It's 1937 Austria. Josef Steiner (Fredric March) and teenager Ludwig Kern (Glenn Ford) are picked up by the police. They and many others are on the run and in hiding from the Nazis. Josef is offered clemency to turn against the others including those who helped him escape the concentration camp. He had left behind his wife Marie (Frances Dee). Ludwig falls for fellow Jewish exile Ruth Holland (Margaret Sullavan). After Austria is taken over by the Nazis, Josef becomes a hunted man.
This is a fine wartime film with one Oscar nomination under its belt. March and Ford are good. March has some powerful scenes while this is an early breakout role for Ford. I still think that the movie would be more powerful if it kept only one main character. More than anything, these journeys feel real and that's important during this time. It shows the oppressiveness of the police state and the callous cruelty of the Nazis.
This is a fine wartime film with one Oscar nomination under its belt. March and Ford are good. March has some powerful scenes while this is an early breakout role for Ford. I still think that the movie would be more powerful if it kept only one main character. More than anything, these journeys feel real and that's important during this time. It shows the oppressiveness of the police state and the callous cruelty of the Nazis.