In occupied France, a convicted thief and murderer escapes the guillotine when a bombing raid strikes the prison, but is quickly re-captured by the inspector of the Surete responsible for his original arrest. Fearing the guillotine more than his actual death, the convict inveigles the inspector to help him with a plan to rescue 100 Frenchmen taken by the Gestapo following an act of sabotage: he will confess to being the saboteur and allow himself to be executed by firing squad, the Gestapo's method of execution, thus freeing the 100 men.
Acting
Flynn's restrained desperation—his best dramatic work, fight me.
Direction
Walsh's shadowy streets mirror moral murkiness.
Writing
The chess game of Picard's evolving self-awareness.
Director
Raoul Walsh
Errol Flynn
Jean Picard
Paul Lukas
Inspector Marcel Bonet
Jean Sullivan
Marianne
Lucile Watson
Mme. Maret
Dennis Hoey
Father Le Clerc
Wallis Clark
Razeau, member of underground
Victor Kilian
LaTour, member of underground
James Flavin
Captain of Mobile Guard
Douglass Dumbrille
Police Commissioner LaFarge
Sheldon Leonard
Henri Duval
Faye Emerson
Louise
Odette Myrtil
Mme. Bonet
Francis Pierlot
Father La Borde - Prison Priest
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Flynn fought for this dramatic role against Warner Bros. typecasting; it's his only WWII film without combat scenes.
Released weeks before D-Day, the film's Vichy ambiguity caused censorship headaches—American audiences wanted clearer heroes.
US
