''Escape'' is a 1940

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

about an American in pre-

World War II 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 opposi ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

who discovers his mother is in a concentration camp and tries desperately to free her. It starred

Norma Shearer Edith Norma Shearer (August 11, 1902June 12, 1983) was a Canadian-American actress who was active on film from 1919 through 1942. Shearer often played spunky, sexually liberated ingénues. She appeared in adaptations of Noël Coward, Eugene O' ...

, Robert Taylor,

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laughs ...

and Nazimova. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by

Grace Zaring Stone Grace Zaring Stone (January 9, 1891 – September 29, 1991) was an American novelist and short-story writer.

Plot

Famous German stage actress Emmy Ritter (Nazimova) is held in a Nazi concentration camp. She is scheduled to be executed soon, but the sympathetic camp doctor, Ditten ( Philip Dorn), has been a fan since childhood and offers to deliver a letter from her to her children...afterwards. Emmy's son Mark Preysing (Robert Taylor), an American citizen, travels to Germany in search of his mother, but nobody, not even frightened old family friends, want anything to do with him. A German official tells Mark that she has been arrested and advises him to return to the United States. The postmark of a returned letter guides Mark to the region where she is being held. There, he meets by chance Countess Ruby von Treck (Norma Shearer), an American-born widow, but she also does not want to become involved, at least at first. Then, she asks her lover, General Kurt von Kolb (

), about Emmy and learns that she has been judged a traitor in a secret trial and sentenced to death. At a concert, Mark encounters Doctor Ditten, who takes the opportunity to deliver Emmy's letter. Then, Ditten drugs Emmy into a coma, making it appear as if she has died. He tells Mark what he has done. Mark sends longtime family servant Fritz Keller (

Felix Bressart Felix Bressart (March 2, 1892 – March 17, 1949) was a German-American actor of stage and screen. Life and career Bressart (pronounced "BRESS-ert") was born in East Prussia, Germany (now part of Russia). His acting debut came in 1914 as Malvo ...

) to collect the coffin, but the American's nervousness raises the suspicion of the political police and he is brought to the camp for questioning. He is allowed to take his mother's body away. When the road is blocked by snow, Mark is forced to find heat and shelter for his mother at the house of the countess. The next day, he meets von Kolb, who is jealous of the younger man. Later, when Mark and a disguised Emmy leave for the airport, von Kolb guesses what is happening (from Mark's earlier lack of reaction to the news of his mother's "death") and confronts the countess. She begs him not to interfere, but he is implacable. Knowing about his health problems, she taunts him with her love of Mark, which provokes him into having a heart attack, giving her new friends time to escape.

Cast

as Countess Ruby von Treck * Robert Taylor as Mark Preysing *

as General Kurt von Kolb * Nazimova as Emmy Ritter *

as Fritz Keller * Philip Dorn as Dr. Berthold Ditten *

Albert Bassermann Albert Bassermann (7 September 1867 – 15 May 1952) was a German stage and screen actor. He was considered to be one of the greatest German-speaking actors of his generation and received the famous Iffland-Ring. He was married to Elsa Sch ...

as Dr. Arthur Henning, an unhelpful legal advisor * Edgar Barrier as the Commissioner of Police *

Bonita Granville Bonita Gloria Granville Wrather (February 2, 1923 – October 11, 1988) was an American actress and producer. The daughter of vaudevillians, Granville began her career on the stage at age three. She initially began as a child actress, making h ...

as Ursula, a suspicious student of the countess * Elsa Bassermann as Mrs. Henning *

Blanche Yurka Blanche Yurka (born Blanch Jurka, June 19, 1887 – June 6, 1974) was an American stage and film actress and director. She was an opera singer with minor roles at the Metropolitan Opera and later became a stage actress, making her Broadway deb ...

as Emmy's concentration camp nurse-matron * Lisa Golm as Anna, Emmy's ill cellmate

Box office

According to MGM records, the film earned $2,364,000 at the box office, resulting in a profit of $345,000.

Notes

External links

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allmovie/synopsis
{{Authority control 1940 films 1940 drama films American black-and-white films Films about Nazi Germany Films based on American novels Films directed by Mervyn LeRoy Films scored by Franz Waxman Films set in Germany Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films World War II films made in wartime American drama films 1940s English-language films