So Ends Our Night (1941)

So much average

Great Film overall

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

"So Ends Our Night" is an anti-Nazi film based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque--the man whose works were banned by the Party due to his insistence in his writings (such as "All Quiet on the Western Front") that war was not at all fun but actually quite bad (imagine that!). As he himself had been forced to flee Nazi Germany, it's not at all surprising that this story is all about German expatriates who also fled the nation for their lives. The film came out 10 months before the US entered WWII and was actually among the first to be critical of the fascists. Despite the war in Europe having been raging for a year and a half, the US film industry was very slow to produce films condemning the Nazis--mostly due to stupid anti-First Amendment legislation that forced neutrality in films.The film stars three actors who didn't seem the least bit German--Frederic March, Glenn Ford and Margaret Sullavan. And so, it seemed more like three Americans trapped in Europe. However, despite being strong American accents (which is odd, as the supporting characters all have European accents), the actors did a fine job in the film and the story was compelling.As for the story, it's about three people who have fled Germany and are forced to wander about Europe, as they have no passports and are always one step away from deportation (where it would mean almost certain death). The three did not know each other until their exile but are now becoming good friends--thanks to the bind of shared misery. Again and again it looks as if one of them might somehow escape but repeatedly their efforts to legally remain outside Germany are thwarted. I was surprised, however, that March was given a much smaller role than Ford, as in 1941 Glenn Ford was definitely a newcomer and March was an established star.While this is a very good film, I couldn't help but notice that there were a few better anti-Nazi films from the same era--in particular, "Mortal Storm" (also starring Sullavan) and "Arise My Love". Still, it was quite compelling and I am sure it did a lot to solidify the American public towards the notion of one day joining in the war.

Stateless refugees from Hitler's Germany must move from one country to the next in this realistic film from 1941. The realism is in the cast of actors other than the well known Glenn Ford, Frederic March, Frances Dee, and Margaret Sullavan, those playing the smaller but important parts of spies, sympathizers, officials, restaurateurs, nurses, etc...all with a keen eye for authenticity and details. As well, one of the best parts in the film is played by Erich Von Stroheim as an intelligent, sympathetic, and cunning SS officer who's out to arrest the non-conformist played in a terrific part by Frederic March. So while we follow the main characters and a touching love story and a biting role for March, the real value of the picture is the portrait it paints in its portrayals of the other people caught up in the pre-war manoeuvrings.

All the players deliver fine multi-dimensional and interesting characters in this fine 1941 movie, but especially Glenn Ford and Mergaret Sullivan. I did not find the story depressing because most characters dealt with their unfortunate situation of being exiles without papers (and thereby forbidden jobs and usually hunted down) with determination and a will to survive.While holding nothing back in my recommendation that you at once order this long-unavailable film in DVD, I have just one bone to pick with it, one that didn't even exist when the film was made in 1941: I do not like the way persons in the movie industry have re-written the history of World War II to create the erroneous impression that it was all about the Jews, the Jews, and nothing but the Jews. Ask any young person today about World War II and they'll answer in the context of the Jews. Bunk! What does anybody think about the 20 minute obliteration of Rotterdam, or the fire-bombing of London? Better yet, visit the cemetery at Normandy (which the drive-by media forgot all about this year; not one word of remembrance for those who bought our freedom with their lives; of no importance to NBC, CBS or ABC.)The evil of the Nazi's and their hatred of other people included Catholics, Protestants, Poles, English, French, Dutch, Belgians, Czechs, Hungarians, and a whole lot more. With this caution and this reservation, I recommend this movie. Plot, history, characterization, emotion, people you'll care about. They don't make movies like this anymore. We've seen Sex and the City, so now what? Kung Fu Panda? Don't Mess with Zohan? I think we'll stay home.

I would recommend this film to be watched by anyone. I first saw it at a teenager and have never forgotten it. The film handled a hopeless situation in a very humane and touching way. With the problems in Kosovo now the film is just as up to date as it was in 1941 when it was made. I would give this film a 10+ rating in my opinion.