The Pied Piper – 1942
This was a cute little movie that was simple Hollywood propaganda, championing the war effort. It was based on a novel of the same name by Nevil Shute. Honestly, this was a difficult movie to find, and though I watched the entire film, the only version I could track down was a very imperfect copy on Youtube. Unfortunately, only the center of the film’s picture was visible. The outer edges were lost. The tops of people’s heads and faces were often missing, making it difficult to read the expressions on the actors’ faces. But it was a short film, coming in at only an hour and ten minutes. It will do for now.
The film starred Monty Woolley as John Sidney Howard, a seventy year old Englishman whose son has already died in the war. As he is vacationing in France, the German military begin their invasion and John decides to return to England to do what he can to help the war effort. But at his hotel, there is another British family, Mr. and Mrs. Cavanaugh, along with their two children, Ronnie, played by Roddy McDowall, and Sheila, played by Peggy Ann Garner.
Mr. Howard is asked and agrees to take the children back to England with him. But their journey is quickly derailed when their train is stopped at Dijon. Without asking, an old woman sends her niece, Rose, played by Fleurette Zama with him, along with an address. Suddenly he has another child to care for. While they are on foot with a large crowd of refugees, a German air raid guns everyone down. John and his charges narrowly escape injury. As they continue walking, John discovers that a young boy whose parents were just killed in the raid has joined their party. He is Pierre, played by Maurice Tauzin.
And finally, a fifth child, Willem, played by Merrill Rodin, shows up from out of nowhere. This one is the weirdest one because the film gives absolutely no explanation as to where he came from or why he was with them. However, I did a little research, and found that in the original novel, he was a Dutch boy who was being attacked by panicking French villagers who mistake him for a German. That’s pretty messed up and I can see why they took it out.
In desperation, Mr. Howard goes to a French woman he barely knows named Nicole Rougeron, played by Anne Baxter. She agrees to help John for the sake of the children, and because she had once been in love with John’s dead son. They make arrangements to cross the Channel in a fishing boat. But in a terrible misfortune, a German guard hears one of the children speaking English, and they are all arrested. The Nazis interrogate Mr. Howard, completely discounting his story, and accusing him of being a British spy.
But all is made well in the end because the Gestapo’s Major Dissen, played by Otto Preminger, has a niece named Anna played by Julika. Her parents are both dead, but she has an uncle living in Rochester, New York. On the condition that Mr. Howard secretly ensures that Anna is delivered to the United States, he eventually lets them all go, keeping Nicole as a hostage until the child’s safe arrival has been confirmed.
The concept for the plot was cute enough, if a little contrived and forced. Unfortunately, by its very nature, the film broke my cardinal sin of movie making. Cute for the sake of cute is never cute. Never. But as I said, this was a propaganda film. It simply used the vehicle of a pack of adorable little children to spout their pro-American, anti-German position, painting the Allies as heroes and saints, and the Nazis as evil murderers. We Americans don’t have any prejudices. We will care for every child in need without question or hesitation. And the Germans, who would never do something nice for anyone, could not believe that Americans were such good people. See how much better than them we are?
It seemed to me, based on other films in which I have seen Monty Woolley, he was simply playing himself. Nothing new or unexpected from him. Anne Baxter was good, as usual. She had her little dramatic moment as she remembers her time spent with Mr. Howard’s son, giving the story that prerequisite Hollywood romance angle, if only briefly. Preminger was good, though a little one-note. I’ll also give the movie a little credit for taking an unexpected turn when the air-raid gunned down all the refugees. But then I had to roll my eyes just a little when little Rose crosses herself at the sight of the dead bodies. How precious!
The movie was alright, though nothing to write home about. But that year it was up against some pretty stiff competition. The 1942 Best Picture winner, Mrs. Miniver, the 49th Parallel, Kings Row, and Pride of the Yankees, among others, were better movies. So I’m not surprised The Pied Piper didn’t win, though it was nominated for a total of three Academy Awards. The other two were for Monty Wooley for Best Actor, and Best Cinematography, Black and White.