WATCH ON THE RHINE (Warner Bros. 1943) Warner Home Video

Bette Davis agreed to co-star billing while playing second fiddle in Herman Shumlin’s Watch on the Rhine (1943); a timely bit of anti-fascist propaganda whose didacticism seems more heavy-handed with age. For her part, Davis (cast as Sara Muller) had very little to do, except play weak-kneed sympathy to the rather impassioned ‘freedom fighting’ pontification of her on-screen husband, Kurt (Paul Lukas in an Oscar-winning role). And Davis, in her prime, was willing to do whatever it took to be in a hit movie. Thus, Watch on the Rhine is unlike any of her other movies from this vintage because Davis, quite simply, is not the star – even, as her name appears above the title. On stage, Lillian Hellman’s play had been celebrated for its topical courage and convictions. On screen however, the play’s wordy platitudes translated into more ‘prestige’ than box office. In private life, Hellman and detective writer and screen scenarist Dashiell Hammett – who adapted the play for the screen – were lovers; an association, resulting in their mutual blacklist in Hollywood after it was revealed Hammett had been a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. Hellman’s play had enjoyed a respectable run of 378 performances; enough prestige and propaganda for Jack L. Warner to pay $150,000 to produce it. As Bette Davis was otherwise engaged in putting the finishing touches on Now, Voyager, in its preliminary phase, producer, Hal B. Wallis began his search for another actress to fill the part of Sara Muller while Hammett worked on the screenplay from his farm in Pleasantville, New York.

But finding the right Sarah proved elusive. Irene Dunne felt the role was too small, while Margaret Sullivan expressed no interest in it at all. Briefly, Edna Best, Rosemary DeCamp, and Helen Hayes came under consideration. For whatever reason, each was eventually knocked out of the running. Wallis had sincerely hoped to cast Charles Boyer for the part of Kurt until Wallis stopped to consider Boyer’s thick French accent. So, instead, Warner foisted Paul Lukas onto Wallis – the actor who had originated the part on Broadway and had, in fact, been honored for it by The Drama League. Sidelined by his sciatica, by the time Hammett was ready to resume his writing duties on the screenplay, Davis was ready, willing and able to step into the role of Sara. Davis, a fiery opponent of the Nazi Party, immediately jumped at the offer. As Davis’ star pull was significant, Wallis encouraged Hammett to beef up the part that, on the stage, had been a distant afterthought to Lukas’ towering central performance.  To this end, Hammett added scenes in the Farrelly living room, scenes of domesticity in which Davis’ Sara could play off of Lukas’ Kurt. Meanwhile, Hollywood’s self-governing Production Code became concerned over the play’s inference Kurt had escaped prosecution for his murder of Teck de Brancovis.  The Hays Office therefore suggested Kurt be killed by the Nazis at the end of the movie as recompense for his own crime.  As Hellman staunchly objected to this alteration, tug-o-war negotiations began between the studio and the censors. Eventually, Hellman won this round and the scene stayed in.

The production was troubled from the outset. Davis, who had had no ‘down time’ to relax between Now Voyager and Watch on the Rhine became increasingly edgy as the shoot progressed. Frequently, she clashed with Herman Shumlin, who had directed the play but had no experience working on film. As a result, Davis tended to ignore all of Shumlin’s cues and do things her way – a move that infuriated Shumlin, though he could do absolutely nothing about it. Wallis was not at all pleased with Davis’ performance, which he felt was overwrought with sentiment. Meanwhile, Shumlin threatened to walk off the set unless his cinematographer, Merritt B. Gerstad was fired. The studio obliged, bringing in Hal Mohr. Now, Davis began bickering with Lucile Watson who was reprising the role of the mother she had portrayed on stage. It was Watson’s politics, more than her performance that so irked Davis. Interestingly, Davis had no similar complaints about Paul Lukas, whom she greatly admired and worked well with as the movie progressed into its more complex scenes and speeches. Indeed, when Wallis announced that the movie’s press and promotion, indeed its credits and main titles, would all favor Davis as its star, the actress went to bat on Lukas's behalf, for him to receive sole star billing, as his was clearly the ‘star role’ in the picture. Unable to challenge Wallis on the fact her name drew in more audience than her co-stars, the actress had no choice but to accept ‘star billing’.

The narrative eventually hammered out by Hammett begins with the Mullers, Sara, Kurt and their three children; Joshua (Donald Buka), Babette (Janis Wilson) and Bodo (Eric Roberts) boarding a train in Mexico. Bound for Washington D.C., they arrive at the sprawling estate of Sara’s mother, Fanny Farrelly (Lucille Watson) – a misguided busybody who has already taken in refugees, Count Teck de Broncovis (George Coulouris) and his traveling companion, Martha (Geraldine Fitzgerald). Teck is a ruthless schemer and a Nazi sympathizer. Martha, however, has embraced America as her adopted country and set her cap for Fanny’s congenial son, David (Donald Wood). With only $85 to their name, Teck attends nightly gatherings at the German Embassy where he gambles with other Nazi sympathizers in the hopes of winning more money to sustain their prolonged stay of the Farrelly estate – but, moreover, to return to Europe as a pro-Nazi ally; something Martha warns against. “They’re smarter than you are,” she tells Teck.

Meanwhile, the Mullers arrive and are given a welcomed reception from Fanny. Oblivious to Kurt’s freedom-fighting activities, Fanny plans a series of recuperative time management exercises – effectively taking charge of her daughter and son-in-law with a strong, though understanding heart. However, when Kurt’s satchel is disturbed by Teck – who discovers a pistol and a considerably large sum of money gathered for the resistance movement – Teck threatens Kurt with the knowledge that the head of his anti-fascist organization in Europe has been imprisoned and will surely be executed. Teck wants the money for purely selfish reasons – to return to Europe. Instead, Kurt corners Teck in Fanny’s garage and kills him in self-defense. Vowing that he must return to Europe and attempt a prison break, Sara says farewell to her husband; realizing she will probably never see him again. The film ends with Joshua explaining to his mother, that in a year or so, he will have reached the age of majority, at which point he intends to pick up the torch of freedom where his father’s legacy has left off.

Viewing Watch on the Rhine from a contemporary vantage, it most frequently suffers from Hammett’s fundamentally flawed construction; Hammett, too close to the work to ‘improve’ upon it for the special requirements of a movie. Instead, what we get are a series of episodic vignettes, strung together with only the most threadbare of connective tissue, and, exposing the seams where, on stage, a lighting cue or drop off of the house lights to do a quick change in scenery would have sufficed. There is also some truly ineffectual acting to muddle through. The Muller children all deliver their lines with stiff declaration, a clumsily ethnocentric humor that lumbers along and stultifies. Donald Woods, in particular, makes for a very wooden love interest. Paul Lukas’ passionate delivery salvages his lengthy speeches from becoming sustained diatribes. But Bette Davis’ star-billing seems to necessitate more of her participation in the picture than what is actually here. No kidding – Sara is not the center of the story – Davis’ star power in conflict to her character’s purpose within this narrative. Davis even gets occasionally supplanted by Lucille Watson, who gives a marvelous performance. Geraldine Fitzgerald is wasted in a near cameo, as is Mary Young as Mrs. Sewell – exploited solely for comic relief. In the final analysis, Watch on the Rhine is a time capsule – its potency blunted by the passing parade of years that have rendered its penetrating tale mostly maudlin and ironically, rather dull.

Warner Home Video’s DVD is pretty disappointing. The gray scale suffers from considerably bumped up contrast. The entire image looks faded and soft. There are no solid deep blacks. Facial features disappear as flesh tones bloom into a glaring white. Davis’ face has a very ‘Casper: the friendly ghost’ quality – too light and not enough shadow to delineate or distinguish her features. Occasionally, these shortcomings are corrected. But on the whole, the image is washed out and unbecoming. The audio is Dolby Digital 1.0 mono and adequately represented. Extras include a commentary by Bernard F. Dick, short subjects, trailers and newsreels a la Warner Night at the Movies. Bottom line: Not Bette Davis’ finest hour, nor even a succinctly told piece of war-time propaganda. This DVD does not live up to Warner’s usual high standards.

FILM RATING (out of 5 - 5 being the best)

3

VIDEO/AUDIO

2

EXTRAS

2