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best movie i've ever seen.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I find it amazing that only eight people reviewed this movie. Why? It is a classic. Mere Oberon ( Helen Drummond) dominates every single scene she is. I love how she faces every obstacle from a position of strength. Spoilers ahead: She and Irish leader Dennis Riordan ( meet and fall in love ( despite her being an English Aristocrat and him being an Irish Leader)), You see the scenes where she brings an injured Irish boy home ( despite the fact he hates her because the English were responsible for his father's death. Also when she meets the Irish enemies of not only her but of Riordan ( such as Liam Burke ( Donald Crisp), They ignored what she said to them, yet they respected the fact she would face them. Oberon was one of the most beautiful women in Motion Picture History, but you see what a great actress she was. It should be a must see movie for any can of hers. 10/10 stars.

Don't expect the true story of what was going on in Dublin and most of Ireland during the early 1920's; That has been sanitized out as to not "offend" the movie viewers over there. What is present is an acceptable love story with some of the political intrigue intact, but it is basic background to the typical romantic struggles of total opposites whose love affair seems to be doomed from the start.Brian Donlevy plays a fictional character, possibly a composite of various Irish rebels who eluded the police and military and stirred up enough trouble to keep this rebellion going on for decades. When Merle Oberon arrives with her British ambassador father (Henry Stephenson) in Dublin, she accidentally encounters Donlevy and after some initial unpleasantness from him because of her station in life, they can't help but admit that they are attracted to each other. She is trapped inside his hide-out during a raid and after being taken back to London, convinces her father to set up a meeting with the leaders of the rebellion. Members of Donlevy's team (particularly Donald Crisp and Jerome Cowan) are against a "treaty", and this leads to Donlevy accused of being a traitor.While female roles in movies like this are usually meant to be merely "window dressing", Oberon adds some spark into her character which makes her much more interesting. She tosses out enough of her own ideals about the rebellion, and this makes her more compelling as a part of a serious plot. This is where the film succeeds as its structure isn't about the actual rebellion or the reasons behind it, but cause and effect and looming tragedy when one member of a rebel team seems to be drifting away from his priorities. Solid acting, outstanding production design and sparking direction by H.C. Potter makes up for the lack of fact that was already covered in plays and films like "Juno and the Paycock" and "The Informer".In order to enjoy this film it helps to know a little something about this period of history, something which has recurred between Ireland and "the mother country" a lot over the future decades. On the level of a doomed love story, it works best, with Oberon and Aherne a gorgeous pair whom you root for up to the moving finale.

Leave it to Sam Goldlwyn (and associates) to turn the Troubles of 1920 into a typical Hollywood melodrama and soapy love story. This is truly a curiosity, right up there with John Howard Lawson's BLOCKADE—the one about the Spanish Civil War. Whenever Hollywood touched controversial political subjects like this one there was always a chance that one side or other of the box-office might be offended. Therefore, we are never quite certain what the Irish want, other than Brian Aherne wanting Merle Oberon (and who can blame him), but somehow the message is clear that if an Irish rebel Romeo and an English lady Juliet had managed to wiggle themselves into a peace conference things might have worked out better for both sides. This is a lavish production, lit glamorously by the great Greg Toland with lots of moody sets build on the Goldwyn Formosa Street lot, and the usual collection of expatriated English and Irish character actors. The great Irish actor and Abbey Theater member, Dennis O'Dea, has a small part as one of the rebels. He was later to seen in a similar role in ODD MAN OUT. All-American Jerome Cowan, best remembered as a wise-cracking best friend or reporter, makes his screen appearance here wearing a cap cocked on his head as he uses an odd Irish accent.

I admit it. I gave this film a 10 for purely subjective reasons. I love the sound, the look and the emotional content of the two stars. Brian Aherne was so very beautiful that he is quite literally stunning. Merle Oberon was never lovelier. The sound, the dialog, the vocabulary. Wow. They had faces and voices then and they had grace. If one compares the sheer heart of these performances, these scripts with the current crop, one could weep. A profound thank you for this film, even with the fictionalized ending. Lovely. Truly memorable in every meaning of that word even if the 10 is a bit of an exaggeration, it is only a very slight one. Lovely.