User reviews

Although the English born, Laurence Olivier, Richard Greene, or Robert Donat would have done the part of Clive Briggs great justice, there was nothing wrong with the performance Tyrone Power gave in This Above All. Power does not even attempt an English accent, yet his performance is every bit as good as Robert Taylor's in Waterloo Bridge.

Eric Knight's novel was a big seller and the film is a serious examination as to why this is the people's war. In a curious way Power's views which do undergo a radical transformation are a mirror image of what Marlon Brando said in The Young Lions about class distinctions.

And in the same year of This Above All, Teresa Wright in Mrs. Miniver upheld the tradition of the upper classes. One of my favorite scenes from that film is Wright telling Richard Ney about the things she's involved in to make her corner of the world better. Joan Fontaine feels the same way, before she meets the cynical Power she tells her family that she feels she has to get in and do her bit. She joins the Women's Auxiliary Army Force as an enlistee, not even an officer. She feels as did Wright that class also carries responsibility.

Power and Fontaine are a perfectly matched pair, she just coming off her Oscar and him at the height of his box office draw. Hollywood's English colony fills out the rest of the cast with the exception of Thomas Mitchell who is inevitably Irish.

This Above All won an Oscar for Best Art Direction and it was nominated in several other categories. The film holds up remarkably well because it is both patriotic, but a very atypical and cynical film for its time, not your normal flag-waver.

THIS ABOVE ALL succeeds as a romantic drama largely because of the two leading performances of TYRONE POWER and JOAN FONTAINE, both at their physical peak. Fontaine makes a radiant, spirited Prudence and Power has that sincere quality that makes Clive a real character.

On the debit side, it has the faults typical of many wartime films in the '40s--the propaganda attitude is full of flag-waving moments, such as Fontaine's monologue about England's brave fight for victory. Nevertheless, she gives one of her better performances as an aristocratic young British woman who enlists in the WAF, meets Power and quickly falls deeply in love. It's the romantic aspect of the tale that is a clear winner--but the preachy elements in the screenplay do considerable harm in dulling its merits as a motion picture.

The wartime scenes of bombings and air raids is extremely well handled, the B&W photography is excellent, but Alfred Newman's syrupy score used throughout never gets a chance to rest.

Power and Fontaine make a handsome couple and the cast includes Thomas Mitchell, always a welcome character actor, as a caring friend.

Anatole Litvak's direction is occasionally striking but this director has done much more dramatic and serious work (such as SORRY, WRONG NUMBER and THE SNAKE PIT) with greater effect.

It ends up being only mildly satisfying, mainly because of the chemistry of the two stars.

With the entry of England into WW2, upper class Prudence Cathaway (Joan Fontaine) joins the women's auxiliary force, much to the annoyance of her snobbish relatives. Prudence later meets working-class Clive Briggs (Tyrone Power) on a blind date, and the two fall in love, although Clive reveals little about his past, and Prudence can sense something heavy on his mind. Eventually she learns that not only was Clive recognized for bravery during the Dunkirk evacuation, but that he has subsequently gone AWOL. Will Clive change his mind and return to service, or is he destined to be a fugitive?

I don't often warm to Fontaine, but she's good here, sweetly human and beautiful. Power gets to stretch a bit with a darker character, and he's up to the challenge. The supporting players don't have a lot to do, but they're all memorable professionals, and help keep the movie interesting. Two scenes that struck me as especially noteworthy: the initial date between Fontaine and Power is held during a blackout, with very little light, and only the occasional match strike providing fleeting illumination of faces. The other scene is later in the film, as a frantic Power runs through the wrecked streets of a London neighborhood during an air raid. Bombs are falling, fires are burning, a plane even crashes into a nearby apartment house, all with panicked citizens and valiant firemen running to and fro. A very well executed sequence. The movie received Oscar nominations for Best B&W Cinematography, Best Sound, and Best Editing, and it won for Best B&W Art Direction.

If you only think of Tyrone Power as a swashbuckling hero, you need to rent This Above All. I'd seen all of the wrong movies of his first, like Untamed, Alexander's Ragtime Band, and In Old Chicago, so I thought he was merely a nice-looking actor who wasn't very talented and always played jerks. If you're on the same page that I was, check out The Sun Also Rises, The Long Gray Line, and This Above All. Those three movies will make a Ty fan out of you.

Joan Fontaine plays a wealthy English woman who, disgusted with her family's aloof attitude about the war-in an impassioned monologue, she declares Gladys Cooper to be worse than the Nazis-joins the WAAFs. She's very excited to do her part for the war effort, and this part of the plot is riveting enough, but when she goes on a blind date and spends the evening with a moody, irritable man hidden in the shadows, the plot heats up. Her date is Tyrone Power, and once she sees his beautiful face and his perfectly adorable nose, she's anxious to see him again. As they date, it's clear he's hiding something. If you look up the movie online, you'll find out what his secret is, but I won't spoil it for you in case you want the movie to unfold by itself.

Handsomeness and romance aside, because you can see those in other Tyrone Power movies, Ty gives an excellent layered performance. There's so much turmoil written on his face, long before you find out what his secret is, and his interactions with his well-intentioned friend Thomas Mitchell and a neutral priest Alexander Knox show a simmering temper he never usually shows in his movies. Tyrone Power was never nominated for an Academy Award, and Hot Toasty Rag was proud to give him a nomination for his performance in this emotional drama. In the supporting cast, you can catch glimpses of Henry Stephenson, Sara Allgood, Miles Mander, and Nigel Bruce.

Tyrone Power once again proves what a brilliant actor he was in this film! Joan Fontaine is also wonderful as an upper-class English woman who joins the WAFs during WWII and meets and falls in love with a charming, but troubled, stranger (Power) with a mysterious past. This movie is not only well acted and touching, but also provides an interesting historical window into WWII England. A definite must see for Tyrone Power fans and anyone interested in WWII. Unfortunately, this movie is not available on video. However, for anyone who wishes to see it, I managed to catch it on the Fox Movie Channel, where it is sometimes shown.

This is a propaganda movie ,but which meant much for Litvak ,a Russian whose career began in Germany ,then continued in France ,before " Mayerling " led him to Hollywood : his film begins with the 1940 Dunkirk disaster and the armistice France was forced to sign with the nazis .

Like Wyler's "Mrs Minniver" ,it takes place in England ,where a young aristocrat (Fontaine) joins the WAAF ,partly a rebel stand against a selfish auntie (Gladys Cooper) .

The first part of the movie is everything but derivative : a man in civilian clothes (Power) who falls for a woman in uniform (funny to watch the women's training whilst we are used to seeing those of men).

The man is a deserter who left the army because he does not know why he 's fighting for :when the war is over , they will let us down,and the society won't care for us (it's not entirely false ,and sometimes soldiers coming home do not get what they deserve :it's not typically English);and for Clyde ,Prudence represents all that he hates the privileged people who make the other fight for their wealth. Not only Prude proves him wrong by joining the army ,but she also delivers a long patriotic eulogy of England ,their culture ;it may be full of clichés,but the actress's voice is so convincing it will win you over. On the other hand ,The priest's intervention is perhaps unwittingly preachy .

An occupied France (and other countries), bombs all over England : through Clive's.realization , "all above us" was meant to comfort and to encourage the people ; in 1942 ,in the darkest hours of the war , they had to know they would meet again some sunny day.

Given that all the other reviews on this film are from people who live outside the UK i thought i would give a review from the UK.In my view this is the phoniest film about the war in 1940 that was ever perpetrated by Hollywood.Virtually everything about it was wrong.The characters always seem to be going to restaurants and travelling in cars as if there was no rationing.They go down to what is clearly supposed to be a restricted area on the coast without ID.They go to a pub where a Hollywood idea of cockney is spoken other than the "Mumerset" accent of Nigel Bruce. Now there were conscientious objectors but these were normally people with a conscience about taking part in war.James Mason is one example.However the ideas and views put forward by Powers character would not have been current in the later part of 1940.By that time this country was fighting on its own in a life and death struggle.Chamberlain had resigned and Churchill was now PM.There was an all party coalition government not a National Conservative government.Hitlers peace feelers had been rebuffed and with the blitz there was now no go back.So the anti war sentiments put forward in the film are totally unbelievable as is Powers character.This film may have been a big success in its day but now looks very dated.

Tyrone Power is completely deprived of all his Hollywood attributes here, he is shabby and unshaved like a bum, his good looks are purposely disposed of and as much altered as possible to the contrary, his character is doubtful, while Joan Fontaine outshines him all the way and constantly more and more, which makes it impossible not to burst out into tears when she does.

It's a chapter out of the most critical point of the war after Dunkirk at the beginning of the long nightmare blitz of London, and all the bombing scenes couldn't have been made more real and convincing. Tyrone is a veteran from Dunkirk, almost decorated, bitterly disillusioned about the war and its glory and finds no meaning in any aspect of the struggle, while Joan in bursts of impressing honesty gives him second thoughts. But there is much more to it than their epitomized romance.

Perhaps the most important ingredient is the other characters. Thomas Mitchell actually saves the show, Alexander Knox is the only one who immediately and thoroughly understands Tyrone's predicament of conscience, Gladys Cooper is gloriously superior as always, Nigel Bruce adds some vital Dickensian comedy, Philip Merivale as the doctor is another vital contribution, and there are others, some not even mentioned. On the whole, it's a perfect masterpiece of film pinpointing the very eye of the storm of the second world war.

I used to climb out of bed(midnight)and watch old movies on KTLA(Movies Til'Dawn)when I was very young.I had a number of siblings so I rarely got to pick our viewings.This was how I got around that.This picture is a very moving story of a disillusioned Canadian soldier(Tyrone Power)who has gone AWOL.He doesn't understand what WWII is about and doesn't want to fight.He meets a pretty young girl(Joan Fontaine)and she"sorts him out"!I believe he is injured by shrapnel in a German air-raid,and her father(Henry Stephenson/a surgeon)saves his life so he can go back and fight.It's a "tear-jerker"but very well done(so as to avoid it's becoming tediously so).I met Joan Fontaine on a ship(1994)and she couldn't believe that a person my age(44)would have seen this film(let alone remember it so well).I was absolutely delighted to have got to meet and spend some time with her.I had met her sister in the 1980's and helped her escape the paparazzi at The Beverly Hilton Hotel and I put her in a cab back to The Beverly Hills Hotel.Memorable Moments!!!

Where do you start to describe this travesty of a film? The lighting is so dark you can't see what is happening a lot of the time. Atmospheric it is not. The accents are atrocious even from the actors born in the UK. The tea room scene is dreadful. It purports to be in England yet it has the look and feel of the USA. Did the producers and directors not know about rationing? There seems to be an abundance of food and drink for everyone and not a ration book in sight. Why would an unmarried man and in wartime Britain, or at any time, go into a hotel and expect to get a room? The behaviour of the women soldiers and officers is completely wrong - no discipline. Avoid this film. By the way Joan Fontaine stinks.

Both Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine gave great performances in great films, especially Fontaine ('Rebecca' being a note-worthy example). Anatole Litvak is not a personal favourite director of mine, but he did make a lot of solid interesting films and it is hard to not appreciate him for making talented actors unknown early on into international stars (i.e. Charles Boyer) or making other actors more popular when they somewhat started to lose it (i.e. Ingrid Bergman with 'Anastasia').

Litvak may not be at his very best, though he does more than credibly here and deserves credit for maintaining Fontaine's popularity and stretching Power's acting ability, and 'This Above All' is not quite my definition of a great film. It is though very well done in a lot of areas, while Fontaine gives one of her better performances of this point of her career and Power excels in a different type of role for him. A personal favourite 'This Above All' may not be, but it was difficult to not appreciate it.

There is not an awful lot wrong with 'This Above All'. It is agreed though that some of the dialogue is on the preachy side, some of Fontaine's especially.

Some of the central relationship seemed a bit rushed with more time needed to develop and Prudence's decision making regarding what she still sees in Clive, considering how he behaves here, doesn't really ring true agreed.

Power though smolders in a difficult role that is tougher, darker sort of role and a completely different kettle of fish to his usual. Fontaine is touchingly noble and their chemistry scintillates and brings a lump to the throat at its best. The supporting cast also do well, Thomas Mitchell and Gladys Cooper always brought class to their roles and Nigel Bruce doesn't bumble or bluster about like he did in some of his other roles (such as his Dr Watson in the Sherlock Holmes films). Litvak's direction has style and atmosphere.

As does the photography, which is sumptuous and at other times eerie. The music is hauntingly beautiful, while enough of the script is intelligently written and the story poignant and with some tension to stop it from getting sudsy.

Concluding, not perfect but the cast particularly, and primarily the leads, make 'This Above All' worth seeing. 7/10

A Zanuck production lends itself to the overblown treatment, and in this fiercely patriotic film about a Hollywood idea of the UK during WW2 has its heart in the right place, and no doubt it helped many to come to terms with the darkest period of the war. Long speeches mainly from Joan Fontaine extol all the cliches of what her country means, and deserter from the army played rather darkly by Tyrone Power listens in wonder. Anatole Litvak directs ably, but somehow the film's attacks on the aristocracy who are portrayed as being indifferent and snobbish, and Gladys Cooper has a cameo role stands in for the worst of them sounds false. But the mood changes and fighting for ye olde England contradicts any criticism. It is enjoyable if in the mood for treacly sentiments, and the black and white photography almost hides its studio bound vision of England. Good for a wet English afternoon, and the rain pours down the window as I write this. My tears blend in with this tearjerker.

I enjoyed the old-fashioned values. There were a few moments where 'the director's agenda was showing" and it became very preachy. but overall, it was an interesting old film. Joan Fontaine looked radiant - Tyrone's handsome dark looks transported us back to a time long ago and far away.

This is a fairy tale, but, as fairy tales go, quite a nice one.

It's interesting to see Hollywood's take on Britain under the Blitz - lots of chirpy cockneys cracking jokes as the bombs fall and irascible tea shop proprietors laying down the law.

Most of Hollywood's ex-pat Brit community turns out in roles that must have been bread-and-butter to them - Gladys Cooper as the snooty old patrician lady, Nigel Bruce in amiable-oaf mode, Queenie Leonard as the tart-with-a-heart, Melville Cooper as the dopey uncle.

Joan and Ty look gorgeous and do a professional job with the script, even when it gets a bit sticky (Joan's cliché-ridden eulogy of England is particularly painful).

If you can swallow the stereotypes and suspend your disbelief, there are worse ways of spending 110 minutes!

Anatole Litvak's engrossing romantic drama, "This Above All," takes place in the early years of World War II, before the United States had entered the war. Like "Mrs. Miniver," the film was intended to boost sympathy and support for England, which was already engaged in a desperate battle with Nazi Germany. Set on a back-lot England with Academy-Award winning sets, the movie has a coziness associated with black-and-white Hollywood studio films of the Golden Era. Prudence Cathaway, a strong-willed young woman from a privileged background, played by 25-year-old Joan Fontaine, joins the WAF, a women's paramilitary group, over family protests. On a blind date one inky black night, she meets Clive Briggs, a moody mysterious man with a dark secret. When she subsequently sees her date in the daylight, he is the impossibly good looking Tyrone Power, and romance inevitably ensues. Despite Brigg's criticism of her own aristocratic background, Fontaine tolerates Power's cynical nature and his ambivalence about fighting to retain the English class system that supports the rich and privileged.

Although breezily entertaining, little occurs during the first half as Fontaine and Power become increasingly involved. The couple flirt, date, and go off for a week's holiday at the seaside, where they encounter some of Briggs's buddies. However, as Briggs's secret unfolds, the film turns darker, and the pro-English propaganda surfaces. Fontaine waxes eloquently about all that England means and why they must fight to preserve the country; meanwhile, Briggs denigrates an economic system that rewards the moneyed aristocracy and oppresses the poor; why should the lower classes fight and die, while the wealthy sip tea and dress for dinner. Veteran actress Gladys Cooper appears to embody the haughty side of undeserved privilege, while Nigel Bruce and Thomas Mitchell ably portray Powers's working class buddies. While the dark-eyed Tyrone Power plays Clive Briggs quite well, Joan Fontaine captures her every scene and turns in a lovely, delicate performance as the rebellious Prudence; her glowing face wordlessly expresses the young woman's growing affection for the handsome Briggs. The Oscar-nominated photography by Arthur C. Miller captures Fontaine's delicate complexion and underplayed expressions and highlights Power at his tall, dark, and handsome best.

Despite a dated message in R. C. Sheriff's screenplay, adapted from a novel by Eric Knight, "This Above All" moves at a brisk pace, and even those averse to romances will be drawn in by Fontaine's radiant performance. If 20th Century Fox wanted to convince American audiences of the importance of supporting a loyal ally against the Nazis, they could have done no better than enlist the aid of Joan Fontaine to do so. She and Power make a romantic pair, and "This Above All" rises above propaganda to be an enduring romantic entertainment.

'This Above All' begins with Prudence Cathaway, (Joan Fontaine) shunning her aristocratic background to join the English WAAF, a women's division of the Royal Air Force as a private. She announces this in front of her privileged family much to their disappointment. She even criticizes an elderly aunt (Gladys Cooper) who strongly criticizes her niece and all she represents. Prudence does the same to her snobby aunt. Prudence follows through and for a short time, plays the role as the slumming rich girl integrating herself into the far less elite women volunteer corps. Then she meets Clive Briggs (Tyrone Power) and she slowly starts flashing her 'aristocracy card' which fortunately (for her) she didn't throw away. A love affair ensues and from that point on, Prudence uses everything at her disposal to stay with Clive, spending hardly anytime with the WAACS. Fontaine is a better actor than Power which negatively impacts the picture. The film's arc takes many far fetched twists and turns. Despite Anatole Litvak's direction and some decent supporting performances ( I.e. Thomas Mitchell, Nigel Bruce), 'This Above All' falls flat. Fontaine's character keeps wavering between the rich little princess and the soldier determined to do her part to help England defend itself against Nazi tyranny. This was a poor follow up to the far superior 'Suspicion' a year earlier.

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.

This is a two-hanky affair for most women. Power is a major heartthrob, and Fontaine, who goes over the top a few times in her scenes, looks radiant. The plot is interesting; a deserter has an affair with an upper class woman who has joined the WAAFS (the British version of WACS). Complications, of course, occur. Maybe just one or two many complications and the hospital scene is a bit much. Other than that, the film is quite watchable and entertaining.

Film starts off well and has a wonderful leading lady in Joan Fontaine, not matched by Tyrone Power. Nigel Bruce is fifth billed as Ramsbottom and doesn't have a huge amount to do. He is cast against type as a West country publican and truth to be told, his accent does stray at times. But he is endearingly avuncular and is even described as Dickensian. Although he pops up in a few scenes, there is not enough Bruce for our buck in this one and the film outstays its welcome and becomes rather sermonising.