I so wanted to like this..

We all know Lillian Hellman, whatever her talents, was virtually a fellow traveler in those days, but you don't have to be a Red in order to be anti-Nazi.

The play was a huge hit on Broadway, but one reason you may have found it boring is that it is pretty "stagey", hardly opened up at all, unlike most plays transferred to the screen. (Herman Shumlin, the director, was from B'way and directed only two pictures, this and 1945's CONFIDENTIAL AGENT.) But it is of course an intellectual exercise, not a shoot-'em-up, the finale notwithstanding. Some of the characters, or their traits, don't hold up too well, and of course the mid-war mood of optimism about the possibilities of a free and democratic postwar world seem quaint and a bit sad today; but overall this is a worthwhile play and film, certainly of its era, but a window into that time, and it's important to know and understand the thinking of a generation caught up in the middle of the greatest conflict, against a monstrous evil, in world history.

Give it another try. I too found it a bit dull the first time I saw it, but changed my mind with repeated viewings. It's really quite good and does have something to say. It's far too complex to sloppily dismiss it as a "commie dirge" that'd be a big hit in Red Square (and I doubt Stalin would've permitted the film in the USSR -- its democratic ideals were certainly not in line with his brand of "governance"). And it does have Paul Lukas repeating his stage role, and winning the Oscar for it -- and well deserved too. Davis wanted to do the film but Warner wanted a bigger star for the male lead. Bette demanded that the studio cast Lukas in the part, which she'd seen him do on Broadway, and she had enough power to get her way. Good for her.

it moves a little slow, but it did win an Oscar. and was nominated for three more. and it was up against "Casablanca" at the Oscars. LOVE Lucille Watson... she always plays the prim & proper matriarch....see her in "the Women"... too precious.
ksf-2

same here

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...

I had the same experience. I rented this movie for two reasons: Bette Davis (I adore her!) and my interest in Academy Award-winning films (Paul Lukas, best actor Oscar). This movie was melodramatic and slow. I am not often bored by films, but this one felt like it went on and on.

I'm in the middle of this film, but don't have time to finish it now. What did strike me immediately, however, is how poor the performances of the children are. I don't know if they were just bad actors (the girl is played by the actress who was Tina in Now Voyager, and she was dreadful in that film) or if it was due to the poor direction of the novice director in this film, but I couldn't stand to listen to them with their phony accents and pat blah blah (maybe the script is at fault too). They struck me as little Komsomol youth who had been brainwashed their whole lives and are piously reciting their patriotic lessons.