22 Jan Joan of Paris
Joan of Paris, WWII Movies starring Paul Henreid and Michele Morgan
(1942) Five British fighter pilots make their way to German-occupied Paris after being shot down over France. They struggle to get back to England with the help of a priest and a young French waitress.
When Joan of Paris was released it had only been weeks since the bombing of Pearl Harbor. According to TCM, RKO declared war with this film. Audiences were hungry for movies about what was happening in Europe, and this one did very well.
The 1942 audiences had no idea that as bad as it seemed in this film, it would only get worse. Much worse.
The beautiful French actress Michele Morgan came to the U.S. after the invasion of France but returned after the war. There she had a long and distinguished career. Her male lead was Paul Henreid who played Victor Laszlo in Casablanca later that same year.
I recognized Alan Ladd as a young pilot nicknamed “Baby” and thought perhaps this was an early role for him. Not at all. He was 29 years old and had already been in many movies over a span of ten years.
Father Antoine was familiar too. Thomas Mitchell played Scarlett O’Hara’s Dad in 1939. According to Wikipedia, he was the first person to win an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony Award.
The villain Gestapo was a standout. His name was Laird Cregar, and he played heavies very well for a few years. Then in 1944 he went on a crash diet to lose 100 pounds (he didn’t look that heavy) and died of a heart attack. He was only 31 years old.
Joan of Paris was a surprise to me. The acting, the music, the semblance of the dark streets of Paris … and yes, I teared up at the end.
Joan of Paris [VHS] at amazon.com
No Comments