This Above All (1942) User Reviews

Good performances heighten World War II romance

[blanche-2 · 8/10 · 6 May 2006]

Tyrone Power is a man with a secret when he falls in love with upper class Joan Fontaine in "This Above All," a 1942 film that also stars Thomas Mitchell and Gladys Cooper. Fontaine plays Prudence, a young woman from a wealthy British family who joins the WAFs. One night, a fellow WAF asks her to double date with her and her soon to be fiancée, and there, in the darkness of a blackout, she meets Clive Briggs (Power), a very complicated young man who's not in uniform. The two fall in love and go on holiday together, and it is while vacationing that Prudence realizes that Clive has seen battle. She finally wrenches his secret out of him.

This is a really lovely, dark film based on the book of the same name. Unlike the movie, the book is filled with sex so there, it disappoints. Thanks to the code, the couple have adjoining rooms, and Prudence tells her father, "We've done nothing to be ashamed of." It's somewhat frustrating - I mean, it's Tyrone Power in the next room, and you're not sleeping with him?

Despite this, the performances are wonderful. Fontaine, with her soft, elegant beauty, is totally believable as both a compassionate and a passionate woman. Power's almost ridiculous beauty of the 1930s, that ethereal perfection that outshone his female costars, has been replaced by 1942 with the wonderful handsomeness that would carry him through the '50s. His looks - and the roles given him by his studio - caused him to be underrated as an actor. Here, however, he's the Larry Darrell of "The Razor's Edge" gone over to the dark side - troubled, pensive, sometimes cold, with moods that change abruptly - and he's excellent in what is a very different kind of role for him.

One never loses what's Clive's about. For instance, Clive resents and hates the upper class. When he walks into the office of the commanding officer he begged to see and hears him making social plans on the telephone, his face changes, and you realize that this is the type of person that he detests.

If only Mr. Zanuck hadn't been so enamored of Power's voice that he discouraged him from doing accents. There's no doubt, if his fooling around in "Rose of Washington Square" and suggestion of an accent in "Lloyds of London" are any indication, that he could have done a British accent without any problem were it demanded of him. Gregory Peck didn't use one either in The Guns of Navarone which confused people. But according to "Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck," the studio head had very rigid ideas about his most important star.

One poster thought this would have been a good role for Olivier - I disagree. Olivier would not have been as convincing as a common man as Power was.

This is a propaganda film, of course, so Fontaine has a big monologue about England and what it means. It's a little melodramatic but appropriate given the times and the subject matter. This is a minor point in a film rich with characterization and atmosphere.

When Clive and Prudence first meet, they catch a glimpse of one another while a cigarette is being lit - it's terribly romantic and sweet, as is the entire film. Highly recommended.

Class Carries Responsibility

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 23 December 2009]

Although the English born, Laurence Olivier, Richard Greene, or Robert Donat would have done the part of Clive Briggs great justice, there was nothing wrong with the performance Tyrone Power gave in This Above All. Power does not even attempt an English accent, yet his performance is every bit as good as Robert Taylor's in Waterloo Bridge.

Eric Knight's novel was a big seller and the film is a serious examination as to why this is the people's war. In a curious way Power's views which do undergo a radical transformation are a mirror image of what Marlon Brando said in The Young Lions about class distinctions.

And in the same year of This Above All, Teresa Wright in Mrs. Miniver upheld the tradition of the upper classes. One of my favorite scenes from that film is Wright telling Richard Ney about the things she's involved in to make her corner of the world better. Joan Fontaine feels the same way, before she meets the cynical Power she tells her family that she feels she has to get in and do her bit. She joins the Women's Auxiliary Army Force as an enlistee, not even an officer. She feels as did Wright that class also carries responsibility.

Power and Fontaine are a perfectly matched pair, she just coming off her Oscar and him at the height of his box office draw. Hollywood's English colony fills out the rest of the cast with the exception of Thomas Mitchell who is inevitably Irish.

This Above All won an Oscar for Best Art Direction and it was nominated in several other categories. The film holds up remarkably well because it is both patriotic, but a very atypical and cynical film for its time, not your normal flag-waver.

Radiant Fontaine and handsome Power caught in wartime romance...

[Doylenf · 6/10 · 3 October 2007]

THIS ABOVE ALL succeeds as a romantic drama largely because of the two leading performances of TYRONE POWER and JOAN FONTAINE, both at their physical peak. Fontaine makes a radiant, spirited Prudence and Power has that sincere quality that makes Clive a real character.

On the debit side, it has the faults typical of many wartime films in the '40s--the propaganda attitude is full of flag-waving moments, such as Fontaine's monologue about England's brave fight for victory. Nevertheless, she gives one of her better performances as an aristocratic young British woman who enlists in the WAF, meets Power and quickly falls deeply in love. It's the romantic aspect of the tale that is a clear winner--but the preachy elements in the screenplay do considerable harm in dulling its merits as a motion picture.

The wartime scenes of bombings and air raids is extremely well handled, the B&W photography is excellent, but Alfred Newman's syrupy score used throughout never gets a chance to rest.

Power and Fontaine make a handsome couple and the cast includes Thomas Mitchell, always a welcome character actor, as a caring friend.

Anatole Litvak's direction is occasionally striking but this director has done much more dramatic and serious work (such as SORRY, WRONG NUMBER and THE SNAKE PIT) with greater effect.

It ends up being only mildly satisfying, mainly because of the chemistry of the two stars.

A good wartime romance and a good role for Fontaine

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 13 March 2021]

With the entry of England into WW2, upper class Prudence Cathaway (Joan Fontaine) joins the women's auxiliary force, much to the annoyance of her snobbish relatives. Prudence later meets working-class Clive Briggs (Tyrone Power) on a blind date, and the two fall in love, although Clive reveals little about his past, and Prudence can sense something heavy on his mind. Eventually she learns that not only was Clive recognized for bravery during the Dunkirk evacuation, but that he has subsequently gone AWOL. Will Clive change his mind and return to service, or is he destined to be a fugitive?

I don't often warm to Fontaine, but she's good here, sweetly human and beautiful. Power gets to stretch a bit with a darker character, and he's up to the challenge. The supporting players don't have a lot to do, but they're all memorable professionals, and help keep the movie interesting. Two scenes that struck me as especially noteworthy: the initial date between Fontaine and Power is held during a blackout, with very little light, and only the occasional match strike providing fleeting illumination of faces. The other scene is later in the film, as a frantic Power runs through the wrecked streets of a London neighborhood during an air raid. Bombs are falling, fires are burning, a plane even crashes into a nearby apartment house, all with panicked citizens and valiant firemen running to and fro. A very well executed sequence. The movie received Oscar nominations for Best B&W Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Editing, and it won for Best B&W Art Direction.

Compares very favorably to Mrs. Miniver

[vincentlynch-moonoi · 7/10 · 8 August 2013]

I had never heard of this film, despite very much liking Tyrone Power and sometimes liking Joan Fontaine. But it's a gem...mostly! Tyrone Power...well, I may be a man, but what a hunk! And, more importantly, what an actor, and he's as good here as ever as a former soldier troubled as WWII gets more and more difficult. Joan Fontaine here has lost her sometimes-haughtiness, and is so good as the upper class young lady who joins the WAF and falls in love (with Power).

Thomas Mitchell, usually a favorite character actor of mine, seemed slightly out of place here as an older soldier. Nigel Bruce has a very nice role here as an innkeeper; if you don't know he's in the film, you almost might not recognize him. Gladys Cooper, a wonderful character actress is here; sometimes she was wonderfully sweet, and sometimes quite the opposite; this is quite the opposite, and she doesn't get much screen time. One of the better small roles is Alexander Knox as a minister who knows the horror of war.

The story is a good one -- a deserter (although we don't know that until later in the film) is struggling because of his reasons for not going back to the front...not cowardice, but animosity toward who the war will really benefit (the upper class of British society). He falls in love with an upper class British girl who has joined the WAF. They have some wonderful times together, but then he becomes hunted. Where will he go? What will he ultimately do? And then he is severely injured when saving a family during an air raid, and Fontaine's father -- a surgeon -- saves his life...and Fontaine and Power are married in the hospital.

I wasn't particularly enamored with the ending, which seemed to come very suddenly, but overall this was a very well-done film. Some say it's 20th Century Fox's answer to MGM's "Mrs. Miniver" (also 1942). The latter is a fine film starring one of my favorite actresses, but I think I prefer "This Above All". Highly recommended, though because of the ending it will not end up on my DVD shelf.

Ty scores himself a Hot Toasty Rag nomination

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 29 April 2019]

If you only think of Tyrone Power as a swashbuckling hero, you need to rent This Above All. I'd seen all of the wrong movies of his first, like Untamed, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and In Old Chicago, so I thought he was merely a nice-looking actor who wasn't very talented and always played jerks. If you're on the same page that I was, check out The Sun Also Rises, The Long Gray Line, and This Above All. Those three movies will make a Ty fan out of you.

Joan Fontaine plays a wealthy English woman who, disgusted with her family's aloof attitude about the war-in an impassioned monologue, she declares Gladys Cooper to be worse than the Nazis-joins the WAAFs. She's very excited to do her part for the war effort, and this part of the plot is riveting enough, but when she goes on a blind date and spends the evening with a moody, irritable man hidden in the shadows, the plot heats up. Her date is Tyrone Power, and once she sees his beautiful face and his perfectly adorable nose, she's anxious to see him again. As they date, it's clear he's hiding something. If you look up the movie online, you'll find out what his secret is, but I won't spoil it for you in case you want the movie to unfold by itself.

Handsomeness and romance aside, because you can see those in other Tyrone Power movies, Ty gives an excellent layered performance. There's so much turmoil written on his face, long before you find out what his secret is, and his interactions with his well-intentioned friend Thomas Mitchell and a neutral priest Alexander Knox show a simmering temper he never usually shows in his movies. Tyrone Power was never nominated for an Academy Award, and Hot Toasty Rag was proud to give him a nomination for his performance in this emotional drama. In the supporting cast, you can catch glimpses of Henry Stephenson, Sara Allgood, Miles Mander, and Nigel Bruce.

This is a beautiful film

[jenny-103 · 10/10 · 9 October 2000]

Tyrone Power once again proves what a brilliant actor he was in this film! Joan Fontaine is also wonderful as an upper-class English woman who joins the WAFs during WWII and meets and falls in love with a charming, but troubled, stranger (Power) with a mysterious past. This movie is not only well acted and touching, but also provides an interesting historical window into WWII England. A definite must see for Tyrone Power fans and anyone interested in WWII. Unfortunately, this movie is not available on video. However, for anyone who wishes to see it, I managed to catch it on the Fox Movie Channel, where it is sometimes shown.

We'll meet again,don't know when ,don't know where .....

[ulicknormanowen · 7/10 · 28 March 2021]

This is a propaganda movie ,but which meant much for Litvak ,a Russian whose career began in Germany ,then continued in France ,before " Mayerling " led him to Hollywood : his film begins with the 1940 Dunkirk disaster and the armistice France was forced to sign with the nazis .

Like Wyler's "Mrs Minniver" ,it takes place in England ,where a young aristocrat (Fontaine) joins the WAAF ,partly a rebel stand against a selfish auntie (Gladys Cooper) .

The first part of the movie is everything but derivative : a man in civilian clothes (Power) who falls for a woman in uniform (funny to watch the women's training whilst we are used to seeing those of men).

The man is a deserter who left the army because he does not know why he 's fighting for :when the war is over , they will let us down,and the society won't care for us (it's not entirely false ,and sometimes soldiers coming home do not get what they deserve :it's not typically English);and for Clyde ,Prudence represents all that he hates the privileged people who make the other fight for their wealth. Not only Prude proves him wrong by joining the army ,but she also delivers a long patriotic eulogy of England ,their culture ;it may be full of clichés,but the actress's voice is so convincing it will win you over. On the other hand ,The priest's intervention is perhaps unwittingly preachy .

An occupied France (and other countries), bombs all over England : through Clive's.realization , "all above us" was meant to comfort and to encourage the people ; in 1942 ,in the darkest hours of the war , they had to know they would meet again some sunny day.

As Phoney as the Phoney War

[malcolmgsw · 3/10 · 24 December 2009]

Given that all the other reviews on this film are from people who live outside the UK i thought i would give a review from the UK.In my view this is the phoniest film about the war in 1940 that was ever perpetrated by Hollywood.Virtually everything about it was wrong.The characters always seem to be going to restaurants and travelling in cars as if there was no rationing.They go down to what is clearly supposed to be a restricted area on the coast without ID.They go to a pub where a Hollywood idea of cockney is spoken other than the "Mumerset" accent of Nigel Bruce. Now there were conscientious objectors but these were normally people with a conscience about taking part in war.James Mason is one example.However the ideas and views put forward by Powers character would not have been current in the later part of 1940.By that time this country was fighting on its own in a life and death struggle.Chamberlain had resigned and Churchill was now PM.There was an all party coalition government not a National Conservative government.Hitlers peace feelers had been rebuffed and with the blitz there was now no go back.So the anti war sentiments put forward in the film are totally unbelievable as is Powers character.This film may have been a big success in its day but now looks very dated.

Engaging war drama of love and conscientious objection

[clanciai · 10/10 · 16 February 2018]

Tyrone Power is completely deprived of all his Hollywood attributes here, he is shabby and unshaved like a bum, his good looks are purposely disposed of and as much altered as possible to the contrary, his character is doubtful, while Joan Fontaine outshines him all the way and constantly more and more, which makes it impossible not to burst out into tears when she does.

It's a chapter out of the most critical point of the war after Dunkirk at the beginning of the long nightmare blitz of London, and all the bombing scenes couldn't have been made more real and convincing. Tyrone is a veteran from Dunkirk, almost decorated, bitterly disillusioned about the war and its glory and finds no meaning in any aspect of the struggle, while Joan in bursts of impressing honesty gives him second thoughts. But there is much more to it than their epitomized romance.

Perhaps the most important ingredient is the other characters. Thomas Mitchell actually saves the show, Alexander Knox is the only one who immediately and thoroughly understands Tyrone's predicament of conscience, Gladys Cooper is gloriously superior as always, Nigel Bruce adds some vital Dickensian comedy, Philip Merivale as the doctor is another vital contribution, and there are others, some not even mentioned. On the whole, it's a perfect masterpiece of film pinpointing the very eye of the storm of the second world war.

Worth watching once

[richard-1787 · 6/10 · 10 November 2010]

This is certainly not a great movie, but it is well made, thanks to Anatole Litvak's first-class direction. Some of the early scenes, where the characters are in shadow, are particularly interesting.

As for the story, it is somewhat difficult to swallow. Tyrone Power/Briggs has gone AWOL, not able to return to the fighting. He doesn't give a particularly good explanation of why. He is not a coward, however, as we see most notably near the end when he risks his own life and a chance to see the woman he loves to help another man's wife and baby escape a burning building. (No, it's not subtle.) But the part of the movie that I found hard to swallow was the scene between Power and Joan Fontaine in the hotel room, where, out of the blue, she delivers a lecture on why radicals like Power/Briggs should forget about their concerns with the Englisn class structure and its iniquities for the duration of the war. For a character who had rejected those very iniquities near the opening of the film, her speech comes out of nowhere.

The ending is schmaltzy, but there was a war to be won, and that excuses a lot of clichéd cinema.

Tyrone Power has never done much for me. Joan Fontaine gives a fine performance, as do the many great character actors with whom she plays. Worth one watching, but not more than that.

A disillusioned deserter/Joan puts him right!

[theriddler01 · 30 August 2009]

I used to climb out of bed(midnight)and watch old movies on KTLA(Movies Til'Dawn)when I was very young.I had a number of siblings so I rarely got to pick our viewings.This was how I got around that.This picture is a very moving story of a disillusioned Canadian soldier(Tyrone Power)who has gone AWOL.He doesn't understand what WWII is about and doesn't want to fight.He meets a pretty young girl(Joan Fontaine)and she"sorts him out"!I believe he is injured by shrapnel in a German air-raid,and her father(Henry Stephenson/a surgeon)saves his life so he can go back and fight.It's a "tear-jerker"but very well done(so as to avoid it's becoming tediously so).I met Joan Fontaine on a ship(1994)and she couldn't believe that a person my age(44)would have seen this film(let alone remember it so well).I was absolutely delighted to have got to meet and spend some time with her.I had met her sister in the 1980's and helped her escape the paparazzi at The Beverly Hilton Hotel and I put her in a cab back to The Beverly Hills Hotel.Memorable Moments!!!

Why do Americans get the UK so wrong?

[sjmckenna-27831 · 1/10 · 16 April 2023]

Where do you start to describe this travesty of a film? The lighting is so dark you can't see what is happening a lot of the time. Atmospheric it is not. The accents are atrocious even from the actors born in the UK. The tea room scene is dreadful. It purports to be in England yet it has the look and feel of the USA. Did the producers and directors not know about rationing? There seems to be an abundance of food and drink for everyone and not a ration book in sight. Why would an unmarried man and in wartime Britain, or at any time, go into a hotel and expect to get a room? The behaviour of the women soldiers and officers is completely wrong - no discipline. Avoid this film. By the way Joan Fontaine stinks.

Pretty good but the plot was a bit hard to believe

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 1 January 2008]

This film stars Joan Fontaine and Tyrone Power as a couple who meet and fall in love during the darkest days of WWII--even though Fontaine actually knows very little about Power and his checkered past.

From the onset, I was a bit surprised by the decision to cast Tyrone Power. Sure, he was a big, handsome star with 20th Century-Fox, but he was playing a Brit--even though he had no trace of a British accent. Now had they said he was a Canadian, it might have been much more believable. As for Ms. Fontaine, I am often critical of her performances (since I think she got the Oscar for a lackluster performance), but here she is exceptional and very effective.

The other major problem I have with the film is the whole notion of the romance. First, Fontaine is a true patriot--a member of the nobility that could have sat on her butt through the war but volunteered for the military. Yet, she manages to fall in love with a man who, as far as she knows, hasn't volunteered or served. And, when it turns out he's a deserter, she STILL agrees to marry him!!! Now, you do discover that he's really not such a coward and he does manage to redeem himself, but still you wonder how Fontaine could come to love this man based on who he was at that time.

It's a shame really because apart from these problems, it's a very lovely film--with exceptional direction, music, acting and a wonderful evocative mood. In fact, as a positive propaganda piece, it's exceptional and was very timely in 1942--though just a tad preachy. Overall, it's still a good film and worth your time--just don't try to get too hung up on the plot holes or it will ruin your viewing.

PS--In the film, Fontaine says "I am not a blue stocking". I looked up this term and it's an outdated slur that refers to a educated rich woman who was a member of a particular British literary society. The members were known for being total "fuddy-duddies".

Old-fashioned romance but preachy

[valjeang11 · 6/10 · 8 May 2002]

I enjoyed the old-fashioned values. There were a few moments where 'the director's agenda was showing" and it became very preachy. but overall, it was an interesting old film. Joan Fontaine looked radiant - Tyrone's handsome dark looks transported us back to a time long ago and far away.

Love above all

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 26 February 2020]

Both Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine gave great performances in great films, especially Fontaine ('Rebecca' being a note-worthy example). Anatole Litvak is not a personal favourite director of mine, but he did make a lot of solid interesting films and it is hard to not appreciate him for making talented actors unknown early on into international stars (i.e. Charles Boyer) or making other actors more popular when they somewhat started to lose it (i.e. Ingrid Bergman with 'Anastasia').

Litvak may not be at his very best, though he does more than credibly here and deserves credit for maintaining Fontaine's popularity and stretching Power's acting ability, and 'This Above All' is not quite my definition of a great film. It is though very well done in a lot of areas, while Fontaine gives one of her better performances of this point of her career and Power excels in a different type of role for him. A personal favourite 'This Above All' may not be, but it was difficult to not appreciate it.

There is not an awful lot wrong with 'This Above All'. It is agreed though that some of the dialogue is on the preachy side, some of Fontaine's especially.

Some of the central relationship seemed a bit rushed with more time needed to develop and Prudence's decision making regarding what she still sees in Clive, considering how he behaves here, doesn't really ring true agreed.

Power though smolders in a difficult role that is tougher, darker sort of role and a completely different kettle of fish to his usual. Fontaine is touchingly noble and their chemistry scintillates and brings a lump to the throat at its best. The supporting cast also do well, Thomas Mitchell and Gladys Cooper always brought class to their roles and Nigel Bruce doesn't bumble or bluster about like he did in some of his other roles (such as his Dr Watson in the Sherlock Holmes films). Litvak's direction has style and atmosphere.

As does the photography, which is sumptuous and at other times eerie. The music is hauntingly beautiful, while enough of the script is intelligently written and the story poignant and with some tension to stop it from getting sudsy.

Concluding, not perfect but the cast particularly, and primarily the leads, make 'This Above All' worth seeing. 7/10

All rather sweet

[crisbetts2075 · 6/10 · 23 November 2016]

This is a fairy tale, but, as fairy tales go, quite a nice one.

It's interesting to see Hollywood's take on Britain under the Blitz - lots of chirpy cockneys cracking jokes as the bombs fall and irascible tea shop proprietors laying down the law.

Most of Hollywood's ex-pat Brit community turns out in roles that must have been bread-and-butter to them - Gladys Cooper as the snooty old patrician lady, Nigel Bruce in amiable-oaf mode, Queenie Leonard as the tart-with-a-heart, Melville Cooper as the dopey uncle.

Joan and Ty look gorgeous and do a professional job with the script, even when it gets a bit sticky (Joan's cliché-ridden eulogy of England is particularly painful).

If you can swallow the stereotypes and suspend your disbelief, there are worse ways of spending 110 minutes!

Good books make good films^^

[krisztike099 · 10/10 · 10 November 2009]

Wow..it's a quite old movie but it's very beautiful^^ I love its romantic story and the cast was pretty good. The film is based on a superb book: Eric Knight-This Above All. It's a greatly composed philosophic-romantic story.I think if you liked the movie, you should read this book! It's one of my favorite books,I simply love it^^ You will be much poorer in feelings, if you don't read this book... And thank you for the quotes...I think the book contains some more.. and more memorable^^ By the way,does anyone know where I could find it in English? I've been searching for it on the internet, but i've found it nowhere...:(

tyrone power as deserter

[yonahred · 6/10 · 18 November 2016]

Just watched oskar werner as German traitor, a couple days ago I watched tyrone power proletariat fall in love with slumming joan Fontaine, she of the upper class, father a doctor who could have gotten her a better post, but she wants to sign up with the masses. On double date she meets tyrone in the dark and then a daytime date and they fall in love. They go to an inn and stay chastely in adjacent rooms and then he talks in his sleep: war terrors. Tom Mitchell shows up trying to convince him to turn himself in. Joan senses his mental turmoil without knowing its cause. A conversation with a kind one armed priest convinces him to turn himself in. He calls joan. Lets meet before i turn myself in. But the mp's catch him first. But a kind officer allows him a few hours to go meet joan, but German aerial attack and his helping hand and a falling wall puts him in the hospital. Joan goes to father and doctor dad operates on tyrone's brain. Will he live? We can only pray. But he marries her in his hospital bed. This was propaganda to convince the working class to join in the war against the Germans despite the system being corrupt. Quite explicit in pushing this message. The title is one of the worst ever.

A great film

[adpye · 10/10 · 28 January 2002]

This is a wonderfully acted, compelling love story set during WWII in England. Joan Fontaine's portrayal of an aristocratic woman who joins the WAAFS and falls in love with a deserter (Tyrone Power) is superb. She is beautiful, tender, courageous, and quite believable as Prudence. Her speech on what England means is eloquent and is one of the highlights of the film. Tyrone Power is awesome as Clive, too. Joan's character is steadfast in her love for Clive and the chemistry between Joan and Tyrone is wonderful. With the resurgence of patriotism in America this film should be shown more often on the movie channels. Maybe they will catch on soon. A not-to-missed film.

This ' American ' England

[jromanbaker · 6/10 · 29 April 2023]

A Zanuck production lends itself to the overblown treatment, and in this fiercely patriotic film about a Hollywood idea of the UK during WW2 has its heart in the right place, and no doubt it helped many to come to terms with the darkest period of the war. Long speeches mainly from Joan Fontaine extol all the cliches of what her country means, and deserter from the army played rather darkly by Tyrone Power listens in wonder. Anatole Litvak directs ably, but somehow the film's attacks on the aristocracy who are portrayed as being indifferent and snobbish, and Gladys Cooper has a cameo role stands in for the worst of them sounds false. But the mood changes and fighting for ye olde England contradicts any criticism. It is enjoyable if in the mood for treacly sentiments, and the black and white photography almost hides its studio bound vision of England. Good for a wet English afternoon, and the rain pours down the window as I write this. My tears blend in with this tearjerker.

Starts well but loses ground

[loloandpete · 6/10 · 31 December 2020]

Film starts off well and has a wonderful leading lady in Joan Fontaine, not matched by Tyrone Power. Nigel Bruce is fifth billed as Ramsbottom and doesn't have a huge amount to do. He is cast against type as a West country publican and truth to be told, his accent does stray at times. But he is endearingly avuncular and is even described as Dickensian. Although he pops up in a few scenes, there is not enough Bruce for our buck in this one and the film outstays its welcome and becomes rather sermonising.

Homefront drama, love story, and flag-waiver in early World War II

[SimonJack · 7/10 · 10 March 2022]

"This Above All" is a war-time Homefront drama set in the summer and fall of 1940 England. It's a story of an unlikely romance that that develops into real love. And, of the redemption of a soldier who had a breakdown that let to bitterness toward his country, while England fought to survive and prevent Nazi Germany from overrunning it. Tyrone Power plays Clive Briggs, a soldier who has been AWOL for two months, after a month on sick leave for recovery. He is up for a major medal for his bravery and sacrifice, including saving others ahead of himself in the evacuation of Dunkirk that ended on June 4.

Joan Fontaine plays Prudence Cathaway who comes from English gentry, but who has enlisted as a private in the WAAF's (Women's Auxiliary Air Force of Britain's RAF). It's a chance meeting when she and Clive had reluctantly been squeezed into a double date for service friends. Joan's brother, Wilbur and his wife, Iris, are snooty snobs of the upper class. But the rest of her family are not. Her father is a medical doctor, Roger Cathaway, played by Philip Merivale. Henry Stephenson plays her uncle Cathaway who's a general in the army.

The film has a fine supporting cast, including Thomas Mitchell as Monty; Alexander Knox as the Rector, Jill Esmond as Nurse Emily Harvey, and Nigel Bruce as Ramsbottom. Monty has come to meet Clive on the coast where he and Prue had gone for a week's stay. Monty urges Clive to return to his unit before his captain has to report him as a deserter. Joan learns all about this and his heroism from Monty. But now, Clive is bitter toward his own country and doesn't want to fight for an aristocracy that bathes in luxury compared to the common folk.

The story has some nice turns in which Clive slowly regains his senses. Joan appeals to common sense to stop an enemy from overrunning their country. A nurse bandages a severe wound on his hand and is kind toward him. A clergyman invites him in for tea and helps him see the light. And, finally, going to meet Joan in London before he turns himself in, he is stopped by a man pleading for help after his house had just been bombed and his small child and wife were still inside as it burned. Clive again risks his life to save others.

The story opens with the Cathaway's at home listening to a BBC news report. It was June 22, and the French had just signed the Armistice with Germany. The news announcer says, "In Berlin tonight, a government spokesman declared that the conquest of Britain by the end of September is now definitely assured. He pointed out that the Channel between Dover and Calais is a mere seven minutes flying distance." Joan and Clive meet after she completes her WAAF training. And, the ending is a nice love story closing with a chin-up message about fighting for England, "this, above all."

This is a very good patriotic and flag waiver film with a love and sacrifice story. It probably resonated as well in the U. S. as on the English Homefront . At the time of the film's May 1942 release, the U. S. had been in the war barely five months.

Here are some favorite lines.

Wilbur, "There's one good thing about the wireless. You can always turn it off.

Dr. Roger Cathaway, "When men haven't slept for days on end, you have to teach them how to close their eyes."

Dr. Roger, "Do you know what our enemies say every night in their prayers? They say, 'Please God, keep the English from getting excited for one more years and we shall never need your help again.'"

Dr. Roger, "I remember taking out Lord Evesham's appendix a year ago. Do you know, it was exactly like Bert's (their gardener's)."

Iris Cathaway, "I'm not against equality. I'm perfectly prepared to be equal with anybody, providing they don't start being equal with me."

Prudence Cathaway, "But I don't want to be an officer until I've learned to be a private."

Monty, "When you work with a bloke, eat, sleep, and drink with him for month on end, you either want to shoot him or die for him."

Clive Briggs, "Well, this has been a great day. Crowded out of a tea shop; shut out of a cinema; thrown out of a hotel; and turned out of a bus. One feels the warm heart of England."

Policeman on bike, "Well, maybe they haven't uniforms, but they have got the spirit." Rector, "Look - there's Harry Gates, the poacher, marching with Sir George." Policeman, "Ah, poachers is the men for the home guard, sir. They know this country - every inch."

Clive Briggs, "They must have believed in those days - really and truly believed. No one has that kind of faith today." Rector, "Are you sure? Perhaps you're only speaking for yourself."

Rector, "We've no physical sanctuary any longer but we do help some people find a greater one - a spiritual sanctuary. Peace of mind, you called it just now."

Rector, "I see you as a symbol of our age. An age of reason that's driving out the age of faith."

Clive Briggs, "How can you have faith in a thing when your reason tells you that you can't believe it?"

Rector, "Reason deals with the things we know. There are a lot of things we don't know. Faith is useful when reason can't go any further. Faith is simply the quality of believing beyond reason. Isn't that perhaps what troubles you?"

Rector, "Your mind and your soul deadlocked in a struggle Your body the battleground."

Rector, "Whatever you do, don't think anymore. Trust your feelings, not your reason. If you do that I believe your problem may soon be over."

Super Soap - This Above Al

[arthur_tafero · 6/10 · 17 May 2022]

This is a two-hanky affair for most women. Power is a major heartthrob, and Fontaine, who goes over the top a few times in her scenes, looks radiant. The plot is interesting; a deserter has an affair with an upper class woman who has joined the WAAFS (the British version of WACS). Complications, of course, occur. Maybe just one or two many complications and the hospital scene is a bit much. Other than that, the film is quite watchable and entertaining.