Paris After Dark

George Sanders plays a French doctor without a French accent. He plays Germans well and even speaks in a German accent, but he can't play a French doctor without sounding quintessentially English. The young brother of the French protagonist, Jean, is quite bold and brave standing up for what he believes and speaking out against oppression. To be honest it;s the French characters that make this film work. Sanders merely lends his name to sell the film, but he contributes very little in terms of his performance. I would advise Sanders fans to stay away from this film as it comes nowhere near the quality of 'Manhunt' or 'Tales of Manhattan'.

This is not a great war film, and today it is hopelessly outdated. The credits of the film is that the actors (almost all escaped from France during the occupation) act with absolute sincerity and conviction, giving the film a character of genuine honesty as an effort to communicate how life was in Paris for Parisians during the occupation. The documentary character is missing, however, being replaced by a rather uncouth sentimentality, as if it was contaminated by Hollywood, which it apparently was. It was made for the Americans to show them how hard life was in Europe for civilians under the German occupation, and the excellent acting by Philip Dorn, Brenda Marshall and George Sanders add to the credibility. So if you can forget the sentimental smear over it all, you will find it a most valuable and realistic account of life in the resistance. One warning: there are no human Germans here.