Wartime drama from United Artists and director John Cromwell. Three Austrian citizens find themselves outcasts in their own land after the rise of fascism. Josef Steiner (Fredric March) is persona non grata thanks to his outspoken political beliefs, while young man Ludwig Kern (Glenn Ford) learns that he is half-Jewish. Academic Ruth Holland (Margaret Sullavan) is fully Jewish, with the added "crime" of having been engaged to an Aryan. These struggles to survive as they are arrested and deported multiple times, sent to countries throughout Europe.
This film was a political hot potato when it was released, as Hollywood was warned by the Production Code not to make any overtly anti Nazii films. Therefore this adaptation of an Erich Maria Remarque novel was independently produced by David Loew and Albert Lewin, who took their chances with the film getting approval, which it did. It's a powerful, moving indictment of the activities of the time, with good performances, especially from a very young Glenn Ford, whose career was said to have been greatly boosted by his turn here. Ironically, both star Fredric March and director John Cromwell would become subjects of US government displeasure during the HUAC era. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Score (Louis Gruenberg).
This film was a political hot potato when it was released, as Hollywood was warned by the Production Code not to make any overtly anti Nazii films. Therefore this adaptation of an Erich Maria Remarque novel was independently produced by David Loew and Albert Lewin, who took their chances with the film getting approval, which it did. It's a powerful, moving indictment of the activities of the time, with good performances, especially from a very young Glenn Ford, whose career was said to have been greatly boosted by his turn here. Ironically, both star Fredric March and director John Cromwell would become subjects of US government displeasure during the HUAC era. The movie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Score (Louis Gruenberg).