An interesting romance film that was nominated at the 1942 ceremony is
up next. The majority of the film is narrated by Charles Boyer's
character Georges Iscovescu who is pitching the film's story to a
Paramount director. As we are told at the opening of the film this
meeting between Georges and the director is how the making of the film
came about however later it is incorporated as part of the story.
Georges has come to America from his native Romania to try and escape
the conflict of World War II however when he arrives U.S. immigration
inform him that the numbers of Romanian immigrants have already been
filled and he will have to stay in Mexico until there is room for him.
Georges spends his time in a rundown Mexican hotel just by the border
filled with other Europeans
also waiting for their chance to become U.S. citizens, the hotel is
also visited from time to time by immigration inspector Hammock who
checks on the status of the immigrants. Later Georges meets his old
dancing partner and lover Anita who has told him that she has married an
older American man and that will fast track her over the border. Anita
hatches a plan with Georges that he will marry an American woman and
when they are both safely in America will both divorce their partners and
be together. Georges then comes across naive teacher Emmy whose school
bus has broken down trapping her and several pupils on the wrong side of
the border. Georges steals a part of the bus thus forcing Emmy to stay
in his hotel and for him to charm and later propose to her. Emmy and
Georges are soon married however Hammock returns to the hotel and
Georges realises that he will start asking her questions so he takes her
off on an impromptu honeymoon. Inevitably Georges then starts to fall
in love with her as they journey around the coast and stop in at a
church to be blessed. They arrive back at the hotel where Anita realises
that Georges won't go through with the plan so she reveals all to Emmy
however when she is questioned by Hammock she lies and says she and
Georges are in love. Georges stays in Mexico to get his papers in order
but then he learns that Emmy was in an accident and crosses the border
before it is legal for him to do so. He enters the hospital to see her
but is soon tracked down by Hammock's men and runs to the studio to talk
to the director who he had previously encountered in Mexico. The final
part of the story is told by the director, after Hammock arrested
Georges he took him back to Mexico, Georges learns that Anita has met
another wealthy man who she plans to exploit. Finally, Hammock softens
and tells Georges that he has fast-tracked his citizenship because he
failed to report the earlier incident of Georges' escape and realises
that Georges and Emmy's relationship is genuine.
I have to say
one of the things I enjoyed most about Hold Back the Dawn is its
narrative structure. By having the story being a narration by Georges we
are intrigued to see how his and Emmy's story will end and how it will
fit with this meeting at the studio. Although it is a bit soppy at times
the romance between Georges and Emmy starts as a hoax but ends up being
fairly genuine. As far as the acting goes Olivia De Havilland's
performance as Emmy earned her an Oscar nomination and it was just about
deserved as Emmy grows as a character throughout the film becoming
tougher as she realises the extent of Georges' plans. Paulette Goddard
is also enthralling as Anita the manipulative other woman and to some
extent the film's villain. But it is Charles Boyer who anchors the whole
film with a mix of charm and real emotion he makes Georges one of those
characters who does horrible things but still seems likeable however he
failed to even get a nomination for his performance. The film also had
something to say about the lengths some immigrants will go to to get
into America and the setting of the Mexican hotel feels cramped and
somewhat unwelcoming. Overall this was a fairly engaging if overly
sentimental romantic drama with undertones of social commentary.
No comments:
Post a Comment