This Above All (1942)

Just watched oskar werner as German traitor, a couple days ago I watched tyrone power proletariat fall in love with slumming joan Fontaine, she of the upper class, father a doctor who could have gotten her a better post, but she wants to sign up with the masses. On double date she meets tyrone in the dark and then a daytime date and they fall in love. They go to an inn and stay chastely in adjacent rooms and then he talks in his sleep: war terrors. Tom Mitchell shows up trying to convince him to turn himself in. Joan senses his mental turmoil without knowing its cause. A conversation with a kind one armed priest convinces him to turn himself in. He calls joan. Lets meet before i turn myself in. But the mp's catch him first. But a kind officer allows him a few hours to go meet joan, but German aerial attack and his helping hand and a falling wall puts him in the hospital. Joan goes to father and doctor dad operates on tyrone's brain. Will he live? We can only pray. But he marries her in his hospital bed. This was propaganda to convince the working class to join in the war against the Germans despite the system being corrupt. Quite explicit in pushing this message. The title is one of the worst ever.

Wow..it's a quite old movie but it's very beautiful^^ I love its romantic story and the cast was pretty good. The film is based on a superb book: Eric Knight-This Above All. It's a greatly composed philosophic-romantic story.I think if you liked the movie, you should read this book! It's one of my favorite books,I simply love it^^ You will be much poorer in feelings, if you don't read this book... And thank you for the quotes...I think the book contains some more.. and more memorable^^ By the way,does anyone know where I could find it in English? I've been searching for it on the internet, but i've found it nowhere...:(

Tyrone Power is a man with a secret when he falls in love with upper class Joan Fontaine in "This Above All," a 1942 film that also stars Thomas Mitchell and Gladys Cooper. Fontaine plays Prudence, a young woman from a wealthy British family who joins the WAFs. One night, a fellow WAF asks her to double date with her and her soon to be fiancée, and there, in the darkness of a blackout, she meets Clive Briggs (Power), a very complicated young man who's not in uniform. The two fall in love and go on holiday together, and it is while vacationing that Prudence realizes that Clive has seen battle. She finally wrenches his secret out of him.This is a really lovely, dark film based on the book of the same name. Unlike the movie, the book is filled with sex so there, it disappoints. Thanks to the code, the couple have adjoining rooms, and Prudence tells her father, "We've done nothing to be ashamed of." It's somewhat frustrating - I mean, it's Tyrone Power in the next room, and you're not sleeping with him?Despite this, the performances are wonderful. Fontaine, with her soft, elegant beauty, is totally believable as both a compassionate and a passionate woman. Power's almost ridiculous beauty of the 1930s, that ethereal perfection that outshone his female costars, has been replaced by 1942 with the wonderful handsomeness that would carry him through the '50s. His looks - and the roles given him by his studio - caused him to be underrated as an actor. Here, however, he's the Larry Darrell of "The Razor's Edge" gone over to the dark side - troubled, pensive, sometimes cold, with moods that change abruptly - and he's excellent in what is a very different kind of role for him.One never loses what's Clive's about. For instance, Clive resents and hates the upper class. When he walks into the office of the commanding officer he begged to see and hears him making social plans on the telephone, his face changes, and you realize that this is the type of person that he detests. If only Mr. Zanuck hadn't been so enamored of Power's voice that he discouraged him from doing accents. There's no doubt, if his fooling around in "Rose of Washington Square" and suggestion of an accent in "Lloyds of London" are any indication, that he could have done a British accent without any problem were it demanded of him. Gregory Peck didn't use one either in The Guns of Navarone which confused people. But according to "Memo from Darryl F. Zanuck," the studio head had very rigid ideas about his most important star. One poster thought this would have been a good role for Olivier - I disagree. Olivier would not have been as convincing as a common man as Power was.This is a propaganda film, of course, so Fontaine has a big monologue about England and what it means. It's a little melodramatic but appropriate given the times and the subject matter. This is a minor point in a film rich with characterization and atmosphere. When Clive and Prudence first meet, they catch a glimpse of one another while a cigarette is being lit - it's terribly romantic and sweet, as is the entire film. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderfully acted, compelling love story set during WWII in England. Joan Fontaine's portrayal of an aristocratic woman who joins the WAAFS and falls in love with a deserter (Tyrone Power) is superb. She is beautiful, tender, courageous, and quite believable as Prudence. Her speech on what England means is eloquent and is one of the highlights of the film. Tyrone Power is awesome as Clive, too. Joan's character is steadfast in her love for Clive and the chemistry between Joan and Tyrone is wonderful. With the resurgence of patriotism in America this film should be shown more often on the movie channels. Maybe they will catch on soon. A not-to-missed film.