Linbeymusol Wonderful character development!

ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Martin Bradley Crawford is excellent as a rich French bitch who discovers her patriotism and a slightly softer side to her character when Hitler invades France. John Wayne is the American flyer she gets involved with. The movie is "Reunion in France", a very early Jules Dassin, and it's a good one even if it does fall short of classic status. The plot involves Crawford's suspicions that her fiancée Philip Dorn is a Nazi collaborator, while at the same time helping Wayne escape from the Gestapo and Dassin rings a good deal of suspense from it. The first-rate supporting cast includes John Carradine, Albert Basserman, Henry Daniel, Reginald Owen and in a small and uncredited part of a salesgirl, an up-and-coming starlet called Ava Gardener.

Michael_Elliott Reunion in France (1942)** (out of 4)Bland and rather boring film from MGM has Joan Crawford playing Parisian Michele de la Becque who doesn't realize that the man (Philip Dorn) she loves has connection to the Nazi party. When an American pilot (John Wayne) asks for her to hide him, she does so even though it puts her own life in danger. REUNION IN France was just one of dozens of films that were made during WWII by Hollywood to try and support the war and of course send off various messages. Many of these messages would be considered propaganda today but it's important to remember what was going on in the country when this was released. With that said, no matter what was going on at the time, that doesn't make up for the fact that this is a pretty bland and forgettable film. The biggest problem is actually the thing you'd expect to be the best and that's the cast. There are so many problems with the lead including the fact that Crawford is playing a woman from France yet she keeps her American accent. From interviews later in her life it's clear that she was embarrassed by this performance and it's easy to see why. Then we've got Wayne who is so out of touch with his character you can't help but wonder how his career managed to go on and he became a legend. Yes, he's pretty bad here but what's worst are the two of them together. The chemistry between the stars is absolutely zero and their entire romance isn't a bit believable. The supporting cast does somewhat better with Reginald Owen, Albert Bassermann, Henry Daniell and John Carradine all doing fine work. Look fast for a young Ava Gardner. REUNION IN France is a curiosity at best due to the fact that you've got two legends together in one film but the thing just doesn't work.

dbdumonteil This should not be taken seriously.Michele de LA Becque 's(sic)adventures in a chocolate box occupied France can net only horselaugh! A propaganda movie,and what is worse ,like Renoir's "This land is mine" -Renoir who had left France at the beginning of the war-a BAD propaganda movie.Who could believe Crawford a French would be Joan of Ark?These Nazis full of bonhomie and stupidity? John Wayne as a British pilot? Or worse as an American student(at 35!)?The final twist ,you could see it from a mile off.Even the streets of Paris, in the studios, are ugly and the man who sells nice Nazi souvenirs on these streets is ludicrous.But,as far stupidity is concerned,the singer who sings " I'll be glad when you die and Adolf too" ,wins hands down.If you take that to learn something about French Resistance ,be prepared for a F minus for your History test.During the McCarthyism ,Dassin came to real France where he made an estimable film "Du Rififi Chez les Hommes"

JRis1-4Jesus This 1942 movie arouses your patriotic instincts. In this good vs. the apparent overwhelming evil, chalk one up for the good guys. The heroine, played by Joan Crawford, is convincing in her portrayal of a spoiled, pompous rich woman who becomes a patriot when her France is occupied by Nazi Germany. She is allowed to live in a one room, ground floor apartment of her mansion, taken over by the Nazi military. She is the fiancé of a supposed Nazi sympathizer, (who used to be a French patriot). She takes in an American flier (John Wayne) and houses him in her one room apartment. She joins the underground efforts to get the American flier back to his base in England. This movie is typical of cinemas of that era and is as believable as most and better than some others. The heroine reminds me of the Ingrid Bergman character in Casablanca. She also has to make hard choices. Will she stay and fight for her France? Will she go to England with the flier she has saved from capture? Will she be loyal to the man she loves, even though he appears to have radically changed from patriot to Nazi collaborator? The choices she makes are inspiring and patriotic. You, of course want her to stay and fight or do you want her to leave with her new found love, the American flier? The end is very satisfying. After the movie is over, you will want to join with others in saying. Viva la France!