This Land Is Mine *** (1943, Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara, George Sanders, Walter Slezak, Una O’Connor, Kent Smith) – Classic Movie Review 8977

Director Jean Renoir’s 1943 black and white wartime drama This Land Is Mine is perfectly constructed and strongly cast but it lacks his usual panache, partly because of Dudley Nichols’s routine screenplay and situations.

Charles Laughton stars as shy, gentle teacher Albert Lory, who refuses to collaborate, stands up for his beliefs and confronts the villains when Nazis occupy a town in France in World War Two.

Laughton is outstanding in an ideal part for him, and there is good star support from Maureen O’Hara, George Sanders, Walter Slezak, Una O’Connor, Kent Smith, Philip Merivale, Thurston Hall, George Coulouris, Nancy Gates and Ivan F Simpson.

This Land Is Mine is directed by Jean Renoir, runs 103 minutes, is made by Jean-Renoir- Dudley Nichols Productions and RKO Radio Pictures, is released by RKO, is written by Dudley Nichols, is shot in black and white by Frank Redman, is produced by Jean Renoir and Dudley Nichols, is scored by Lothar Perl, and is designed by Eugene Lourié and Albert S D’Agostino.

It was shot at RKO Studios, 780 N. Gower Street, Hollywood.

Stephen Dunn won an Oscar for Best Sound, Recording.

Also in the cast are John Banner, Joan Barclay, Trevor Bardette, Sven Hugo Borg, George M Carleton, Wheaton Chambers, Gordon Clark, John Dilson, Ludwig Donath, Otto Hoffman, Russell Hoyt, Lloyd Ingraham, George MacQuarrie, Jack Martin, Frank O’Connor, Emory Parnell, John Rice, Henry Roquemore, Ferdinand Schumann-Heink, Hans Schumm, Lester Sharpe, Jack Shea, George Sorel, Ida Shoemaker, Bob Stevenson, Walter Thiele, Hans von Morhart, Cecil Weston and William Yetter Sr.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8977

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com