Lights Out in Europe

    4/13/1940
    40

    Storyline

    This pulse-pounding documentary from the leftist filmmaker Herbert Kline traces the rise of Hitler up to the very brink of WWII. The commentary, written by James Hilton and read by Fredric March, urges American viewers to abandon neutrality and enter a conflict about to explode.

    Director:

        Reviews

        • Renoir

          In researching the work of Herbert Kline, I came across these excellent notes from a 2017 screening at "Cinema Rediscovered" in Bristol, England, which I reproduce here for preservation and to provide much needed information about this rarest of films.

          Rarely seen since its initial 1940 release; Herbert Klines timely documentary traces the final months of an uneasy peace in 1939 and records a Europe on the brink of total war.

          _Unlike many other documentaries made at the time, Klines incredible directing highlights the real people of the cities of London, Danzig and Warsaw and rarely mentions the international leaders involved in the summer of 1939. If anything, this beautifully shot film is about the people whose lives are about to ...

          September 19, 2020

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