Themes: Life on the Homefront, Crimes Against Humanity
Main Cast: Fredric March, Margaret Sullavan, Frances Dee, Glenn Ford, Anna Sten
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
Plot
The Nazis are clearly the villains in So Ends Our Night, but since the film was made before America's entry into World War II, Adolph Hitler goes unmentioned (we wouldn't want to lose those foreign markets, would we?) Based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel Flotsam, the film zeroes in on three German refugees. Frederic March despises the Nazis on ideological grounds; Margaret Sullavan, a Jew, is fleeing for her life; and Glenn Ford, born of a Jewish mother and Aryan father, is racked with confusion and torn loyalties. The three separate as they move from country to country in Europe, just a step or so ahead of the advancing Nazis. As Sullavan and Ford fall in love, March puts his life on the line by trying to arrange a reunion with his ailing wife Frances Dee, who has remained in Germany. Had So Ends Our Night been released a few months after the US entry into the war, it might have done better at the box office. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
So Ends Our Night is a surprisingly neglected wartime propaganda drama, predating America's entry into the war by several months. That "propaganda" tag can be debated, which is a positive indication that the filmmakers did their job better than many other propaganda films of the period, but the forced message that is presented does ring a bit false, even if its sentiments and viewpoint are totally honorable. Night would have been even more effective had its screenplay had not been so repetitive, or some of the scrapes presented not come across as so artificial. The film could also have stood to lose fifteen or so minutes. That said, there is much to recommend in Night, starting with the excellent production design from William Cameron Menzies. This is an especially important factor in the film's success, as the many foreign locations and atmospheres had to be made abundantly clear in visual terms, and Menzies succeeded admirably. Also first rate is William H. Daniels' cinematography, which films through overhanging set pieces quite effectively. John Cromwell's direction, though lacking in pace, keeps the disparate threads knotted together. The film's trio of stars come off well, with Fredric March perhaps the most successful. Margaret Sullavan is a tad too old for her role, and Glenn Ford a tad too inexperienced, but both are quite good overall. Even better are supporting players Anna Sten, Erich Von Stroheim and Frances Dee; the scene in which March must tell Dee good-bye without attracting attention is a marvel. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Jack Otterson - Art Director, John Cromwell - Director, William H. Reynolds - Editor, Louis Gruenberg - Composer (Music Score), William Cameron Menzies - Production Designer, William H. Daniels - Cinematographer, Albert Lewin - Producer, David L. Loew - Producer, Jack Cosgrove - Special Effects, Talbot Jennings - Screenwriter, Erich Maria Remarque - Screenwriter, Erich Maria Remarque - Book Author
