Set in pre WWII Germany, an American (Robert Taylor) travels to Germany in search of his actress mother (Alla Nazimova) who had returned to her native country to sell her family estate. But everyone seems terrified and unable to provide any information to him. What he doesn't know is that she is in a concentration camp with a death sentence hanging over her. Based on the novel by Ethel Vance and directed by Mervyn LeRoy (RANDOM HARVEST). I found this movie engrossing but not without its flaws. Did Robert Taylor's American have to be such a hot headed dolt? He's in a foreign country but behaves like a bull in a china shop instead of being subtle to get the information he wants. As the countess who falls in love with him, Norma Shearer keeps the "great lady of the screen" attitude in check but she's still not very good. Director Mervyn LeRoy manages to keep the tension quotient high so we're often on pins and needles as Germans close in on our protagonists. Since we weren't in the war yet, the film doesn't mention Germany, Nazis or Hitler but there is a swastika in the background in one scene so we know exactly where we are. With Conrad Veidt, Felix Bressart, Philip Dorn and Bonita Granville.
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