It's a story of stateless refugees during the Second World War. It's both a soap opera and a propaganda piece, so the refugees are very attractive and sympathetic for an American audience; Margaret Sullavan, Frederic March, Frances Dee, and Glen Ford showing only the hints of darkness appropriate to their situation, courtesy of a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, William H Daniels emphasizes their plight with low front lighting throwing vast interior shadows.
I've already stated it is a propaganda piece. It offers its message in plain sight; these are ordinary, decent people trapped in an inhumane world, where Erich von Stroheim, Wilhelm von Brincken, and Sig Ruman are malignant tyrants, untempered by inefficiency. The leads are innocent of any wrongdoing, save being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's carefully calculated to raise the ire and compassion of its American audience, and feelingly performed under the direction of John Cromwell at the peak of his powers.
I've already stated it is a propaganda piece. It offers its message in plain sight; these are ordinary, decent people trapped in an inhumane world, where Erich von Stroheim, Wilhelm von Brincken, and Sig Ruman are malignant tyrants, untempered by inefficiency. The leads are innocent of any wrongdoing, save being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's carefully calculated to raise the ire and compassion of its American audience, and feelingly performed under the direction of John Cromwell at the peak of his powers.