim in Norway and it is pretty impressive and eerie with all the destroyers parked in the port. You can't help but feel a military presence, so I feel the urgency for these villagers to take their village back. Unfortunately, this film drags. It's OK to watch but could and should have been much better. There is about one memorable scene – check out what village vicar Richard Fraser does when he decides which way his bread is buttered.

Edge of Darkness is what Hollywood used to be about. Younger viewers will probably be shocked that indeed movies were once made that extolled virtues such as self sacrifice, heroism, patriotism and courage against overwhelming odds. While the setting is in Norway, it reflects what America once believed. There is no political correctness here. Pacifists and collaborators are viewed as traitors. Tolerance for the invader is unthinkable. Told in flashback we learn that a small Norwegian village has been under German occupation for several years. The Germans routinely harass, abuse and generally ride rough shod over the locals whose tempers have reached the boiling point. The Germans feel free to take what they please while the inhabitants struggle to exist. Slowly but surely the villagers, led by Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn) began fighting back by engaging in acts of sabotage, defiance and even assassination. The Germans counter with ever harsher regulations and measures. After receiving guns from the British, the people rise up and engage their oppressors in a climactic battle of annihilation. Yes, there was a time when guns were recognized as instruments of freedom. The performances in this film were outstanding. One can only cheer when Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan) proclaims "To a free Norway". Equally good performances were wrought by Helmut Dantine, Walter Huston and Richard Fraser. I particularly enjoyed Frasers transformation from a meek pastor who wants peace at any price, to a Tommy Gun toting avenger who saves the lives of soon to be executed hostages. Equally impressive is Hauptmann Koenig's (Helmut Dantine) wide eyed frightful exclamation, "You didn't see them, they just kept coming and coming...", when his headquarters is under siege. Very effective was the soundtrack which was dominated by the strains of "A mighty Fortress is our God". As the movie concludes we hear the voice of FDR invoking viewers to "Look to Norway" if they doubt why we were engaged in that titanic endeavor known as World War II..