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Such a frustrating disappointment

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

. . . notes Fanny Farrelly, long-widowed survivor of a U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice. She's just heard a house guest murdered in her garage, and provided a getaway car to the killer. With sons-in-law like that, who needs flower blossoms? Her young grandchildren remain upstairs, plotting their own future lives of violence. However, Fanny's biggest concern is that her good silver not be scratched. After all, house guests are a dime a dozen, but they may not make that pattern any more. WATCH ON THE RHINE went from Broadway to America's big screens in 1943, and something apparently got lost in the transition. There's neither a "watch" nor a "Rhine" in this film, but there is some pretty good acting (including the killer "Pops" Muller--who sort of combines Baron Von Trapp from THE SOUND OF MUSIC with Hannibal Lecter--for which Paul Lukas won an Oscar). WATCH ON THE RHINE came out when many Nazi sympathizers still sat in the U.S. Congress. That's why a character has to be so apologetic about killing Nazi sympathizers on screen. Evidentally, not enough films apologized to this extent, as Congress mounted a full scale assault on Tinsel Town a few years later.

Once again, Lillian Hellman takes on the fight against Fascism as she did with the analytical "The Little Foxes". Here, it is modern day Washington D.C. and German born Nazi hater Paul Lukas comes to the capitol on a mission while visiting his American wife's family. He is recognized by a traitorous Nazi sympathizer, calling into question his own values and bringing on a sacrifice that was necessary during the second world war. Bette Davis takes second fiddle to Lukas's showier lead, realizing how important this would be not only to her career but to the war as well. Propaganda, certainly, but well-written, definitely.The villain of the story is George Coulouris, playing both sides against the middle as European Count with only one goal in mind: cash. He's the type of sleaze who would sell out his own mother in order to grab on to the green, and also the type that the Nazis would kill as soon as they got all of the information he possessed. He's there as a guest, married to Geraldind Fitzgerald who obviously loves Davis's brother. Lucille Watson, as Davis's regal mother, takes her lovable character through many different levels: demanding, bossy, opinionated, slightly meddlesome, cheery, worried, shocked and finally contrite. But never is she any less than practically perfect, in performance and character. In a smaller role, Beaulah Bondi is Watson's wise housekeeper who is amused by Davis's feisty younger son who declares to Watson's surprise, "Yes, I am not handsome."War is never just on the battlefield, in the skies or on water. It is in the cities where all seems peaceful, in the country where hate grows like corn, and especially in the heart where it expands like a tumor. All it takes is one person like Coulouris to start the thread of intolerance and fascism spreads like plague. That's where Lukas must battle his own moral structure, coming to terms with the difference between being a pacifist and ridding the world of evil, whether it be one man or millions. The script leaves the story open, as was appropriate, as the theme states that the plot line of the world will never be completed as long as evil is allowed to roam the earth.

So tedious... what a shame. An important subject, great actors but... it's painful waiting for something to happen. I love Dashiell Hammett too, but his fine hand is not perceived in this movie. The first hour of this film is comprised mostly of incessant small talk, stilted dialog and self-important strains of "America (My Country Tis of Thee)". Finally the action is set in motion one hour into the film. At that point it becomes compelling for about 15 minutes, then lapses into preachy monologues. Despite the significance of the topic (Nazi resistance) especially in 1943 when the film was released, its mawkish sentimentality does not render this a robust examination of the theme in 2012. There is another film, released the year before, on this subject that we've all seen a few times at least... better to view that classic again than spend two vexing hours on this one.

What a truly, truly rich, moving experience. I love those films made in the war years, as they mean so much and teach so much and have so much more depth and meaning. This movie is no exception. I can see why Bette Davis took the role "for its importance." It teaches so much to the American people of its time - and even now - how we don't really know what it means to be a European in an Old World so often used to the kinds of conflict that created World War II.The movie also strikingly doesn't feel like propaganda, even though the message was clearly to move its audience into action (aren't all worthwhile films aimed at personal change?). It presented a very enlightening, moving perspective on both the German menace and the Underground protagonists. Muller (Paul Lukas) explains how we will one day feel pity for those Germans who just "follow orders" and are really just fools, like De Brancovis (George Coulouris). And the perspective that Muller and the Underground may indeed be like the evil they fight - to see Muller admit he was bad. Situations like this are not black and white.The acting in this are also marvelous. Paul Lukas is an inspiration to watch. The children are so very precious, as is Lucile Watson's character.After seeing this, my sister wanted to learn more about WWII, the Underground, and the Holocaust. Through it, she's had the experience I've had so long ago.In that time, I see character, selflessness, and purpose greater than self. I love it so, and I am saddened by the blatant selfishness that defines today's society. Movies like this inspire me and make me see continually that ideals and convictions can be attained and are indeed beautiful.