Applause Meter This is a strange little movie, though not without historical interest. This is Poland before it's desecration by German forces; a "feudal" society, it's population predominately rural, a cultural anachronism laboring under enslavement to tradition. Such is the backdrop for this formulaic love story between an English working girl, Jennifer Whittredge, played by Ida Lupino and Polish Count Stefan Orwid, portrayed by Paul Henreid. The two meet in the country's capital city Warsaw where Jennifer's employer has come to shop for antiques. Count Stefan treats Jennifer to an evening of fine dining in a restaurant named "The Stables…" a name that clues us in to the forthcoming chain of anachronisms that preoccupy the entire story. And we don't have long to wait. The next clue follows pretty quickly on the first. Count Stefan Orwid is a officer in the Polish cavalry who expresses confidence that the army of his country can repel German aggression. Over the dinner table he expresses to Jennifer his conviction that "when it rains, enemy tanks would get bogged down in the mud…our cavalry would ride around them." When Jennifer asks him, quite reasonably, what would happen should it not be raining when the two sides confront each other in battle…well…the Count is stumped. He has no reply. Apparently such an obvious contingency has never occurred to him. What would happen when horses were pitted against the machines of modern warfare? Holy kielbasa!Well, the Count and English girl Jennifer get married, and her aristocratic in laws, especially her mother-in-law, literally faints in prostration at this unwelcome match. "You came from too far, you are too different," Zofia Orwid swoons. Michael Chekov, as Uncle Leopold, provides the only noteworthy performance here. He's the cranky old sage of the noble clan, tolerated by his family circle as an eccentric busybody. However, he's the only one within miles who seems to have a grasp on reality, faulting the lifestyle and values of his compatriots for living in a "lost world, a world of dinosaurs." Under his wife's influence, the Count attempts to modernize the farm work, for the good of the peasant laborers as well as for profit and independence from the overbearing and overseeing control of the family patriarch, Uncle Pawel. His efforts to mechanize field work by introducing a tractor is initially received with stony indifference by the assembled peasants. After one of them is induced to take it for a wild ride over the cropland, the consensus is a thumbs down for the tractor, now a mechanical monster to be feared. Again, the scriptwriters have illustrated their message. Conclusion: The Hollywood movie factory gave us too little, too late. Five years after the invasion of Poland by Nazi forces, the movie machine decided to put out a propaganda vehicle to arouse awareness and promote solidarity with European plight. They gave us their two cents worth in this anemic film.

blanche-2 "In Our Time" from 1944 is a propaganda movie set in Poland starring Paul Henried, Ida Lupino, Nazimova, Nancy Coleman, Victor Francen, and Michael Chekhov, and directed by Vincent Sherman.The script, by Ellis St. Joseph and Howard Koch, is reminiscent in some ways to Rebecca and to Gone with the Wind. Jennifer Whittridge (Lupino) is traveling as a secretary to an antique dealer (Mary Boland) in Poland in 1939 when she meets Count Stephen Orvid (Henried). Henried mistakenly believes Jennifer is good for a quick fling, but he realizes soon enough that's not the case. As Jennifer's trip draws to an end, he proposes, and she accepts though his aristocratic family objects. In order to live independently of his uncle (Victor Franzen), Stephen and Jenny employ modern techniques on the farm and incentivize the peasants by giving them a share of the harvest. Then the war comes to Poland.There are good performances by everyone involved. The film moves slowly but one feels the tension of the approaching war. Some of that tension may be due to the viewer knowing that Poland was in for one miserable time not only during the war, but after under Communism.Paul Henried had his real heyday during WWII since the usual leading men were off fighting the war; Ida Lupino, since she was at Warners, always wound up with Bette Davis' handoffs and later distinguished herself on television and as a director. She and Henried make you care about the characters.It's odd to have a film set in Poland, odder still that Poland's radio announcements were in English. Eastern Europe's WWII story is a tragic one, and it wasn't shown in film all that often.

whpratt1 Ida Lupino gave an outstanding performance as Jennifer Whittredge who is a young British lady who is a companion for a rich lady who loves to eat candy all day long and looks like it. Jennifer visits Poland in 1939 with her employer and go to visit various antique shops in order to bring back items to sell in London. Jennifer meets Paul Henreid, (Count Stephen Orvid) who is from a Royal Family in Poland and immediately is charmed by Jennifer's sweet looks and innocence. Count Stephen is a ladies man and enjoys dating many women, but Jeffinfer catches his eye and then his heart strings and they both fall deeply in love. This royal family become very upset when Stephen and Jennifer tell them they are going to get married, however these two love birds stand firm against the family and start to change their old ways and customs. Hitler is starting his war campaign in 1939 and double talks the Polish Government to believe he will sign a pack of peace with the Polish nation and then attacks their country and burns Warsaw to the ground. This is when the story gets interesting and it shows how the Polish nation fights back against the Nazi Dictator. Great film, great acting and Lupino and Henreid gave outstanding performances and a very good story.

dglink Vincent Sherman's "In Our Time" tries to do for Poland what "Mrs. Miniver" did for England: raise American awareness to the plight of a European nation besieged by the Nazis. Unfortunately, the film wanders all over the hack-writing map from romance to propaganda to social issues and loses its focus early on. Even the style of the film shifts from intimate drama to semi-documentary with voice-over narration to stirring morale booster complete with back-lit clouds and beams of inspirational light. Despite the varied styles, the movie seems to linger on far too long despite a running time of less than two hours. By the time that the requisite patriotic speech has been made, the music has risen to stirring proportions, and the march towards the sunset has begun, many viewers may already have tuned out.The unconvincing story begins in an antique shop where Ida Lupino, the young companion of Mary Boland, an English antiques buyer, meets Paul Henreid, a Polish nobleman. Only those who have never seen a Hollywood film from the Golden Age will be surprised by the Romeo-and-Juliet romance that develops or by the obstacles that stand between the couple and eternal bliss. Class-conscious family, impending war, and stubborn peasants are only some of the roadblocks to those inspirational beams that beckon on the horizon.Unfortunately, some first-class talent has been lavished on this less-than-classic film. Ida Lupino is the shy companion to an overbearing employer. Within two hours, she blossoms into an assertive woman who fully supports and inspires her husband in his idealistic pursuits. Paul Henreid, whose seductive eyes and voice won Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman, works his magic on Lupino. Like his role in "Casablanca," Henreid's character is caught up in patriotic fervor and self-sacrifice. Both leads are excellent although they cannot overcome the messy script. Silent film star Alla Nazimova offers especially fine support as Henreid's aristocratic mother. However, while the cast often rises above the writing, "In Our Time" remains dated in its message. Considering what Poland endured under Communism after World War II, many of the film's inspirational lines about fighting for the future ring with irony. Despite the length, lapses, and inconsistencies, Lupino, Henreid, and Nazimova make "In Our Time" worth a viewing, but the film is hardly a repeatable experience.