''The Pied Piper'' is a 1942 American film in which an Englishman on vacation in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

is caught up in the German invasion of that country, and finds himself taking an ever-growing group of children to safety. It stars Monty Woolley,

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 4 October 1998) was a British actor, photographer and film director. He began his acting career as a child in England, and then in the United States, in ''How Green Was My Valley'' (1 ...

and Anne Baxter. The film was adapted by

Nunnally Johnson Nunnally Hunter Johnson (December 5, 1897 – March 25, 1977) was an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and playwright. As a filmmaker, he wrote the screenplays to more than fifty films in a career that spanned from 1927 to 1967. He ...

from the 1942 novel of the same name by

Nevil Shute Nevil Shute Norway (17 January 189912 January 1960) was an English novelist and aeronautical engineer who spent his later years in Australia. He used his full name in his engineering career and Nevil Shute as his pen name, in order to protect h ...

. It was directed by

Irving Pichel Irving Pichel (June 24, 1891 – July 13, 1954) was an American actor and film director, who won acclaim both as an actor and director in his Hollywood career. Career Pichel was born to a Jewish family in Pittsburgh. He attended Pittsburgh Cent ...

. It was nominated for

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

for

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Monty Woolley for

Best Actor in a Leading Role Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

, and

Edward Cronjager Edward Cronjager (21 March 1904 – 15 June 1960) was an American cinematographer whose career spanned from the silent era through the 1950s. He came from a family of cinematographers, with his father, uncle, and brother all working in the film ...

for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White.

Plot

In June 1940, Howard goes to France, near the border with Switzerland, to sulk after his offer to serve in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

is turned down by every government department in London because he is too old. (It is later revealed that his son, an RAF pilot, was shot down and killed two months earlier.) When Germany invades France, he is determined to go home. Mrs. Cavanaugh decides to accompany her husband, a

League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...

official, to his post in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, but fearing that the Germans will invade Switzerland next, she asks Howard to take her two young children, Ronnie and Sheila, to her sister in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. Howard reluctantly agrees, as he does not like children, especially Ronnie, who annoys him by contradicting his claim that

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

is an American state. They take the train from St. Claude, but have to debark at

Joigny Joigny () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yonne Departments of France, department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It is located on the banks of the river Yonne (river), Yonne. History The current city, originally kno ...

. When they board a bus to

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

, Ronnie (without Howard's knowledge) brings along the French girl Rose (at her aunt's request) to take to her father in London, much to Howard's annoyance. As they near Chartres, German airplanes attack the stream of refugees on the road. They start walking. When they stop for the night, Howard discovers they have acquired a young boy named Pierre. He was a fellow bus passenger, but his parents were killed in the aerial attack. They reach Chartres, just before the Germans seize the city. When Howard seeks help from his acquaintance Nicole Rougeron, he finds he now has five charges, the newest addition being Willem, a Dutch boy. Nicole takes them away just before the Germans, tipped off that there is an Englishman there, search the Rougeron home. They board a train to the

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

coast. On the way, Nicole reveals to Howard that she spent three blissful days with his son. In

Landerneau Landerneau (; br, Landerne, ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. It lies at the mouth of the Elorn River which divides the Breton provinces of Cornouaille and Léon, east of Brest. The name is from ...

, Nicole appeals to her uncle Aristide; he owns fishing boats. Initially suspicious, he finds a man, Focquet, willing to take them to England. However, on their way through the German-occupied town, Sheila gets into a fight with Rose and speaks English in the hearing of a German soldier. They are all captured at the boat and taken to Major Diessen. Diessen is certain Howard is working for British Army intelligence, using the children as a cover. He has Howard watch the execution of a spy. Howard offers to confess to anything Diessen wants if he will release the others. Finally, Diessen makes him a totally unexpected private proposal. He will release everyone, including Howard, if he will take another child with him, his seven-year-old niece. Her father, Diessen's younger brother, was killed in Belgium, and the Nazis have discovered that his wife was Jewish. The woman has been dealt with, but Diessen wants to save the child by having her taken to his older brother, a naturalized American citizen living in ... Rochester. Just in case, Diessen will keep an eye on Nicole, who refuses to leave France. Howard counters by threatening to reveal Diessen's dealings with him if Nicole is harmed. Later, safely home, Howard is asked at his club if he "had much difficulty getting back?" He replies, "No ... not too much."

Cast

* Monty Woolley as Howard *

as Ronnie * Anne Baxter as Nicole Rougeron *

Otto Preminger Otto Ludwig Preminger ( , ; 5 December 1905 – 23 April 1986) was an Austrian-American theatre and film director, film producer, and actor. He directed more than 35 feature films in a five-decade career after leaving the theatre. He first gai ...

as Major Diessen *

J. Carrol Naish Joseph Patrick Carrol Naish (January 21, 1896 – January 24, 1973) was an American actor. He appeared in over 200 credits during the Golden Age of Hollywood. Naish received two Oscar nominations for his supporting roles in the films '' Sahara ...

as Aristide Rougeron *

Lester Matthews Arthur Lester Matthews (6 June 1900 – 5 June 1975) was an English actor. In his career, the handsome Englishman made more than 180 appearances in film and on television. He was erroneously credited in later years as Les Matthews. Matthews pla ...

as Mr. Cavanaugh *

Jill Esmond Jill Esmond (born Jill Esmond Moore; 26 January 1908 – 28 July 1990) was an English stage and screen actress. She was the first wife of Laurence Olivier. Early life Esmond was born in London, the daughter of stage actors Henry V. Esmond and ...

as Mrs. Cavanaugh *

Ferike Boros Ferike Boros (3 August 1873 – 16 January 1951) was a Hungarian-born American stage and movie actress. Biography Ferike Weinstock was born in Nagyvárad, Austria-Hungary, in 1873, Boros was on stage starting in 1893. She moved to London in 19 ...

as Madame *

Peggy Ann Garner Peggy Ann Garner (February 3, 1932 – October 16, 1984) was an American child actress. As a child actress, Garner had her first film role in 1938. At the 18th Academy Awards, Garner won the Academy Juvenile Award, recognizing her body of c ...

as Sheila *Merrill Rodin as Willem *Maurice Tauzin as Pierre *Fleurette Zama as Rose * William Edmunds as Frenchman * Marcel Dalio as Focquet *

Marcelle Corday Marcelle Corday (8 January 1890 – 25 June 1971) was a Belgian-born American actress. She mostly played character parts in silent and sound films. Corday was a niece of violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. She learned to play violin and piano, studyi ...

as Madame Bonne *

Odette Myrtil Odette Myrtil (born Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde; June 28, 1898 – November 18, 1978) was a French-born American actress, singer, and violinist. She began her career as a violinist on the vaudeville stage in Paris at 14. She expanded in ...

as Madame Rougeron *

Jean Del Val Jean Del Val (born Jean Jacques Gauthier; 17 November 1891 – 13 March 1975) was a French-born actor, also credited as Jean Gauthier and Jean Gautier. Career He played roles during the Hollywood silent era, beginning with ''The Fortunes of F ...

as Railroad Official *

Rudolph Anders Rudolph Anders (December 17, 1895 – March 27, 1987) was a German character actor who came to the United States after the rise of Hitler, and appeared in numerous American films in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Biography He was born Rudo ...

as Lieutenant (as Robert O. Davis) * Henry Rowland as Military Policeman *

Helmut Dantine Helmut Dantine (7 October 1918 – 2 May 1982) was an Austrian-American actor who often played Nazis in thriller films of the 1940s. His best-known performances are perhaps the German pilot in '' Mrs. Miniver'' and the desperate refugee in '' ...

as Aide * George Davis as Barman

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' review stated that "they have made a charming and moving testament against the background of the war. Their 'The Pied Piper' is also irresistably entertaining," complaining only that Preminger's "conventionally arrogant Nazi" seemed out of place.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pied Piper, The 1942 films World War II films made in wartime 1942 drama films 1940s war drama films American black-and-white films 20th Century Fox films Films directed by Irving Pichel Films scored by Alfred Newman Films with screenplays by Nunnally Johnson Films set in France American war drama films Films based on British novels 1940s English-language films