| Edge of Darkness | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by | Henry Blanke |
| Written by | William Woods (novel) Robert Rossen (screenplay) |
| Starring | Errol Flynn Ann Sheridan Walter Huston |
| Music by | Franz Waxman |
| Cinematography | Sid Hickox |
| Editing by | David Weisbart |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | April 24, 1943 |
| Running time | 119 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Edge of Darkness is a war film released in 1943.[1] It was directed by Lewis Milestone and stars Errol Flynn, Ann Sheridan and Walter Huston. It was based on a script by Robert Rossen which was adapted from the novel Edge of Darkness (1942) by William Woods.[2]
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The film pivots around the fictional Norwegian fishing village of Trollness which resists the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany. The film opens during October 1942, with the Norwegian flag flying high over the Nazi outpost but finds almost everyone in town dead. The question of how the town overcame the German army plays out in flashback.[3]
The local doctor, Martin Stensgard (Walter Huston), and his wife (Ruth Gordon) want to hold on to the pretence of gracious living and ignore the occupiers. The doctor would also prefer to stay neutral, but is torn. Kaspar Togersen (Charles Dingle), 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). Johann (John Beal), the doctor's son, has just returned to town having been sent down from the university but 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 Third Reich hides a growing fear of a local uprising. A secondary love story, concerns a German sergeant and the innkeeper/lead female resistance fighter. A pivotal event forces the doctor to choose sides, which leads to the final showdown between the Nazis and the Norwegians.[4]
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