THIS LAND IS MINE

Produced at RKO in 1943, a year before Allied forces invaded Normandy and began the liberation of Europe from Nazi Germany, Jean Renoir's THIS LAND IS MINE is a stirring call to action, imploring all free men and women in every country under oppression, to stand up and fight for freedom.

Set somewhere in German occupied Europe, THIS LAND focuses on one Albert Lory (Charles Laughton), a mother dominated school teacher, secretly in love with one of his co-workers, the beautiful Louise (Maureen O'Hara). Trouble is, Albert is a coward through and through, afraid of expressing his real feelings, terrified of Allied bombings, too scared to join the underground and strike a blow against the occupiers. But Louise's brother, Paul (Kent Smith), who works at the local railyard, is an active saboteur, doing all he can to disrupt the supply lines.

Louise is in love with George Lambert (George Sanders), the superintendent of the rail depot. He's sold out to the Nazis, going along to get along with Major Erich von Keller (Walter Slezak). But Paul is ratted out and hunted down (in a brilliantly filmed sequence) among the rail cars. Stricken with guilt over his friends' death, George commits suicide and seconds later, Albert finds the body and stands accused of murder.

The third act is a bravura courtroom sequence in which Albert butts heads with the prosecutor (George Coulouris) by defending himself and finally standing up to his oppressors. He confesses his love to Louise and is finally ready to die as a redeemed hero.

THIS LAND IS MINE is propaganda of the highest order but director Renoir treats everything with the utmost sobriety and seriousness. He's aided by a first rate cast headlined by the luminous O'Hara and Laughton, playing a sympathetic character instead of a villain. 

Other points of interest include Major von Keller's artificial arm, an injury he sustained in WWI. It directly recalls Lionel Atwill's turn as Inspector Krogh in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939). The art direction in THIS LAND was under the guidance of Eugene Lourie who went on to direct such genre touchstones as BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (1953), COLOSSUS OF NEW YORK (1958), GIANT BEHEMOTH (1959), GORGO (1961) and CRACK IN THE WORLD (1965). Kent Smith appeared in Jacques Tourneur's horror masterpiece CAT PEOPLE (1942) while Laughton was unforgettable as Dr. Moreau in ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1932). Magpie Una O'Connor appeared in two of director James Whale's gothic horrors at Universal, INVISIBLE MAN (1933) and BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935). And George Sanders (one of my all time favorite actors), would later star in the terrific British SF film, VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) and became one of three actors to play Mr. Freeze on televisions' BATMAN.

Handsomely mounted and laced with stirring speeches about freedom and liberty, THIS LAND OF MINE is a first rate piece of wartime filmmaking. It directly addressed the situation in occupied Europe and offered a bracing dash of hope for everyone then suffering under the yoke of tyranny.

Recommended.