Primarily a propaganda film to remind the French and English they are allies in the fight against fascism during WW 2 Joan of Paris has some fine performances to go along with some excellent atmospherics provided by Russell Metty's photography to bring more suspense than the usual call to arms film of the day.
A group of downed RAF fliers find themselves trapped in Paris attempting to evade the Gestapo and make contact with the French underground. The commander (Paul Henreid) unwittingly enlists and puts in harm's way a cafe waitress (Michele Morgan) to help the group but a suave Gestapo chief (Laird Cregar) is on to their game and he bides his time waiting to pounce in order to catch all the airmen in his net.
Craigar as the grape peeling Gestapo head steals the picture but Henried and Morgan have a good chemistry with each other while Thomas Mitchell and May Robson bolster the supporting cast which also features Allan Ladd in his last film before stardom in This Gun for Hire and a convincing Hans Conreid (uncredited) as a sadistic Gestapo agent.
Metty's photography serves some of the cat and mouse moments well, especially one that culminates at a Turkish bath and director Robert Stevenson ably demonetize the enemy while attempting to impress the audience that in spite of England's earlier bombing of the French fleet in 1940 they remained shoulder to shoulder in their cause to defeat Nazi Germany. Also deserving mention is the schoolboy protest where the students break into La Marsaiellse as Nazi's open fire on the fleeing underground and flyer. Predating the classic Casablanca moment later in the year it may not be of the same quality but it more than does its patriotic duty for the cause.
A group of downed RAF fliers find themselves trapped in Paris attempting to evade the Gestapo and make contact with the French underground. The commander (Paul Henreid) unwittingly enlists and puts in harm's way a cafe waitress (Michele Morgan) to help the group but a suave Gestapo chief (Laird Cregar) is on to their game and he bides his time waiting to pounce in order to catch all the airmen in his net.
Craigar as the grape peeling Gestapo head steals the picture but Henried and Morgan have a good chemistry with each other while Thomas Mitchell and May Robson bolster the supporting cast which also features Allan Ladd in his last film before stardom in This Gun for Hire and a convincing Hans Conreid (uncredited) as a sadistic Gestapo agent.
Metty's photography serves some of the cat and mouse moments well, especially one that culminates at a Turkish bath and director Robert Stevenson ably demonetize the enemy while attempting to impress the audience that in spite of England's earlier bombing of the French fleet in 1940 they remained shoulder to shoulder in their cause to defeat Nazi Germany. Also deserving mention is the schoolboy protest where the students break into La Marsaiellse as Nazi's open fire on the fleeing underground and flyer. Predating the classic Casablanca moment later in the year it may not be of the same quality but it more than does its patriotic duty for the cause.