The Seventh Cross

This 1944 Spencer Tracy film is pretty dull, but worth a look if only for a historical perspective. This film was made during WWII and tells the story of a prison break from a concentration camp. Seven men escape (only one is a Jew, the rest seem to be dissidents). The Gestapo methodically catches all but one, Spencer Tracy. The film is narrated by the prison break's leader, who dies in the first scene. That's an interesting hook, but the narration is incessent and overwrought. The action is dull and the story is more a series of vignettes than a real plot. Eventually he escapes, but the message of the film is that it takes small actions by many normal German citizens to make it happen. That is the compelling aspect of the film. The Germany portrayed here is deeply paranoid, but filled with good-hearted people who want a just soceity and are afraid of the government they have. Obviously it is wildly optimistic in its assessment of Germans, but I think it's an interesting time capsule movie. Tracy is great in a part where he speaks very rarely. The movie also features Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy whom I know only from their Cocoon ages. Nice to see them young and hot.