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Reunion in France (DVD)
Genre | Drama, Military & War, Action & Adventure |
Format | Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Black & White, Subtitled |
Contributor | John Wayne, Jules Dassin, Joan Crawford |
Language | English |
Runtime | 1 hour and 44 minutes |
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Product Description
Product Description
Reunion in France (DVD) A Frenchwoman believes that her fiance is a Nazi collaborator.
Amazon.com
The lone pairing of Joan Crawford and John Wayne is reason enough for being curious about Reunion in France, a flagrantly preposterous World War II melodrama with a surprisingly distinguished roster of contributors--from producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, co-screenwriter Marc Connelly, and director Jules Dassin to such stalwart character actors as Philip Dorn, John Carradine, Reginald Owen, Henry Daniell, Albert Bassermann, Howard Da Silva, and unbilled bit player Ava Gardner. It's a Crawford vehicle all the way (her next-to-last at MGM), with her as a heedless French fashionista in love with ultra-swank, wealthy industrial designer Dorn. While on a trip, Crawford finds herself under German bombs and, after suffering in the company of other, much less stylishly costumed refugees, makes her way back to Paris. There she's shocked to discover Dorn still enjoying his upper-crust lifestyle: he's lent his skills and factories to the Nazi war machine, and Crawford--appalled and suddenly penniless--seeks gainful employment and moral rearmament with her favorite modiste.
Wayne enters the picture a couple of reels in, an American flyboy who signed on with the RAF, crashed in France, and made his way to Paris. Inveigling himself into Crawford's arms under the eyes of a Gestapo agent, he enjoys her reluctant protection for a good deal longer than credibility can bear. People who know such things have recorded that, in reality, Crawford made any number of heavy passes at her costar, but there was no chemistry between them offscreen or on. The one scene in the film with any sting features veteran German actor Ernst Deutsch (the future Baron Kurtz of The Third Man, billed as Ernest Dorian in his Hollywood years) as a Nazi officer tormented by the knowledge that he is loathed by the people whose nation he occupies. --Richard T. Jameson
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.37:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches; 1.6 Ounces
- Item model number : 2211043
- Director : Jules Dassin
- Media Format : Multiple Formats, Closed-captioned, NTSC, Black & White, Subtitled
- Run time : 1 hour and 44 minutes
- Release date : May 22, 2007
- Actors : John Wayne, Joan Crawford
- Subtitles: : English, French
- Language : English (Mono)
- Studio : WarnerBrothers
- ASIN : B000O179JK
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #81,861 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,174 in Military & War (Movies & TV)
- #3,338 in Romance (Movies & TV)
- #7,968 in Action & Adventure DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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Joan Crawford represents the spoiled darling that was France, now ready to join the Resistance and fight for freedom. (Don't worry, those oblivious Nazis actually FETCH HER ENTIRE COUTURE WARDROBE to the modest digs she occupies when they have taken over the lion's share of her house.)
The two who take away the film, though, are Henry Daniell and John Carradine, both playing Nazi officers. The former, who has been wounded by the bite of an enemy dog, is in charge of Joan's house when it is commandeered. He is captivated by Joan, who lets him back her up against the wall and KISS HER ON THE LIPS so that John Wayne can make his getaway. John Carradine is the head of the Gestapo in Paris, and he is so sinister, sombre and sexless that you may find yourself fretting that Joan might have a little trouble with him. Don't. She will triumph at the end.
My favourite scene is in a nightclub. There is an African-American jazz band playing and the singer is belting out "I'll be glad when you're dead, you rascals, you! I'll be glad when you're dead, and Adolf, too!" The smiling, finger-tapping Nazi couples just lap it up. They don't know English, I suppose. (What makes this even weirder is that the whole movie is in nothing BUT English. But don't worry about it.)
A joy from start to finish. Please watch and enjoy. This is right up there with _Adventures of Tartu_ with Robert Donat!
We learn that she is a wealthy and spoiled Frenchwoman who has no interest in current events like that oh-so-inconvenient war raging in Europe; so she flits off to the south of France for a break while Robert stays behind to do whatever it is he does.
And that's when the "stuff" hits the fan and France is invaded. We are treated to a montage of newspaper headlines, archival footage of various battles, and shots of Michele experiencing the inconveniences of war! Poor Michele!
When she finally returns to Paris it is an occupied city, and her humble mansion has been commandeered by the Nazis as an office of some sort. When she is finally reunited with Robert it is at another banquet. This time it is filled with Nazis! It appears that Robert is a collaborator! And Michele is having none of this or him!
Well, a girl's gotta eat, so she hoofs it to Montanot, the (once-exclusive) Parisian boutique where she used to get her gorgeous gowns. Only this time she's looking for a job. Her attitude towards the staff has changed dramatically by this time. She is humbled.
It's on the way home from work one evening that she encounters RAF pilot Pat Talbot (John Wayne) lurking in the shadows, trying to outrun the Nazis chasing him. Michele gives him a hiding place, then the rest of the story is all about trying to get Pat out of Nazi occupied France.
Random Notes:
Joan doesn't even attempt a French accent.
There must have been a sub-plot cut out of the film involving the gas mask cannister that Michele carries then leaves behind with Robert. It's never explained why there was a small box in the canister instead of a mask.
The filmmakers take quite a few amusing jabs at the weight and lack of sophistication of the occupying Nazi women. There's a scene at Montenot where the women are fighting over clothes on a table like pigs at a trough. And one of the former models at the shop explains that she no longer models clothes there because "... mannequins are running to larger sizes now!"
Natalie Schafer (Mrs. Thurston Howell, AKA "Lovey" from Gilligan's Island) makes an appearance as a spoiled rich Nazi woman.
Although I really do not care for John Wayne, I've got to admit that he was tolerable here.
The very last scene is kind of cheesy but understandable for the time period.
Overall, it's a fairly entertaining 100 minutes with a somewhat convoluted plot. Not a bad way to pass the time.
Top reviews from other countries
Se trata de una película que trata sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial y principalmente la invasión por los alemanes a Francia, con los movimientos secretos de la "Resistencia" de manera que hay momentos en que no todo es lo que parece y quienes parecían traidores eran de la "Resistencia" francesa. La protagonista total es Michele de la Becque (Joan Crawford) y desengañada de su amor Robert Cortot (Philip Dorn) que parece que es un traidor a Francia y amigo de los nazis pero luego resulta ser otra cosa y Pat Talbot (Jooh Wayne) que hace de aviador americano al que Michelle protege e intenta sacarlo de París y del que se enamora temporalmente
Il est le 3ème personnage de l'histoire.
Le DVD est lisible en zone 2.
Il est en anglais avec sous-titre français possible.
Les images et le son sont satisfaisants.
2 bonus avec le DVD : un très court-métrage humoristique et un dessin animé, comme dans le temps !
However there was a flash of Chinese writing when dvd first played before the menu screen.
Other than that really pleased