Watch on the Rhine ★★★½ 1943 Couple involved with the anti-Nazi underground has escaped the country, but is pursued and harassed by Nazi agents. Adapted by Hammett and Hellman from her play. Performed on stage before the U.S. entered the war, it was the first American play and movie to portray the ugliness of fascism as an ideology, as opposed to the more devious evil of its practical side. The Production Code at the time required that a killer always be punished; the murderer (whose screen motives had been noble) refused to film the offending scene, which explains the tacked-on ending. Superb drama from a pair of highly gifted writers and a great cast. Shumlin also directed the play. 114m/B VHS. Bette Davis, Paul Lukas, Donald Woods, Beulah Bondi, Geraldine Fitzgerald, George Coulouris, Henry Daniell, Helmut Dantine, Donald Buka, Anthony Caruso, Clyde Fillmore, Howard Hickman, Creighton Hale, Kurt Katch, Clarence Muse, Alan Hale Jr., Frank Reicher, Mary (Marsden) Young;
Director:
Herman Shumlin;
Writer:
Lillian Hellman, Dashiell Hammett;
Writer:
Hal Mohr, Merritt B. Gerstad;
Cameo:
Max Steiner. Oscars '43: Actor (Lukas); Golden Globes '44: Actor—Drama (Lukas); N.Y. Film Critics '43: Actor (Lukas), Film.
