Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
SpecialsTarget
Disturbing yet enthralling
Roxie
The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;
bsmith5552
"The Commandos Strike at Dawn" is a film that I must admit, I had never heard of. So it was an enjoyable experience watching it for the first time.The setting, filmed in Canada, is a small Norwegian fishing village just prior to WWII breaking out. At a wedding we meet the main characters, Eric Toreson (Paul Muni), Johan Bergesen (Ray Collins), his wife (Lillian Gish - looking lovelier than ever), Admiral Bowen of the British Navy (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), his daughter Judith (Anna Lee) and son Captain Robert Bowen (Robert Coote, the town Pastor (Rod Cameron), School teacher (George Macready) hotelier Karl Arnesen (Louis Jean Heydt) his wife Hilma (Rosemary DeCamp) among others.Toresan is attracted to Judith and a possible relationship develops. But as WWII looms Admiral Bowen, his daughter and son return to England. WWii breaks out and the Germans invade Norway and sent a detachment to the little village headed by a Colonel (Arthur Margetson) and his brutal captain (Alexander Knox). Almost immediately, Johan Bergesen is taken away for "questioning" returning later as a broken man.Toresan and the other townsfolk try to follow the German rules but the atrocities continue. Finally Toresan has had enough and forms a resistance group. He later kills the German Colonel and is forced to flee for his life, leaving his young daughter in the care of a friend. In hiding, Toresan learns about the building of a German air base.Fleeing to England in a hidden boat, Toresan and the others learn that Karl Arnesen has informed on them and they take care of him. Reaching England, Toresan informs the British about the German airfield and offers to lead them to the spot. Before leaving on his mission, he renews his acquaintance with Judith and the possibility of marriage is discussed. Robert Bowen is assigned the task of leading the commandos for their strike after dawn.The commandos surprise the Germans and destroy the air base. Toresan's daughter was supposed to have met her father following the completion of his mission but has been captured by the Germans. Toresan and Bowen lead the commandos on a mission to free the young girl but.................................................................................Paul Muni as always gives an excellent performance as the fisherman forced into a role for which he is ill prepared. Lillian Gish returns to the screen in an all too brief brief role as a patriot's wife. Alexander Knox is suitably evil as the German Captain. You can't help but notice the six foot four Rod Cameron in an early role. Also George Macready who would go on to play sophisticated heavies makes an early appearance. And watch for Lloyd Bridges as the German soldier asking for directions. Walter Sande and Philip Van Zandt also appear in small roles as Germans.Filmed in the middle of the war, the ending offers hope for the future at a time when the outcome of the war was as yet unknown.
gordonl56
COMMANDOS STRIKE AT DAWN 1942 This one is a John Farrow directed flag-waver put out by Columbia Pictures in 1942. It deals with a group of Norwegian civilians who decide to fight back against the German occupiers. Headlining the cast is Paul Muni with support from Anna Lee, Lillian Gish, Cedric Hardwicke, Rod Cameron, Alexander Knox, Jean Louis Heydt, George Macready, Ray Collins and Robert Coote.Norway has fallen to the invading Nazis and a small fishing village on the coast has been occupied by a battalion of Germans. The German's are under the command of Art Margetson and Alexander Knox. The two are perfect Nazi swine who have no problem shooting civilians for the slightest reason.The locals soon grow tired of this, and decide to throw a monkey wrench into the German's operations. A bit of sabotage here, a train derailed there, a fuel dump destroyed etc soon has the Nazis angry as hornets. Hostages are taken and several locals are soon placed in front of that old standard, the firing squad.There is also a Quisling among the villagers. Jean Louis Heydt passes info to the German Captain, Knox. The swine is discovered and meets a watery grave as several of the townsfolk decide to sail to England. They are picked up by a British submarine and delivered to England.As it so happens, Muni knows an Admiral in the Royal Navy, Cedric Hardwicke. He tells Hardwicke about the German's building a secret airfield near the village. The Navy quickly lays on a Commando raid in order to destroy the base. Muni leads a shallow draft Navy ship to the site. The Commandos launch a swift assault catching the German types with their drawers down.After disposing of the airfield Nazis, the Commandos storm the village and knock off Knox and the rest of the Huns. The villagers are then loaded up on the ship and the whole group sets out back to England. Muni however buys the big one leading a charge on a German machine gun. The slam bang ending helps to make up for the rather slow pace of the early parts.Director John Farrow also helmed the wartime films, WAKE ISLAND and CHINA. His other work includes, FIVE CAME BACK, CALCUTTA, THE BIG CLOCK, NIGHT HAS 1000 EYES, ALIAS NICK BEAL, WHERE DANGER LIVES, JOHN PAUL JONES, HONDO, THE SEA CHASE and PLUNDER OF THE SUN.The d of p was 4 time Oscar nominated and 2 time winner, William Mellor. His film work includes, A PLACE IN THE SUN, GIANT, TOO LATE FOR TEARS, WESTWARD THE WOMEN, THE UNKNOWN MAN, MY FAVORITE BLONDE, THE NAKED SPUR and THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK.The screenplay was by Irwin Shaw based on a story from C.S. Forester. Forester of course wrote the H. Hornblower series of novels, as well as THE African QUEEN.Look close and you can see Lloyd Bridges in an unbilled bit as a German soldier.The production was made on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The inlets and such stood in quite well for the Norwegian fjords.On a personal note, I had an uncle who was a crewman on the armed merchant ship that was used in the film.
mark.waltz
That's what this Norwegian fishing village is told by the arriving Nazis within minutes after being informed it would be "life as normal". Nazi normal means giving up all of your extra blankets, not being allowed to sing your own national anthem and allowing the Nazis access to your place of residence any time they knock (if they knock).Practically the same story as Warner Brothers' slightly better "Edge of Darkness", this was made first, and is an entertaining resistance drama with a superb cast, some patriotic speeches and a rousing finale. What I noticed is that much of the dialog has the innocence of a child's prayer with many of the adults speaking as if they were pre-teens while the adults of "Edge of Darkness" were clearly more mature and less stereotypical provincial. Still, with Paul Muni as the leading head of the resistance, there are some gripping moments, particularly the scene where Muni discovers that one of the Norweigans plans to use a dog whistle to notify the Nazis of their intended escape to England. Then there is the tense moment where Muni and his daughter hide in the well of a Norwegian woman who has been informed by the Nazis that her own grandson will be executed if Muni isn't caught.The lovely Anna Lee plays a British noblewoman who is visiting the town in the opening scene for a wedding and encounters Muni when he makes it to England. To think that this lovely actress (around in British films since the 1930's) wouldn't become a superstar until she took on the long-role of the beautiful Lila Quartermain on "General Hospital" is hard to believe. Her on-screen charm is winning and her film career is certainly worth a further look at outside the overly friendly neighbor from "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" and the cheery nun in "The Sound of Music".The silent screen legend Lillian Gish is wasted in a pointless role as the long-suffering wife of the independent thinking Ray Collins who is extremely moving in a scene where he is released from a Nazi prison. (Gish's role is basically the same as Ruth Gordon's devoted wife in "Edge of Darkness", with less screen time.) Sir Cedric Hardwicke, who would be leading the Nazis into Norway in 1943's "The Moon is Down", plays the British leader here who happens to be Lee's father. Here, the villain is Alexander Knox who would go onto be an American hero in title title role of "Wilson". My personal favorite moments are the book-burning sequence where one of the Norweigans tells the Nazi standing over the burning pages that he too has written a book and hopes that one day they'll burn that one (a real slap in the face to the Nazi standing there) and the giggling children who refuse to stop singing their National Anthem as the Nazis raise their flag.
skipper2-1
The film was particularly interesting for me as my father was stationed at the Canadian/RAF base in 1942 on Vancouver Island. He mentioned how gracious the star's were and that they took the time to visit the lads who were busy flight training. I have recently read an old RAF magazine called (The Patrician)about director, John Farrow and actor Paul Muni being livid after a British extra ruined a battle scene by laughing hysterically in front of the camera. The area of the secret German camp is actually a military/civilian firing range and is still active today. A set of over grown cement stairs that the Commando's used as they struggled up a steep bank can still be seen in the beautiful Saanich Inlet from the water 64 years later.
