THE SEVENTH CROSS Movie Review

1944 Fred Zinnemann

Fred Zinnemann's earnest propaganda piece begins shakily and never really ratchets up the tension as tightly as it might. Despite persistent flaws, though, it becomes an involving tale of escape from Nazi persecution, one that takes unusually sophisticated care to explore the roots of the appeal of National Socialism to middle-class Germans. By setting the story in 1936, the filmmakers are able to give the story a dimension of historical perspective. They do not examine the true horrors of the concentration camps, but perhaps that was impossible in 1944.

George Heisler (Spencer Tracy) has been imprisoned for vaguely defined reasons. He escapes with six others. Immediately, writers Helen Deutsch and Anna Seghers separate the viewer from the action by having Wallau (Ray Collins), another escapee, comment on the action as an omniscient voice-over narrator both before and after he is killed. Though that device sounds like a precursor to film noir, the filmmakers lack a true noir sensibility. Just the opposite is true. The narrator is relentlessly, evangelically hopeful throughout, and that is the antithesis of film noir. It's also an unusually strong theme for an escape thriller, too strong at times

We follow two converging plot lines. The first, naturally, sticks to Heisler and his fellow escapees as they get away from the camp and elude the authorities. The man-on-the-run story is perennially popular, and this one is handled well. One rooftop sequence is particularly good, but when the focus falls on Heisler alone, the filmmakers over-rely on the narrator. We are told, for example, “He was dazed with despair, confused, lost. Now where?” when we can see all of that on Tracy's face. And for viewers who still haven't got the point, the music tends to swell and thicken then, too.

The second plot line concerns the activities of a fragmented resistance group that's trying to find Heisler and help him. Paul and Liesel Roeder (Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy in their first film work together) are old friends of Heisler who have prospered under Nazi rule. Personally apolitical, they have tried hard not to know what's going on around them. Why not? The economy is booming. They get tax breaks and extra vacation for their kids—government support for their family values. When Heisler shows up on their doorstep, they're forced to make choices. The consequences of those choices ripple outward, affecting other people, and that's where the film is at its best.

Writer Helen Deutsch, who would later adapt Valley of the Dolls and The Unsinkable Molly Brown for the screen, makes these middle-class and wealthy characters believably complex, and she takes the time to make their decisions realistic. Because so much attention is given them, the suspense isn't nearly as gripping as it could be in the later reels. Zinnemann milks every drop he can from shadowy sets filled with angular staircases and dimly lit cobblestone streets, but the slow pace prevents him from turning the film into a first-class thriller. Instead, The Seventh Cross is unusually complex and tolerant propaganda.

Cast: Spencer Tracy (George Heisler), Signe Hasso (Toni), Hume Cronyn (Paul Roeder), Jessica Tandy (Liesel Roeder), Agnes Moorehead (Mme. Marelli), Herbert Rudley (Franz Marnet), Felix Bressart (Poldi Schlamm), Ray Collins (Wallau), Alexander Granach (Zillich), George Macready (Bruno Sauer), Steve Geray (Dr. Loewenstein), Karen Verne (Leni), George Zucco (Fahrenburg), Katherine Locke (Mrs. Sauer), Paul Guilfoyle (Fiedler), Kurt Katch (Leo Hermann), Konstantin Shayne (Fuellgrabe), John Wengraf (Overkamp), Eily Malyon (Fraulein Bachmann); Written by: Helen Deutsch, Anna Seghers; Cinematography by: Karl Freund; Music by: Roy Webb. Producer: Pandro S. Berman, MGM. Awards: Nominations: Academy Awards '44: Best Supporting Actor (Cronyn). Running Time: 110 minutes. Format: VHS.