Reunion in France Reviews

A glitzy MGM WW II drama set in Paris against the backdrop of the German occupation. Crawford plays a wealthy, career-minded Frenchwoman who lives in luxurious comfort with her fiance, industrial designer Dorn. However, when the German troops march into the City of Light, Crawford finds her lifestyle taking a turn for the worse. Her mansion is taken over by the Nazis and turned into a coal allotment bureau, and she is pushed into cramped living quarters. Her suspicions are raised when she finds that Dorn has managed to keep his possessions. Believing that he is a Nazi collaborator, she confronts him. When he does not deny the charge, she leaves him and finds within herself a sense of patriotism that she never before felt. While walking home, she meets a desperate American RAF pilot, Wayne, who has been shot down and is now being hunted by the Gestapo. She offers to shelter him, and they soon fall in love. After an escape attempt by Wayne fails, Crawford turns to Dorn for help. He arranges safe passage to the South of France. After complications and a Nazi chase, Wayne reaches safety. It is then that Crawford learns that Dorn is actually working for the Resistance--secretly sabotaging Nazi weapons and arranging the escape of hundreds of pilots. Wayne returns to London and the RAF, and Crawford heads back to Dorn to continue the fight for freedom. Essentially a Crawford vehicle with Wayne in a thankless supporting role, REUNION IN FRANCE suffers from MGM's desire to turn a serious and volatile subject into a mindless backlot entertainment. Nowhere is this more evident than in the decision to pay more attention to Crawford's dazzling wardrobe than to historical accuracy. REUNION IN FRANCE will suffice as entertainment if you're prepared to shut your mind off for 104 minutes, but don't expect much more than fluff. Filmed and trade-shown as REUNION, this film's title was lengthened to REUNION IN FRANCE for theatrical release. For a more pointed Hollywood view of the period, spend your time watching the following year's THIS LAND IS MINE.