Edge of Darkness

"Resistance fighters battle the Nazis in occupied Norway"

1943 1h 59m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 40

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The film pivots around the local Norwegian doctor and his family. The doctor's wife (Ruth Gordon) wants to hold on to the pretence of gracious living and ignore their German occupiers. The doctor, Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), would also prefer to stay neutral, but is torn. His brother-in-law, the wealthy owner of the local fish cannery, collaborates with the Nazis. The doctor's daughter, Karen (Ann Sheridan), is involved with the resistance and with its leader Gunnar Brogge (Errol Flynn). The doctor's son has just returned to town, having been sent down from the university, and is soon influenced by his Nazi-sympathizer uncle. Captain Koenig (Helmut Dantine), the young German commandant of the occupying garrison, whose fanatic determination to do everything by the book and spoutings about the invincibility of the Reich hides a growing fear of a local uprising.

“Resistance fighters battle the Nazis in occupied Norway”

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Where to watch · US

Cast

Errol Flynn
Gunnar Brogge
Ann Sheridan
Karen Stensgard
Walter Huston
Dr. Martin Stensgard
Helmut Dantine
Captain Koenig
Ruth Gordon
Anna Stensgard
Judith Anderson
Gerd Bjarnesen
Roman Bohnen
Lars Malken
Monte Blue
Jens Petersen

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lewis Milestone
Writers: Robert Rossen
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

83 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lewis Milestone, shot by Sidney Hickox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Weisbart shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan and Walter Huston carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Resistance fighters battle the Nazis in occupied Norway".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0034694 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lewis Milestone directs. Sidney Hickox behind the camera. Franz Waxman scores. David Weisbart cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.7M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
283 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Lewis Milestone, shot by Sidney Hickox. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Franz Waxman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor David Weisbart shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Errol Flynn and Ann Sheridan and Walter Huston carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Resistance fighters battle the Nazis in occupied Norway".
8IMDB entry: tt0034694 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 40 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
10Classified under 9 themes, including "nazi", "traitor", "world war ii", "german occupation".

The technical file

Cinematography: Sidney Hickox
Original score: Franz Waxman
Editing: David Weisbart
Costume design: Orry-Kelly
Makeup / hair: Perc Westmore
Runtime: 119 min · 1h 59m
Status: Released
Budget: $1,653,000
Box office: $3,669,000
Return: 222% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Edge of Darkness (1943)

Also by

Lewis Milestone

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-08-06
★ 9/10
I have always wondered how it must have felt to make a 'wartime' movie about a war you're currently living in, and lately I stumbled upon a quintet of films made during the Second World War with Errol Flynn, of all people, battling the Nazis. Because of it both being by Turner Classic Movies AND had one film directed by Lewis Milestone (with one of the finest anti-war statements ever made, 'All Quiet on the Western Front', under his belt) and the others by none other than Raoul Walsh, I was, pardon the pun, 'in like Flynn'. But as Flynn had been one of my favourite actors of the period simply on the basis of 'The Adventures of Robin Hood', I honestly would have gone for it anyway. Yeah, you could say I love older movies! =) My best friend Earl remarked, 'By the end of WWII, they used up all of the good film titles,' and he probably has a point there, at least with this one, still getting quality usage THREE generations later, and with Mel Gibson to boot. But this was weird for a war film (looking at the resistance put up by a village of 800 Norwegians) bizarrely cast (with Ann Sheridan, Walter Huston, Judith Anderson and Ruth Gordon--all as the GOOD guys!), and had taped speeches by BOTH Churchill and Roosevelt. I read notorious British film critic Leslie Halliwell's review that everything was decent about the film except that it starred Flynn. He couldn't have been more wrong. I'm greatly looking forward to examining the other four films of the set, all directed by one of the most underrated American directors of all time--Raoul Walsh.
CinemaSerf2022-10-25
★ 7/10
This has to be one of my favourite wartime dramas. Certainly it's a bit of a propaganda piece, but this depiction of a peaceful Norwegian fishing village suddenly put under the jackboot of their Nazi oppressors is remarkably potent - even now. Errol Flynn ("Gunnar") takes top billing, but that's really only nominal - it's all about an effective ensemble cast with the likes of Ann Sheridan ("Karen"), Walter Huston ("Stensgard") and the poignant scenes from Morris Carnovsky's educated - and therefore immensely threatening "Andresen" whose treatment by Helmut Dantine's suitably menacing and ruthless "Koenig" are easily the most potent amongst the scenarios in this otherwise rather savage indictment of the bullying and torment suffered by the townsfolk - some even asked to dig their own mass grave. It doesn't shy away from the "Quisling" issue - every town had one, and shows us something of the difficulties faced by his friends and family as it appears that he is playing both sides. There is plenty of stoic resistance - both in the pulpit from pastor "Aalesen" (Richard Fraser) and from this community at large - acts ranging from petty defiance to more effective and lethal responses. These all culminates in a conclusion that is suitably fitting with violence being deservedly visited on them so familiar with it. It's about faith, trust, loyalty and determination and as films of this genre go, I think it takes quite some beating.