Kurt and Sara Muller (Paul Lukas, Bette Davis) and their three children flee Nazi Germany to live with Sara's family in Washington, D.C. Little do they know Sara's family already has two guests, Rumanian count Teck de Brancovis and his American wife Marthe (George Coulouris, Geraldine Fitzgerald). Teck is a slimy weasel who is trying to curry favor with the Nazi's. There's also a subplot about Marthe falling in love with Sara's brother David (Donald Woods).
This is a touching, thoughtful, drama with a little added suspense. It has some fine acting (Lukas won an Oscar) and a good script written by Dashiell Hammett based on the play by Lillian Hellman. One of the main complaints among the reviews I've read is that the children act and talk like adults, not like real children. This is addressed in the film as Sara's mother even asks them if they are "children or dressed-up midgets." The kids were supposed to be intelligent and mature, both because of how they had been raised as well as the environment they had grown up in, with politics and causes taking the place of a normal childhood. So I really don't see why this is a point of complaint for so many. They weren't trying to pass the kids off as your average children. Anyway, it's a good movie with WW2 themes and strong performances from all. Lukas and Davis are especially good.
This is a touching, thoughtful, drama with a little added suspense. It has some fine acting (Lukas won an Oscar) and a good script written by Dashiell Hammett based on the play by Lillian Hellman. One of the main complaints among the reviews I've read is that the children act and talk like adults, not like real children. This is addressed in the film as Sara's mother even asks them if they are "children or dressed-up midgets." The kids were supposed to be intelligent and mature, both because of how they had been raised as well as the environment they had grown up in, with politics and causes taking the place of a normal childhood. So I really don't see why this is a point of complaint for so many. They weren't trying to pass the kids off as your average children. Anyway, it's a good movie with WW2 themes and strong performances from all. Lukas and Davis are especially good.