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The Worst Film Ever

A Disappointing Continuation

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This silly film need not detain us long. My only problem is that the movie has so many defects, it's difficult to decide where to start!But here in no particular order are some of its major problems:1. The script is absolutely ridiculous.2. The direction by Brian Desmond Hurst is less than competent.3. The acting by just about all concerned can only be described as not only laughably incompetent, but totally inadequate.4. The USA release title, "Suicide Squadron", is a cheap come-on.But on the other hand, the sets and the photography are sometimes attractive, and the music score, which includes the famous "Warsaw Concerto", is more than adequate.

What is wrong about this film? The story couldn't be better, and it is underscored by one of the best film scores ever made. Still, the film is far from a successful film.Whose fault is it? The director Brian Desmond Hurst made many films on the best of stories, but none of them really come alive, as if he was rather formally transferring a piece of literature to pictures without the capacity to make the actors transcend the story, as if their main task was not to act but only to sustain the story.Anton Walbrook makes the best of it, and he is reliable as in every film he ever made, but possibly sensitive to the director's limitations, he stays within himself throughout the film.Sally Grey just isn't enough. She is not well chosen for this role of a cool journalist of a millionaire's only daughter, rather spoiled and childish, and she is not psychologically convincing, just not living up to the profound and passionate romance that is presented in the first scenes in the ruins of Warsaw. After this film, she would make no other until five years later, but then she would be so much better in "Carnival".The main acting asset of the film is instead Derrick de Marney as Walbrook's colleague and best friend, who actually saves the film, although he is the only truly tragic figure.And how come that this outstanding music, by many deemed as the best film music ever made, doesn't succeed in saving the film? The guilty one here is actually Anton Walbrook - he is as far from convincing as a pianist as an actor could get. It's over-obvious that every single sequence with him playing the piano, and they are many, is faked. He is never seen to touch the keys, he is completely dispassionate sitting by the piano although the music couldn't be more passionate, and this is the main want of the film - the music is there, but it would have been better if we never had to see the pianist at work. It is recommended to close your eyes every time you see Anton Walbrook by the piano and listen to the real pianist instead of watching a painful fake.The story also saves the film. It is much deeper and more complicated than what it first appears like, and you need to see the film a couple of times before you understand it. The first time must be a disappointment. The second time you will understand everything you didn't understand the first time, and then you know how to deal with this - in spite of all - super-unique gem of a romantic war crisis film of patriotic passion and responsibility at stake on the altar of love.

It was inevitable that the piece of music Richard Addinsell composed for this film would become more popular than the movie itself, when it is heard over and over again in the 94 minutes original version or in the 82 minutes reduction made in the United States. Even at this shorter version, the movie seems overlong, because it takes too much screen time to tell a very simplistic patriotic tale. There is not enough passion transmitted by the Polish pianist and his American bride to carry on the movie, and on top of that, too much screen time is given to Derrick De Marney as an Irish suitor, who is supposed to be fiery and passionate but seems rather lame. Poor Sally Gray (25 years old) is trapped in the middle of Anton Walbrook who was 45 and De Marney, 35. The film is interesting up to the leading characters' wedding but after that, it becomes more routine than the previous first part. When Brian Desmond Hurt films the climatic concert as static and dull as he could manage, then you know there is not much to do, but wait for one air battle of the kind you have seen dozens of times. Only Addinsell was truly inspired when he worked in this production, so he deserves all the success of his «Warsaw Concerto».

An article in a British newspaper recently referred to this film not by its correct title but as "The Warsaw Concerto". (No film of that title has ever been made). This perhaps illustrates how the film's reputation has been eclipsed by that of its famous theme music. Richard Addinsell's music, later elaborated into a real concert piece, is still to be found in the classical repertoire more than sixty years after it was written, but the film has largely been forgotten.This is not really surprising, as the film itself is not all that good. It is a standard wartime combination of romance and propaganda. Sometimes, as with "Casablanca", this formula could result in a classic film of lasting quality, but "Dangerous Moonlight" is not in the same class. The central character, Stefan Radetzky, is a world-famous Polish pianist and composer, who also holds a commission as a fighter pilot in his country's air force. Following the German invasion of Poland, Radetzky escapes to America where he pursues his career as a concert pianist and also falls in love with, and marries, a beautiful female journalist. Tensions in the marriage arise when Radetzky decides that it is his patriotic duty to travel to Britain and to join the Polish air squadron which has been created to continue the struggle against Nazism. His wife, however, feels that his place is to remain in America with her.The film's propaganda function was twofold. Its makers aimed not only to keep up morale in Britain by highlighting the contribution to the war effort of our Polish allies, but also to influence public opinion in still-neutral America. The brilliant musician Radetzky stands as a symbol of that European high culture that was in danger from Nazi barbarism. The isolationist position of many Americans is made to look selfish and short-sighted. This position is adopted for a time by Radetzky's American wife Carol, until she comes to understand that her husband's duty is to fight for his country and that hers is to support him in that fight.Like many propaganda films of the time, this one was obviously made quickly and on a small budget. The acting is not distinguished and the sets, such as the bombed ruins of Warsaw, are clearly artificial. One thing that is, however, surprisingly good is the scenes of aerial combat; I have heard it suggested that genuine footage of dogfights was used. Apart from the music, however, this is not really a memorable film. 6/10 (5/10 for the film, with a bonus point for the music).A couple of goofs. The hero's surname was obviously chosen for its musical associations, but the normal Polish spelling would be Radecki. Radetzky is a Germanised form; Strauss's famous march was named after an Austrian general. At one point during the dogfight scenes we see a German bomber with its identification letters the wrong way round; these frames had obviously been inverted.