The other WWII my village is invaded dramas The Moon is Low, This is My Land with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara,and Lewis Milestones far better production at Warner Brothers Edge of Darkness with Errol Flynn share the same roots as this film small European village is occupied by nasty Nazi hordes, collaborators emerge, then the Germans push it too far and active rebellion begins with soaring end themes and either a Winston or FDR imitator praising the heroic little people. This one is set in Grandfather Tevye's village no mean old commisars and secret police types here everyones happy and well fed and frolicking. Then the Hitlerites come and spoil everything. The ambiguity that the Hollywood capitalists felt in praising Stalin's empire's citizens led to some dreary melodramas and for some of the participants who may have either been in the American Communist Party or liberal organizations naively aligned to it, into Blacklistland. Mr. Milestone has to work with an overly talky Lillian Hellman screenplay and some young actors getting their feet steady. When the villagers finally go Cossack on the German rear echelon it's one big okay now get ready for the next commercial. The Edge of Darkness is similar but far better than this one. Though one is treated to Dean Jagger being heroic
Review of The North Star
