Edge of Darkness [Blu-ray]

Director: Lewis Milestone Lewis Milestone

Overview

The Norwegian resistance to the Nazi occupation of their country inspired several wartime films from Hollywood, including this Warner Bros. production, filmed in and around Monterey, California. In October 1942, a German observation airplane discovers a seaside village named Trollness where the Norwegian flag is flying over the town square. A ground patrol discovers an empty town littered with corpses, including a number of Nazi officials. The story of the massacre is told in flashback. Errol Flynn plays Gunnar Brogge, a fisherman engaged to Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan), whose father, Martin ({Walter Huston), is the village physician. Gunnar and Karen are working to undermine the Nazis. The town is divided, with the minister leading a contingent which believes that violence, even against the sadistic Germans, is morally wrong. Karen is concerned about the imminent arrival of her brother, who is known to be friendly to the German occupiers; she fears he may learn of plans by the British to deliver a supply of guns to the resistance. The Nazi commandant, Captain Konig (Helmut Dantine), keeps up the pressure to learn of any opposition to his administration, eventually deciding to execute a selected number of the villagers to force someone to reveal the extent of the resistance's schemes.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/22/2022
UPC:	0883929787029
Original Release:	1943
Rating:	NR
Source:	Warner Archives
Language:	English
Time:	1:59:00
Sales rank:	23,481

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Errol Flynn	Gunnar Brogge
Ann Sheridan	Karen Stensgard
Walter Huston	Dr. Martin Stensgard
Ruth Gordon	Anna Stensgard
Nancy Coleman	Katja
Tom Fadden	Hammer
Judith Anderson	Gerd
John Beal	Johann
Helmut Dantine	Koenig
Charles Dingle	Kaspar
Morris Carnovsky	Sixtus Andresen/Schoolmaster
Roman Bohnen	Lars Malken
Richard Fraser	Pastor Aalesen
Art Smith	Knut Osterholm
Henry Brandon	Major Ruck/British Spy
Tonio Selwart	Paul
Helene Thimig	Frida
Frank Wilcox	Jensen
Francis Pierlot	Mortensen
Lottie Williams	Mrs. Mortensen,Mrs. Mortensen
Monte Blue	Petersen
Dorothy Tree	Solveig Brategaard
Virginia Christine	Hulda, Doctor's Maid
Henry Rowland	Helmut
Kurt Katch	German Captain
Kurt Kreuger	German Aviator
Peter Van Eyck	German Soldier
Vera Lewis	Woman
Torben Meyer	Clerk
Walt LaRue	Villager/Patriot
William Edmunds	Elderly Sailor
Victor Potel	Man
Richard Kipling	Man
Frederick Giermann	German Soldier
Rolf Lindau	German Soldier
Peter Michael	German Soldier
Franz Waxman	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Rossen

Lewis Milestone	Director
Robert Rossen	Screenwriter
Henry Blanke	Producer
Lawrence Butler	Special Effects
Willard Van Enger	Special Effects
Don Siegel	Special Effects
James Leicester	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

One of the great chapters of World War II history is the amazing and persistent resistance put up by the Norwegians against their Nazi occupiers. Sadly, few Hollywood films since the war have been made from these dramatic stories, though there were a spate of wartime releases: The Commandos Have Landed (also known as They Raid by Night), First Comes Courage, Commandos Strike at Dawn, and perhaps the best of the lot, Edge of Darkness. Edge benefits from a solid pedigree: veteran director Lewis Milestone, up-and-coming screenwriter Robert Rossen, and a first-rate cast of Warner Bros. players, none of them Norwegian, but all quite convincing nonetheless. The film is best at showing how not every citizen of Norway believed that the Nazis' iron fist could or even should be countered with sabotage. In a small village, this means that the plans of the freedom fighters have to be closely guarded, with even families split along either side of the debate. Shooting on locations on the California coast that resemble Norway adds a level of authenticity. And the action sequences are well staged, particularly a siege of a mountain cabin. If the heroics at the conclusion feel a bit contrived, it's understandable, given that the film was released while the battle in Norway was still raging.

All Movie Guide - Tom Wiener