If you're in the mood for an Errol Flynn WWII movie and you've already seen Objective, Burma! and Edge of Darkness, check out Desperate Journey. It's not as good as the other two, but it's entertaining with bits of humor to lighten the war tension.
A group of international soldiers find themselves behind enemy lines when their plane crashes in Germany. Errol Flynn finally gets to play an Australian, and he's the leader of the bunch (of course). Arthur Kennedy is the Canadian challenger, the fellow with brains who sometimes questions Errol's orders. Alan Hale is the comic relief, always searching for food and spitting pellets at people when they're not looking. Ronald Sinclair is the young kid, there to play the violin strings when he gets injured early on in the movie. Ronald Reagan isn't really given anything to do but be the smart-aleck American. He is extremely nice to look at, though, so whether your tastes run blonde, brunette, or highlights, you're all set for this movie.
Raymond Massey plays the head Nazi bad guy, and he gets to speak an awful lot of German. It's always a treat to see hidden talents, and coming across as fluent in another language is quite a talent! He spends the movie chasing down the good guys, and the four fellows have an incredible amount of obstacles on their path to freedom. There are chase scenes, lots of violence, covert infiltration, and suspense. Some Germans offer to help, but sometimes it's just up to Errol's guts, Arthur's brains, Alan's heart, and Reagan's quips (since the younger Ronald doesn't contribute anything) to get them out of their scrapes. My favorite line: Reagan gets awoken from his nap and says, "Why do you always have to wake me when I've got a date with Ann Sheridan?" This was the same year as King's Row; how cute is that?
A group of international soldiers find themselves behind enemy lines when their plane crashes in Germany. Errol Flynn finally gets to play an Australian, and he's the leader of the bunch (of course). Arthur Kennedy is the Canadian challenger, the fellow with brains who sometimes questions Errol's orders. Alan Hale is the comic relief, always searching for food and spitting pellets at people when they're not looking. Ronald Sinclair is the young kid, there to play the violin strings when he gets injured early on in the movie. Ronald Reagan isn't really given anything to do but be the smart-aleck American. He is extremely nice to look at, though, so whether your tastes run blonde, brunette, or highlights, you're all set for this movie.
Raymond Massey plays the head Nazi bad guy, and he gets to speak an awful lot of German. It's always a treat to see hidden talents, and coming across as fluent in another language is quite a talent! He spends the movie chasing down the good guys, and the four fellows have an incredible amount of obstacles on their path to freedom. There are chase scenes, lots of violence, covert infiltration, and suspense. Some Germans offer to help, but sometimes it's just up to Errol's guts, Arthur's brains, Alan's heart, and Reagan's quips (since the younger Ronald doesn't contribute anything) to get them out of their scrapes. My favorite line: Reagan gets awoken from his nap and says, "Why do you always have to wake me when I've got a date with Ann Sheridan?" This was the same year as King's Row; how cute is that?