The Edge of Darkness (1943)
Norway, October 1942. The small coastal town of Trollness appears devastated by an uprising that has claimed the German garrison, and whose story will be rebuilt. The population of just 800 inhabitants is hostile to the occupiers with several leaders close to the resistance movement. The principal is Gunnar Brogger (Errol Flynn), a fisherman decided to fight the Germans at any price, unconditionally supported by his girlfriend Karen Stensgard (Ann Sheridan). However, in the village there are supporters of keeping the peace, especially the peaceful Stensgard Doctor, father of Karen, and his brother Johan , the owner of the local cannery, concerned that the revolt will not explode to continue their business. However, when there are reports that the British are supplying weapons to the coastal towns, most population was in favor of preparing an uprising against the occupiers.
No doubt that 1942 was a year of particularly prolific for the director Lewis Milestone , because during this period was busy in the shooting of two propaganda films that were to be released, with a few weeks apart, in the spring of 1943. And interestingly, both were stories set in Nazi-occupied Europe. The first, " The North Star" was about the partisan struggle in Ukraine during the first days of the German invasion, while the second, entitled The Edge of Darkness , was dedicated to honor the Norwegian resistance movement. The film was produced by the mighty Warner Bros, so that Milestone could involve the study established stars to star, especially with the legendary Errol Flynn , who after being rejected for active service in the army, was very willing to participate in propaganda films during the war. However, the shoot was not easy for either the director or your role.
For starters, the exterior filming of the movie on the coast of California and the population Monterey, underwent several weeks of delay due to a thick fog banks that hit the California coast at that time, so it became necessary to seek new locations. For its part, Errol Flynn suffered during those months a serious personal crisis when he was charged and prosecuted for the rape of a woman, which made him fall into a depression that affected him throughout the filming of the movie, and view its popularity seriously jeopardized because of this accusation. Although the actor was eventually acquitted by a jury in February 1943, barely a month before the movie opened.
As for the quality of the film, I must say that The Edge of Darkness can be considered correct, but not brilliant propaganda film shows the time. The film has a very inspiring start, showing a German reconnaissance plane discovered the scorched Trollness population, and the Norwegian flag flying in one of their buildings. From that moment, using a long flashback, they will rebuild the events in the weeks preceding the survey, and how this was simmering among the local population. It is also interesting as showing the different attitudes of the characters, ranging from those who wish to keep the peace, either by self-interest or idealism (the brothers Stensgard), those who doubt the viability of an uprising, and finally the proud patriots willing to fight openly against the Germans. In that sense, it is worth noting the scene that shows meeting the locals in the church, with an excuse to hold a religious service, and which discusses the possibility of implementing the survey, clashes between these different views.
However, not all aspects of the plot finally convinced me. To start the script sins of the ruling that was seen in " The North Star", featuring the typical German as heartless villains shift, thus denying truth to the story. Second, the pace of the narrative is sometimes disappointing at all sharp, and some stretches of the footage is delayed too much, hurting quite the agility of the narrative. Finally, we note that, although the action scenes are well filmed by the widespread use of lateral tracking shots were "house brand" of Milestone, the part devoted to the uprising of the population and fighting German troops will not likely be finished, because it shows too much propaganda intent of those scenes, which there is a little more epic load believable for the viewer current.
Ultimately, The Edge of Darkness can be considered a correct title in general terms, but the quality is somewhat distorted by a little propaganda disguised intentions, which were introduced in a more subtle likely would have improved the outcome. An entertaining movie, worth seeing mainly for the participation of the great Errol Flynn, but can not be considered the brightest in the genre of propaganda.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
