Customer Reviews

Edge of Darkness [VHS]

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3 star:		(1)
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The movie tells the story of a small Norwegian fishing town which has been occupied for some time by German troops. Faced with the ever increasing intolerance, oppression and ruthlessness of the occupying force, the villagers carefully plan a rising, ably assisted by a British agent disguised as a high German official.

This powerful film has aged extremely well, has lost none of its appeal and is still deeply moving. The cast is superb: Ann Sheridan and Errol Flynn (who, for a change, managed to cast off his swashbuckling image so as to be just one fine performer among many others) are the gallant leaders of the resistance, Ruth Gordon and Walter Huston are the gentle town dignitaries who are drawn into the fighting only reluctantly, and Helmut Dantine plays the nasty German town commander, Hauptmann Koenig. Moreover, it becomes obvious that the director made a great effort to find the right actor for even the smallest supporting role.

Ironically, Austrian born actor Helmut Dantine became rather well known in the 40s for his performances of a typical nasty Nazi. In real life he was a victim of the Austrian Anschluss and had to leave his native country as a teenager after his release from a concentration camp where he had been put due to the important role he had played in the Viennese Anti-Nazi Youth Movement.

What I also found positive is that the ending is not overly pathetic (like, for example, "Mrs. Miniver"),but simply gave people hope for a brighter future.

"The Edge of Darkness" is one of the few movies made during World War II about World War II that holds up as more than just a propaganda piece. Warner Brothers pulled out all the stops with this intense and compelling drama about Norwegian villagers who rebel against their Nazi occupiers, giving the film a superior script, eye-popping camera work and a cast remarkable for its strength and versatility.

It may at first seem odd that Errol Flynn -- who gained stardom as the screen's premier swashbuckler -- was cast as a Norwegian fisherman/guerilla fighter. However, the wisdom of Warner Brothers in putting him in this role quickly becomes evident. His performance is restrained and believable, and he plays off the powerful ensemble cast with on-target accuracy.

"The Edge of Darkness" is a classic tale of good versus evil as only wartime Warner Brothers could have achieved it. The climactic uprising of villagers against their Nazi oppressors is enough to bring one to the edge of his seat and send chills of excitement dancing up his spine. This film is one of the best of its type, and shouldn't be missed. END

Edge of Darkness is one of the most effective films I have seen to show the rising of the common man against the enemy. In this film, it is a small Norwegian fishing village that has been occupied by the Nazis. Errol Flynn (as a fisherman), Ann Sheridan (the doctor's daughter), and Judith Anderson (owner of an inn) lead the underground movement to resist the Germans. Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon also star as Sheridan's parents, while Helmut Dantine is the heartless Nazi commander of the town and Nancy Coleman is his unhappy Polish mistress. The film traces the lives of some of the townspeople as their resistance grows, but never gets maudlin. The performances and the story are presented with restraint so that the bigger picture of a people engaged in a battle for their country is never lost. The camera is used to great effect, as is the music of Franz Waxman. Director Lewis Milestone creates a picture of heroism and shows the power of each person to stand up against the enemy. It was the sort of message that 1943 audiences needed to see as the world was at war, and audiences today can appreciate the film as a reminder of a time in our history when a lot of ordinary people did extraordinary things.

1943's "Edge of Darkness" portrays the acute plight of a small Norwegian village trapped under the thumb of brutal Nazi occupation during the Second World War. The presentation by veteran director Lewis Milestone is especially poignant; modern viewers must remember that the liberation of Norway was still an uncertain two years off when the movie was released.

Errol Flynn leads in an understated but solid performance as an ordinary and underachieving fisherman who is forced by circumstances to mature and become the leader of the local resistance. Walter Huston and Ruth Gordon turn in strong supporting roles as the brave town doctor and his wife. Ann Sheridan plays Flynn's love-interest, who runs afoul of the occupying troops and exacts a terrible revenge.

This movie is noteworthy for its fully developed characters and its subtle but unmistakable theme of grace under pressure by its very human characters. The occupied and the occupiers are painted in subtle shades of gray and not the black and white depiction that might have been expected in a war-time movie.

This movie is highly recommended as an above average example of the World War Two genre.

"Edge of Darkness," is a great war film. The message is a good one. It's very patriotic and posative. Errol Flynn plays a Norwegian fisherman who helps fight the Germans and stopping them from taking over Norway. The scenes are really moving and worth seeing. It's very inspiring and one of the best films I've seen.

There are several films made during WW2 about German occupation. "Hangmen Also Die" is a 1943 film about the true life assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi "Protector" of German-occupied Prague, aka "The Hangman". "The North Star" is a star studded 1943 war film produced by Sam Goldwyn for RKO and focuses on Ukraine resistance fighters. "Edge of Darkness" concerns Nazi occupation of a Norwegian village. Similar B films include "They Raid by Night" (1942), "Commandos Strike at Dawn" (1942), and "First Comes Courage" (1943).

In 1943 Flynn's best days were behind him. Captain Blood (1935) , Major Vickers (1936), Robin Hood (1938), the Earl of Essex (1939), George Armstrong Custer (1941), and Gentleman Jim Corbett (1942) were done and gone. He was near the apex and a steep decline was ahead of him. Apart from "Objective Burma" (1945), he would make one undistinguished film after another until 1957 when he made "The Sun Also Rises" and "Too Much Too Soon". In 1958 he made my favorite later day Flynn film - "The Roots of Heaven" - and he died shortly after that.

But here in 1943 Flynn was trying to reinvent himself, as something less than a swashbuckler. This was pretty hard to do with a statutory rape charge against him as the film was released, but everyone agrees that Flynn did a good job as the Norweigan resistance fighter. He foreshadows here some of the excellent work he would be capable of more a decade later.

Ann Sheridan co-stars in the second of 3 films she made with Flynn. She was one of the biggest box office stars of the late 30s and 40s and a top pinup girl in WW 2 when she was called "The Oomph Girl". She appeared in such box office hits as "Angels with Dirty Faces" (1938), "They Made me a Criminal" (1939), "Dodge City" (1939) with Flynn, "The Man Who Came to Dinner" (1942), and "King's Row" (1942). Known for her sex appeal, there is a solid actress underneath and she shows it here.

Walter Huston, Judith Anderson, Charles Dingle, Henry Brandon, and Ruth Gordon also appear.

Walter Huston was also in "The North Star" (1943), a film about the Nazi invasion of the Ukraine. Huston was churning out films in the 1930s, sometimes as many as 8 in a year. His performances were relatively undistinguished, even if some of the films (e.g., "Gabriel Over the White House") were hits. Huston got better as he got older, and he was nominated for an Oscar in 1937 ("Dodsworth") and 1942 ("Devil and Daniel Webster" and "Yankee Doodle Dandy") and won in 1949 for "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", just before he died in 1950. Huston plays a physician in this film, just as he did in "North Star"

Judith Anderson was nominated for an Oscar for her role in "Rebecca" (1940) and 8 times for an Emmy, winning twice ("MacBeth" in 1961 and MacBeth in 1951). In 1960 she was awarded the title "Dame" by Britain's Queen, and is usually called Dame Judith Anderson. Anderson made only a dozen films as she specialized in theatre.

Ruth Gordon is best known for her role in films like "Rosemary's Baby" (1968) and "Harold and Maude" (1971) for which she received Golden Globe awards. When she won the Oscar for "Rosemary's Baby" at the age of 72 she said - "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is, for a young actress like myself..." I loved her most in "Where's Poppa" (1970). Gordon plays it relatively straight in this film as Huston's wife.

Robust Charles Dingle plays the owner of a fish factory, a Nazi sympathizer. Dingle appeared in more than 50 films, such as "The Little Foxes" (1941) and "Duel in the Sun" (1946). He transitioned to TV in the 50s where he was active till his death in 1956.

Handsome Henry Brandon plays a British agent disguised as a German officer. He started off playing the villainous Silas Barnaby in "Babes in Toyland" (1934) and for most of his career continued in this vein. He's most famous for playing Scar in "The Searchers" (1956), one of 26 portrayals of an Indian he did in his career. He occasionally played the hero, as he does in this film and he also appeared with co-star Judith Anderson in a 1949 revival of Medea.

Lewis Milestone directs. Milestone worked in silent films ("The Racket" ,1928) and early sound (Hell's Angels" ,1930). He made more than 50 films, was nominated three times and won twice ("Two Arabian Knights" in 1927, "All Quiet on the Western Front" in 1930). Among his many films are such diverse projects as "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1962), "Ocean's Eleven" (1960), "Pork Chop Hill" (1959), "The North Star" (1943), and "Of Mice and Men" (1939).

Franz Waxman provides the score. Waxman was nominated for an Oscar 10 times and won twice ("A Place in the Sun" and "Sunset Blvd"). He was a favorite of Hitchcock who used him in 4 films and earned 2 of his Oscar nominations ("Rebecca" and "Suspicion"). At times Waxman's music could be overbearing (e.g., "Objective Burma"), but when he was good he was great. Waxman is good in this film, using the music to heighten the tension without distracting from the action.

Sid Hickox handles the camera. Hickox filmed hundreds of films for Warners and transitioned to TV in the 50s where he worked on "I Love Lucy" and "The Andy Griffith Show". Though never nominated for any award, his camerawork was good, and he was responsible for films such as "God is my Co-Pilot" (1945), "White Heat" (1949), and my Hickox favorite, "Dark Passage" (1947). His work in this film is exceptional. There are unusual (but effective) camera angles, good tracking shots, shots through binoculars, etc. And he is particularly filming the model sets.

This is a worthwhile film to watch. The performances are uniformly good, Flynn's maturation is evident as are his acting skills, and the camerawork is more than interesting. The special effects and use of models is exceptional for the times.

All who see this film should read John Steinbeck's play "The Moon is Down".