Reviews

One of the great classics Directed by the gifted tyrant Micheal Curtiz. Every performance is excellent with Edward G. giving one of his best. Curtiz did not make boring films, this speeds along at under 90 minutes without a dull moment. The miniature work is even good, note the scene near the beginning with the row boat in the bay. That is a miniature in a tank but pretty damn convincing. Flawless and gripping.

Robert Armstrong from King Kong and Clayton Moore, soon to be The Lone Ranger, add a bit to this mediocre late Autry product. The kid is insufferable and his worried sister not much better. Armstrong is a truly rotten villain, however.

Good 3 Mesquiteers. Bob Steele was one of the best B Western guys, he ended up as Duffy on F-Troop. Jimmie Dodd ended up on the Mickey Mouse Club. Sheriff Lippy is a fat, shambling wreck played by Harry Holman, a fat shambling wreck.

Extremely effective argument for supporting the English in the early days of WWII. Great performances all around with Pidgeon underrated, as always. The dame played by May Whitty dates the film badly. She is an insufferable, superior, class obsessed old bitch. At one point she explains to Mrs. M how she believes in "breeding" not unlike the Nazis who are about to bomb her village. Her final human gesture at the flower show does not redeem this relic from another time. It does mar the movie as does the fact that the Miniver's have a cook and a maid whom they treat condescendingly. Still it is a superbly made film that is hard to dismiss.