The peaceful opening stretch is meant to provide a stark contrast to the later horrors, but it goes on far too long, and there are so many songs belted out by the happy villagers that one would be forgiven for initially believing this to be a musical.

A prime example of how Hollywood reflected the changing political climate: When Lewis Milestone's film was made, the Soviet Union was an ally but after WWII some of its makers removed their name, while others like writer Lilian Hellman were blacklisted.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a film like this before. An agrarian community in the Ukraine are facing impending invasion from the Nazis so must rally their resources; flee to the hills or stay behind as potential saboteurs. It was made in the middle of WWII and features quite a formidable cast of stars - Anne Baxter, Dana Andrews, Walter's Huston and Brennan (the latter always seems to end up driving a wagon, whichever film he is in!), Dean Jagger, Farley Granger and an excellent Erich von Stroheim all advancing the cause of the freedom from a Soviet perspective; something completely unimaginable from an Hollywood studio just five years later. It is a pretty shameless piece of propaganda. The young, innocent youth under the jackboot of their tyrannical oppressors, using what limited resources they have to try to thwart the overwhelmingly powerful war machine rolling, relentlessly, through their country - bravely sacrificing life and limb along the way. The dialogue is suitably jingoistic, and there are plenty of rousing, anthemic, songs to keep the comrades motivated. As a wartime depiction, it has an earthiness to it, though - there are some scenes that genuinely and plausibly appal and the youth of Baxter (only 20) and Granger (18) plays well to Lewis Milstone's overall intention. Sometimes when you see films like this you wonder how the brutal Nazis ever lost...

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