This Above All
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | This Above All |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1942 |
| length | 110 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Anatole Litvak |
| script | RC sheriff |
| production | Darryl F. Zanuck for 20th Century Fox |
| music | Alfred Newman |
| camera | Arthur C. Miller |
| cut | Walter Thompson |
| occupation | |
| |
This Above All is a 1942 American film about a patriotic young woman and her efforts to convince her deserted fiance that it is honorable to die for your own country. The main roles are played by Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine , directed by Anatole Litvak . The film is based on the eponymous novel by Eric Knight .
action
England during the first days of the Second World War . Prudence Cathaway, daughter of a noble general, shocked her family with the announcement that she would work in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) to defeat Germany. In the training center she meets the young, handsome Clive Briggs, who loathes all nobles from the bottom of his heart. Despite their different views and social backgrounds, the two fall in love and spend happy hours. However, Prudence hides her aristocratic roots. Then there is a scandal when Clive confesses to Prudence that he deserted immediately after the evacuation of the British army from Dunkirk . He would never be in a position to lose his life for such a depraved upper class as England rules. Prudence gives a fiery speech about England's virtues and proud history, but in vain. Just as Clive has left Prudence, he is mistaken for a spy and shot down. At the hospital, Clive decides to propose to Prudence. Shortly before the operation, which will either lead to life or death for Clive, the two marry. While Clive waits for the operation, Sister Emily reads a few lines from Hamlet to the newlyweds and ends with the words:
- "This above all: To thine own self be true. / And it must follow, as the night the day, / You canst not then be false to any man. "
Then the air raid sirens go off and while the bombs fall, the hospital room sinks into darkness.
background
With the outbreak of war in Europe, American studios began a whole series of films that expressed sympathy and support for the fighting English people. This Above All , the film adaptation of a popular novel by Eric Knight , was one of the first of these so-called "hands across the Atlantic" films. Other films were Mrs. Miniver , The White Cliffs of Dover and In Which We Serve , which from different perspectives postulated the unbroken will and willingness to suffer of the British in a mostly transfigured way. The studio initially considered casting the male lead with Robert Donat or Laurence Olivier before choosing Tyrone Power , then 20th Century Fox's biggest male star . Joan Fontaine initially turned down her role before David O. Selznick , with whom she was under contract, more or less forced the actress to accept the engagement. Fontaine received a fee of $ 75,000 for the six weeks of filming.
reception
The New York Times praised the adaptation ("Twentieth Century-Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck have derived a taut and poignant war film") and explicitly emphasized how exactly and exactly film and book would match, especially with regard to the tragic ending (" Readers of the book will be happy to know that Twentieth Century-Fox has not violated the original's ending. ")
Awards
At the Academy Awards in 1943 , the film received four nominations in the categories and won one of the awards:
- Best production design (black and white film) - won
- Best camera (black and white film)
- Best cut
- Best tone