Propaganda sometimes has its place (especially when I agree with it, naturally). For instance, any anti-fascist movie made during WWII is one that I think deserves to exist. So while Watch on the Rhine has the usual trappings of preachy dialogue and heavy-handed messaging, I also found it refreshingly powerful in its directness.
Well, maybe not initially. For part of the runtime, I was more enamoured by the backstory, the family dynamics, and that enormous Washington home, and was typically turned off whenever the drab conflict would rear its head in the form of that Romanian aristocrat character. But then, once we reach the second half, everyone begins to lay their cards on the table, and the overall tone is suddenly so much more urgent and threatening that this friction became the most compelling aspect to me.
From here, the movie continues to be on the talky side, with characters spelling out their feelings in long, dignified speeches, but it's all handled with enough conviction and sincerity that I was able to buy into it. And Paul Lukas generates such sympathy with his performance that I can almost understand why Bogart lost Best Actor that year.
Grade: A-
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