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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The story of a 1940 adventure in France by a British factory foreman against the advancing Germans; effective and exciting, 4 Jul 2007
In 1940 deep in France, three special purpose machines sent from Britain to turn out guns for fighter planes sit in an abandoned factory right in the path of the advancing Germans. In London, one of the foreman from the British factory that produced the machines is determined to get them back to Britain. The Germans are just as determined to locate the machines. Fred Carrick (Clifford Evans), who can't speak French and has never travelled outside England, bulls his way through red tape and the optimism of his superiors that the French would never allow the machines to be captured. He winds up on a French train heading toward the town where the machines are located. When he gets there, he discovers an American young woman, Anne Stafford (Constance Cummings), who worked at the factory and who stayed to burn important documents. Anne will need to teach Fred a thing or two about not trusting every Frenchman he meets. Then two Tommies, Tommy Hoskins (Tommy Trinder) and Jock MacFarlane (Gordon Jackson), show up with a transport truck filled with hundreds of tins of curry powder. Fred quickly enlists their help. With a bit of shrewdness and good luck, they are able to deal with a fifth columnist working for the Germans and set out with the machines in the back of the lorry. Carrick's adventure is just beginning.
Fred Carrick finally gets his machines back to England, but only after experiencing a range of obstacles that would have defeated a man less imbued with British values than he. Carrick is decisive and smart, but he's also ready to accept help and take advice. More than anything, he is dedicated to seeing that the Germans will never get his vital machines. Along the way to the French coast, he, Anne, Tommy and Jock see first hand what the Germans are doing...roads clogged with dazed refugees, German fighters indiscriminately strafing civilians, orphans left silent or hysterical as the nun who was taking care of them is shot and killed, a burning city glowing in the night, a hospital bombed, fifth columnists and traitors working for the Germans. And all the while, the German army is advancing right behind them. Propaganda? Absolutely, and not bad propaganda, either.
The Foreman Went to France works so well because it combines adventure, humor, resourcefulness and British pluck into an engrossing story. The message turns dark as we see what the Germans have in store for everyone, but then turns hopeful as we see how courage and resoluteness can win.
No propaganda film is complete without key dialogue scenes that underscore the message. Here are two or three:
--For British imperturbability, how about this line when a character, right after an air raid, is told to do some weeding. "Nothing like a spot of gardening to make you forget your troubles."
--Fred and Anne are standing just outside a French official's office after caring for the orphans and experiencing dive bomb attacks. "Killing, destroying...they'll go on, the Germans, until there's nothing left," Anne says. "No, they won't," Fred tells her. "We've been half asleep...you, me, all of us. Well, we're waking up at last. It's not too late!"
--Fred gets his machines to a small French port where a boat is loading refugees. The French captain, who won't take their money, points out that the machines are very heavy. He can take them only if the refugees agree to throw overboard everything they have with them. It must be their choice, the captain says. "It's too much to ask," Fred says to Anne. "They're losing their homes, their belongings, their country." The captain speaks to them and the refugees stare silently back. Then an old French woman says something to the crowd, pauses, and throws her battered suitcase over the side. Not only do all the other refugees follow, they then help wrestle the heavy machines on board.
--Later, half way to England, Fred turns to the French captain and says, "Please thank your people for us. We owe them so much." The captain looks at Fred. "We shall owe everything to your country...when France lives again, one day."
Not bad for propaganda. The Forman Went to France is dated, but in its time I suspect it was a very effective movie, especially as it was based on a true story. Today, it holds up well because the adventures are exciting, the cast does a good job...and who doesn't want to be on the side of the good guys against Hitler and his armies? If you enjoy old movies and effective war propaganda, this one's worth it.
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