- After two years under German rule, a small Norwegian fishing village rises up and revolts against the occupying Nazis.
- It's two years after the Nazi's invasion of Norway, and in a small fishing village that is headquarters to one hundred fifty German soldiers, the eight hundred locals are stewing, waiting for a supply of arms so they can revolt. Leaders include Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan), whose father, Dr. Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), is not all that sure that an open revolt will accomplish much, and whose brother has previously proven to be disloyal to Norway, and Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn), a fisherman who was planning to sail to England to fight, but changed his mind on hearing of English arms being delivered. Although the Nazi's cruelty is evident, the townspeople bide their time, until one incident causes the stewpot to boil over.—Ron Kerrigan <mvg@whidbey.com>
- In Nazi occupied Norway in 1942, the eight hundred residents of a small fishing village stage a revolt against the garrison of one hundred fifty crack Nazi troops. Up to this point, the villagers had contented themselves with small acts of sabotage, such as pouring kerosene in the fish at the local canning plant. When someone from a neighboring village arrives saying they had staged an armed revolt with weapons provided by the British, they too decide to stage an uprising, despite the great risk to all of them. Led by fisherman Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn) and Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan), daughter of the village physician, Dr. Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), they are advised by a British officer not to attack until all of the coastal villages have been armed. The humiliation and eviction from his home of the retired local school teacher, and an attack on Karen, forces them into action.—garykmcd
- 1942. The Nazis have occupied Norway for two years, Captain Koenig the commandant in the small fishing village of Trollness, population 800. He has grander visions for himself in what he considers real battles against other military men, he trusting that the plan he has mapped out for Nazi occupation in all territories which he has sent to Berlin for consideration will result in his transfer from this outpost. He is aware of the quiet or not so quiet resistance of the town's citizens, about who he is not concerned beyond being pests in the 150 Nazi troops being able to contain them, especially as the citizens as a collective are afraid of death. The town's resistance leaders are Gunnar Brogge, the fishing union head, and his girlfriend, Karen Stensgard, the two who met because of this work. Their relationship does not sit well with her parents, Dr. and Mrs. Martin Stensgard, who want to exist like life was before the Nazi occupation. Within her family, Karen takes even more issue with her maternal uncle, Kaspar Torgersen, the owner of the local cannery, he the town's highest profile Nazi sympathizer who is solely looking out for his own business interests, and her brother Johann Stensgard, an Oslo-based student who supported the Nazis when they first invaded Norway. When the town's resistance learns of the tragic fate of a similar town at the hands of the Nazis, and that the British are covertly supplying arms to the citizens of all towns up and down the coast, Gunnar, Karen and not only the rest of the resistance but the town's citizenry as a whole have to decide how best to proceed in defeating the Nazis to regain the Norway they love, but also who they can and cannot trust among their own ranks, those that use such information to report back to the Nazis disparagingly referred to as quislings. They also have to decide if they as a collective are willing to lay their individual lives on the line for that end goal.—Huggo
- In 1942, Norway, in the fishing village Trollness, the German Capt. Koenig believes he can control the population of eight-hundred-people with his garrison of one hundred and fifty armed men well-positioned in the village. However, the locals under the leadership of the fisherman Gunnar Brogge and his educated girlfriend Karen Stensgard are waiting for the provision of weapons by the British army to start an uprising. Karen is the daughter of the prominent Dr. Martin Stensgard, who prefers to stay neutral, and her brother is Johann Stensgard, who was a German collaborator in Oslo. Her mother, Anna Stensgard, dreams on having her family together with Johann, and her brother, the industrialist Kaspar Torgersen who owns a fish cannery, is the only German collaborator in Trollness. When the group is contacted by a British liaison, they receive the promised weapons and a request to wait the uprising of all Norway. However, Karen is raped by a German soldier, and her father kills the man on the street. Capt. Koening gathers all the leaders in the village to fusillade them to intimidate the locals, but the population decides to react to his decision and begins the revolt.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- In October 1942, a Nazi plane spots a Norwegian flag flying over the German-occupied fishing village of Trollness. On investigation, the Nazis discover that the entire Nazi garrison has been killed and the commander, Captain Koenig, is discovered in his office, shot through the head. The streets, which are filled with bodies, are apparently empty. The only living person found is insane and the Nazis quickly execute him. Before the deaths, the villagers quietly resisted their Nazi occupiers: The resistance movement is led by a group of people including Gerd Bjarnesen, the owner of the hotel, whose father was killed by the Nazis; Gunnar Brogge, the head of the fishermen's union; and his fiancée, Karen Stensgard, the daughter of the town's doctor, Martin.
Gunnar is planning to escape to England to join the resistance there, but before he can leave, a wounded man from a nearby village brings news that the English are delivering guns to the Norwegian underground in preparation for a unified revolt against the Nazis. The following day, Karen learns that her brother Johann, a Nazi collaborator, is coming home, and she begs her father to keep him away.
Later, there is a meeting in the church to decide if those sympathetic to the resistance movement will join in fighting the Germans. Pastor Aalesen is opposed to the plan, believing that murder is wrong no matter why it is done. Stensgard is also unsure about the planned action, but the villagers vote to accept the guns and attack the Germans. Karen, Gerd and Gunnar take turns waiting for the British to deliver the weapons. After they arrive, Karen warns the other resistance workers that her brother may betray them if they are not careful.
While they are hiding the weapons, someone accidentally drops an English flashlight. Koenig's men find it and, suspecting that the village is up to something, Koenig confiscates all the fishing boats, hoping this will prevent the villagers from earning a living and force them to divulge their plans. Johann's uncle, Kaspar Togersen, the owner of a fish canning factory, pressures Johann to betray the plotters, and somewhat reluctantly, Johann questions the simple-minded shopkeeper, only to receive false information.
The Nazis increase pressure on the townspeople, who have been asked not to take action until the British can arm the entire Norwegian coast. When Koenig tries to confiscate the home of Sixtus Andresen, the schoolteacher, Andresen resists and is beaten by the soldiers, who also burn his belongings. Although the townspeople are extremely angry, they refrain from attacking, but when Karen is raped by a German soldier, Stensgard is driven to murder.
In revenge, Koenig decides to execute all the leaders of the resistance. The Germans force the group to dig their own graves, but before they can carry out the executions, the villagers finally can take no more and march on the square. Even the pastor opens fire from the church. The villagers fight through to the harbor and load the women and children on boats headed for England. They continue to battle the Germans at great cost to themselves. Finally cornered in the last remaining German stronghold, Koenig writes a note and kills himself. Even as the Nazi soldier reports that no one is left alive, another soldier is shot while lowering the Norwegian flag. Karen, Gunnar and the surviving villagers decide to stay to defend their town.
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