Desperate Journey (1942)

Don’t take this one too seriously just sit back and enjoy this World War II action adventure which features a great cast. Directed by Raoul Walsh this Arthur T. Horman original screenplay is about an Allied bomber which is hit by enemy fire that has to crash land behind enemy lines. Its crew led by Errol Flynn must then find their way back to friendly territory. Along the way they disrupt as many Axis operations as possible while trying to avoid capture; the pursuing German forces are led by an officer played by Raymond Massey. Except for the fact that this film is played for fun its plot is similar to the more serious 49th Parallel (1941) which had a Nazi submarine crew trapped behind enemy lines in Canada trying to get home only in reverse.

Ronald Reagan Alan Hale (who made more than a dozen films with Flynn) and Arthur Kennedy are the other notable actors in Flynn’s multi-national crew (Ronald Sinclair is in it too). Initially captured there’s an hilarious scene with Reagan using double-speak to confuse his German captors before he improbably escapes. Later they escape from another Nazi (played by Sig Ruman) on a train. Along they way they come in contact with some Allied sympathizers (played by Albert Bassermann and Nancy Coleman). The ending especially its closing line is particularly far fetched propaganda but enjoyable nonetheless. I’m sure that the movie-going audience of the day had a great time alternately cheering and hissing at the characters on the screen much like they did for the B Westerns of the time (and the silent films of the bygone years).

The film was nominated for a Best Effects Special Effects Oscar.

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