This is a good film from the Gabin-Duvivier partnership, though now the two of them have escaped Paris and are in Hollywood. The result is this World War II propaganda film.
Jean Gabin plays Clement, a prisoner found guilty of murder who is about to be executed. He is with the executioners when the Nazis bomb that part of the prison, and Clement escapes. He hitches a ride with some soldiers in a truck; there is a skirmish, and when Clement regains consciousness, the soldiers around him are dead. He steals the clothes and identity of a soldier named LeFarge. He then joins the French Resistance, headed for Africa.
This film is about true identity and camaraderie as soldiers, separated from the homes and loved ones, reminisce about what they've left behind, but patriotism has taken them to the fight.
Gabin is great as an embittered loner who soon learns the meaning of friendship as he fights in the trenches. There are wonderful performances from Richard Whorf, Allyn Joslyn, Ellen Drew, and Peter Van Eyck.
What's in a name - indeed. Highly recommended.
