The Cross of Lorraine
| The Cross of Lorraine | |
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| Directed by | Tay Garnett |
| Produced by | Edwin H. Knopf |
| Screenplay by |
Ring Lardner Jr. Michael Kanin Robert Hardy Andrews Alexander Esway |
| Story by | Robert Aisner Lilo Dammert |
| Based on |
A Thousand Shall Fall by Hans Habe |
| Starring |
Jean-Pierre Aumont Gene Kelly |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Sidney Wagner |
| Edited by | Dan Milner |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Loews Inc. |
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Release date
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Running time
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90 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,010,000 |
| Box office | $1,248,000 |
The Cross of Lorraine is a 1943 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer war film about French prisoners of war escaping a German prison camp and joining the French Resistance. Directed by Tay Garnett, it stars Jean-Pierre Aumont and Gene Kelly and was partly based on Hans Habe's novel A Thousand Shall Fall. The title refers to the French Cross of Lorraine, which was the symbol of the Résistance and the Free French Forces chosen by Charles de Gaulle in 1942.
At the start of World War II, Frenchmen from all walks of life enlist. Defeated by the invading Germans in 1940, Marshal Philippe Pétain signs a peace agreement and the troops surrender. However, instead of being repatriated to their homes, a group of soldiers find themselves in a brutal prison camp. Most of the men resist as best they can, and some, like Paul (Jean-Pierre Aumont), are willing to spend time in solitary confinement and be subjected to beatings, while others, such as Duval (Hume Cronyn), collaborate with their jailers to get an easier life. The men find solace from Father Sebastian (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), a priest who was also in the army and who counsels them wisely. Eventually Paul helps his fellow prisoners to escape. When they liberate a village, they realise that continued fighting is the only option, so they join the French Resistance.
The Cross of Lorraine is one of the many Hollywood World War II propaganda films showing life in occupied Europe, with the purpose of explaining to an American audience why US involvement in the European war was just as important as the war against the Japanese in the Pacific.
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Wikipedia