A work in constant progress (and occasional regress).
Release Date:
October 18, 1945
Original Title:
Paris Underground
Alternate Titles:
Madame Pimpernel
Genres:
Drama | War
Production Companies:
Constance Bennett Productions
United Artists
Production Countries:
United States of America
Ratings / Certifications:
N/A
Runtime: 96
Constance Bennett both produced and starred in the espionager Paris Underground. Bennett and Gracie Fields play, respectively, an American and an English citizen trapped in Paris when the Nazis invade. The women team up to help Allied aviators escape from the occupied city into Free French territory. The screenplay was based on the true wartime activities of Etta Shiber, who engineered the escape of nearly 300 Allied pilots. British fans of comedienne Gracie Fields were put off by the scenes in which she is tortured by the Gestapo, while Constance Bennett's following had been rapidly dwindling since the 1930s; as a result, the heartfelt but tiresome Paris Underground failed to make a dent at the box-office. It would be Constance Bennett's last starring film--and Gracie Fields' last film, period.
Art Direction:
Victor Greene
Cinematography:
Lee Garmes
Costume Design:
Travis Banton
Director:
Gregory Ratoff
Editor:
Hanson T. Fritch
Original Music Composer:
Alexander Tansman
Producer:
Constance Bennett
Screenplay:
Boris Ingster
Gertrude Purcell
Sound:
John R. Carter
Story:
Etta Shiber
Wardrobe Coordinator:
Drew Tetrick
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