This Land Is Mine (1943)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writer:

Dudley Nichols (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 May 1943 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A mild-mannered schoolteacher in a Germen occupied town during WWII finds himself being torn between collaboration and resistance.

Plot Keywords:

Resistance | Professor | Informer | Firing Squad | Prison

Awards:

Won Oscar.

Cast

Charles Laughton	...	Albert Lory
Maureen O'Hara	...	Louise Martin
George Sanders	...	George Lambert
Walter Slezak	...	Major Erich von Keller
Kent Smith	...	Paul Martin
Una O'Connor	...	Mrs. Emma Lory
Philip Merivale	...	Professor Sorel
Thurston Hall	...	Mayor Henry Manville
George Coulouris	...	Prosecutor
Nancy Gates	...	Julie Grant
Ivan F. Simpson	...	Judge (as Ivan Simpson)
John Donat	...	Edmund Lorraine

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Latin

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8004) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | Finland:K-15 (2005) | Sweden:15

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

The singing of "Die Lorelei" by the German soldiers was a subtle dig at the anti-semitic regime of the Nazis, since the words were written by banned Jewish poet Heinrich Heine. Many of his books, considered "un-German," were burned in the book-burning episode at Opernplatz, Berlin, Germany, on 10 May 1933. However, his works were so popular that they were still published, but "author unknown" was the listed writer. In his 1821 play "Almansor," Heine also prophetically wrote "Dort, wo man Bücher verbrennt, verbrennt man am Ende auch Menschen." ("Where they burned books, they will in the end in burn people.")

Goofs:

Errors in geography: After the initial credits, there is a notation "Somewhere in Europe ...". All the signs and notices are in English so there is no specific country identified this way. The film could be set in Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Norway or any of the other occupied territories. However, when Professor Sorel, Louise Martin and Albert Lory examine the school textbooks for what must be removed, all the references are to French history and literature, squarely placing the film in France.

Quotes:

Albert Lory: Well, the truth is I wanted to kill George Lambert, but I don't think I could have done it. I'm too weak. I'm a coward. Well, everyone knows it; even the prosecutor. That's why he's making fun of me.

Soundtrack:

Die Lorelei

A great story of human dignity.

Jean Renoir managed to flee France because of the Nazi invasion and spent World War II turning out some pretty good films in America. Maybe the best is this heartfelt tribute to his beloved and occupied France.

He got the best possible actor for his protagonist. Charles Laughton could play tortured and flawed human beings like no other actor ever could in the English speaking world. Here he is a French schoolteacher, middle-aged, shy, and mother dominated by Una O'Connor. And he's afraid of his own shadow.

He also loves neighbor and fellow schoolteacher Maureen O'Hara and she's got a fiancé who's a collaborator and a brother in the resistance played by George Sanders and Kent Smith.

It's all these people's story and even the local gauleiter Walter Slezak is not a simple brute as Nazis are so often portrayed.

The story involves Laughton's growth as a human being, seeing what is happening to his town, the people around him, and most of all to the school to both the children and the teachers. The last twenty minutes of the film are almost exclusively his. In both a courtroom and a classroom, he has some brilliantly delivered speeches explaining to the town why they must resist the evil upon them.

For me the best scene is in the courtroom where Laughton is accused of murder and throws away a carefully prepared script that Slezak has offered him. He tells the town what they need to hear and then declares his love for O'Hara and the reasons for him doing what he's doing.

During that part of Laughton's speech the camera focuses totally on Maureen O'Hara and her reactions to Laughton's words. It's a beautiful crafted scene by a great director.

A film classic for the ages.