The Seventh Cross

Plot synopsis:
The year is 1936. Seven prisoners escape from the fictitious Westhofen concentration camp near Worms, Germany near the Rhine. They represent a cross-section of German society: a writer, a circus performer, a schoolmaster, a farmer, a Jewish grocery clerk, and two prisoners who are apparently political activists. One is George Heisler (Spencer Tracy) and the other his mentor Wallau (Ray Collins), the leader of the group.
The camp commandant erects a row of seven crosses and vows to "put a man on each." The first to be apprehended is Wallau, who dies without giving up any information yet continues to narrate the film. The film follows Heisler as he makes his way across the German countryside (Rhenish Hesse), steals a jacket to cover his prison garb, and watches out, as the Nazis round up every other escaped prisoner and puts them up on the crosses, and the local population remains largely indifferent.
Despite the common brutality of some of his countrymen, Heisler does receive help. Still, he is somewhat soured on the German people and humanity in general. He first makes his way to his home city of Mainz where his former girl friend, Leni (Kaaren Verne), who had promised to wait for him, but has since married, refuses to help him in the slightest way, and threatens to "report" him; he steals a bit of her food and departs. He next witnesses the suicide leap of the cornered circus performer and then goes on to see a contact whose name he had given him, where he encounters Mme. Marelli (Agnes Moorehead) who gives him the outfit she was holding for the performer and slips some money into his coat pocket. Next he goes to a Jewish doctor a few doors away who had been suggested by Mme. Marelli, who treats a hand injured during his escape which had become infected. Intercut with Heisler's escape odyssey are some scenes involving some of his friends who are trying to locate and help him. When he finally reaches the home of his prearranged contact he finds that the contact has been arrested. He cannot visit his family, because they are being watched, so he goes to his old friend, Paul Roeder (Hume Cronyn). Though Paul is a factory worker with a wife, Liesl (Jessica Tandy), and young children, he still risks all to help Heisler.
Roeder gets in touch with the German underground, whose members risk their lives to get Heisler out of the country. Through his exposure to this courage and kindness, and with the help toward the end of a sympathetic waitress (Signe Hasso) in an inn where he's hiding out and with whom he has a brief tryst and promises to send for later, Heisler regains his faith in humanity. Thanks to their help, the film ends as he approaches a cargo ship that is to take him away, "perhaps to Holland", with a shot of the empty seventh cross.

Tags: flashback

Review:
A truly outstanding film that has not received the distinction that it deserves, despite a first-rate cast and compelling, as well as unique for the time, subject matter.Spencer Tracy plays George Heisler, one of seven prisoners escaping from a German concentration camp in 1936.
The film traces his attempt to establish contact with the German resistance movement, and along the way he changes slowly from a hardened cynic, and regains his faith in mankind.This is not a bang-bang action movie.
For one thing, all of the actors, including especially Tracy and Ray Collins, are simply too overfed to be believable concentration camp inmates.
This was one of Spencer Tracy's finest roles, and supposedly the melancholy of his performance was to a large extent influenced by word that a young friend, who he knew from Boy's Town, had died in combat.Cronyn and Tandy play Liesl and Paul Roeder, who try to help George Heisler.
Spencer Tracy gave me some clue in this role why he is considered to be such a great actor (you actually see his face change as he recovers from the near animal state the concentration camp had reduced him to) and Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy also put in top class performances.
The depiction of the concentration camp is astoundingly vivid for the time, with the theme of seven crosses for either displaying the corpses of the escapees or for putting them to death being especially grim and - as the allies were soon to find out - no exaggeration as a symbol of the evil the Nazis visited upon millions who fell under their jackboot.
Modern audiences may feel somewhat ambivalent about the idea of one of Tracy's dead friends from the camp acting as a voice within his soul, but I think even those not of a spiritual bent ought to concede it is depicted with a light touch that does not damage the film..
Although slow moving, as was typical of Hollywood dramas of that era, The Seventh Cross tells a compelling story of the human spirit overcoming the evils of totalitarianism, and the recovery of one's faith in mankind during the midst of a societal distrust.
George Heisel, portrayed by Spencer Tracey (one of his classic performances), is a broken man who has lost his faith in humanity who has escaped from a Nazi concentration camp with six others in the early days of the Reich when not all Germans loved the Fuerer and still had decent intentions.
In Mainz, he realizes that he can't go to his old girlfriend (who has married a Nazi) or his family (his younger brother has joined the SS); almost all his friends have turned Nazi or been captured or killed save one, Paul Roeder and his wife Liesel (played by longtime married actors Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy).
Seven prisoners escape from a German concentration camp, and the Nazi commander vows to capture and crucify all of them.
The seventh cross, already placed, awaits the final escapee - played by a desperate Spencer Tracy.
Most notable is the German couple that eventually aids Tracy despite their fear; they are played touchingly by the famous husband and wife team of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, two of the great actors of our age.
Without any alternative, George decides to risk and visit his friend Paul Roeder (Hume Cronyn) and Liesel Roeder (Jessica Tandy).
What will happen to George?"The Seventh Cross" is a dramatic and emotional movie with a great story of lost and regain of faith in the mankind.
This is one of his finest performances--because he does not speak much--just like "Bad Day at Black Rock."Agnes Moorehead appears for a few minutes but presents a delightful character that adds to the strength of the film.
This film version of the award-winning Anna Segers novel is the story of one man who manages to escape a Third Reich Era Nazi concentration camp, then continues his quest for freedom, aided by many friends, even strangers, who with their selfless kindness, at the risk of their own freedom and lives, feed, hide and otherwise tend to this man, whose only fault is that he was born a Jew.This film serves as powerful testimony to the fact that humans are by nature kind and just, regardless of what brutal regime of terror and injustice they may live in.
A strange plot device but very effective for this sort of film.THE SEVENTH CROSS is a propaganda film meant to solidify the people back home in the war effort against Nazi Germany.
The film finds seven political prisoners escaping from a concentration camp.
The whole "seven crosses" reference regards the Commandant's (George Zucco) pronouncement that each of the seven men will be tracked down and hung from these crosses in the courtyard of the prison until they are dead--as a lesson to all those who would dare to consider escaping.The main character of the film is Spencer Tracy.
Many exceptional character actors (such as Felix Bressart, Hume Cronyn and his wife Jessica Tandy, Agnes Moorehead) were gleaned from the MGM roster for the film.
Then, it slowly softens at the same rate as Spencer Tracy's character, George Heisler, regains his humanity.Though it is never said outright, Tracy plays a Communist Party member (the closest they came to saying it was "anti-Nazi"), and that is why he was in a Nazi concentration camp in the first place.
The roles played Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy (Paul & Liesel Roeder) were that of ordinary, hard-working Germans who didn't really care much for politics.
This film stars Spencer Tracy as a concentration camp escapee named George Heisler who navigates his way to freedom through the perils of Nazi Germany.
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy play Paul and Liesel Roeder, a couple who are old friends of Heisler and who befriend him.
Moreover the pathos in his voice was also a little over the top.The standout performances here were from Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy as a couple from the working class who are enjoying the benefits of National Socialist largess.
It's well acted with Spencer Tracy in the lead roll, with Hume Cronyn, and Jessica Tandy acting as a husband and wife finding out what their new government really is all about.
The story centers around Spencer Tracy's character "George Heisler" hiding from the Nazis in 1936 Germany, not knowing who to trust.Although there's not much action, this is decently-paced with an unusual (and too corny) narrative from a dead man.
The last 20 minutes, which should have been the most suspenseful of the film, instead wound up boring and too melodramatic.What I did find interesting was the very young couple of Jessica Tandy and husband Hume Cronyn.
Several other reviewers discuss the plot of "The Seventh Cross," and a little bit about Anna Seghers, author of the book on which the film is based.
What Seghers gave us in her book, and what the film shows very well, was the condition of the German people at that time – around 1936.
It has often been commented that the Hollywood motion picture got a lot grimmer and bleaker during the years of World War Two, as events round the globe (and the fact they were being filmed as they happened) brought out new cynicism and a willingness to portray the darker side of life.
But to a large extent this trend had its beginnings not in the gritty gangster movie but in pictures that dealt with wartime subject matter directly.Although it is set some years before the war began, The Seventh Cross is incredibly frank and accurate about the cruel and domineering nature of Nazism.
But at least an actor like Tracy can pull that off with some degree of depth and presence, whereas a lesser player would have just been wooden.As for director Fred Zinnemann, much is often made of his background making documentary shorts, but I feel his experience in tense thrillers (which many of his early feature were) played an equal if not greater part in shaping his approach, especially to later gems such as High Noon and Day of the Jackal.
Spencer Tracy headlines a fine cast as George Heisler, an escapee from a Nazi concentration camp in 1936 who has to depend on help from old friends to make his escape successful, all the while not really knowing who he can trust and being actively sought out by the Gestapo.
He finally connects with an old friend (Paul, played by Hume Cronyn - whose wife Liesel was played by Jessica Tandy.) Not knowing that Heisler is a fugitive, Paul and Liesel take him in, and as they slowly discover what's going on, they become his hope and his lifeline.There are some major weaknesses to this, unfortunately, which prevent it from being a first-class film.
Probably because of the sudden focus on the quasi-romance, Heisler's ultimate escape comes across as surprisingly (and disappointingly) easy and undramatic.Aside from the believable portrayal of the bleakness of life in Nazi Germany, the movie is probably most surprising for offering at the same time a rather hopeful portrayal - the point is repeatedly made that not all Germans are soulless Nazis, and there are many individual Germans who take great chances to help Heisler.
Seven men escape from a concentration camp in pre-WW2 Nazi Germany.
The Nazis place seven crosses in the courtyard of the camp, with orders that each captured escapee be put to death on them.
That man (Spencer Tracy) must try and find help so he can escape the country, though his experiences have made him cynical that there are good people left in Germany.Fascinating film with a nice script, fine acting, and beautiful cinematography by the great Karl Freund.
Seventh Cross, The (1944) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Hard hitting Ww2 drama has Spencer Tracy playing one of seven men who escape from a concentration camp.
Zinnemann does a great job directing this film and what I loved most is the fact that Tracy's character is under constant threat of being captured and sent back to the camp.
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy play a husband and wife who Tracy goes to for help.
In this Film, Spencer Tracy Plays a "Leftist" that was Incarcerated in a Concentration Camp in 1936 and Along with Six Other "Undesirables" Escapes and Becomes the Last One Still on the Run.This is the Backdrop of this Stylish, Depressing, and Clear-Eyed Portrayal of Germany, its Citizens, and the Glimmer of Hope that Remains Deep in Their Souls as the Nazis Offer Employment while Stealing Freedoms.The Direction from Fred Zinnemann and the Cinematography of Karl Freund along with a Spectacular Cast (even down to the Extras) make this One of the Best WWII Era Movies that Attempted a Story Based on Life During Wartime.Spencer Tracy's Sombre, Determined Lead Performance is Enhanced by Everything Around Him that Plays Out in an Almost Surreal Environment Involving the Situation that Germany's Citizens Deal with in Everyday Life.
In the Quiet Desperation and a Robotic Surrender to Their Plight Enters Tracy as a Homeboy Seeking Help from Friends.Here is where the Movie is More Complex than Most of its Ilk. It is Thoughtful, Fair, and Delivers a Thinking Man's Story that One Might Call Anti-Propaganda, for it is Even Handed in its Message and its Portrayal of Ordinary People Placed in Extraordinary Situations.
But then again there are wonderful performances throughout the film, none more so than by Hume Cronyn who adds some levity to the seriousness, but also is able to act like a true person, not a Hollywood actor.
The movie very deftly captures the tension and fear that existed in the mid forties in Germany.Spencer Tracy is no doubt a great actor.
Spencer Tracy in an earnestly pensive performance, playing one of seven concentration camp escapees in 1936 Germany who are hunted by Nazi soldiers.
Some other friends, played by the husband and wife team of Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, help Tracy out without hesitation, even after Cronyn is picked up by the Gestapo for questioning.In the end, Tracy will escape, as we knew all along.
"The Seventh Cross" (1944) directed by Fred Zinnemann is a free adaptation from a novel made eight years before about concentration camps in Germany, during the national socialism reign in 1936.
For a movie directed by Fred Zinnemann and starring Spencer Tracy, I must say I was disappointed by the underwhelming effect of THE SEVENTH CROSS.First of all, the opening narration is by a dead man (Ray Collins) who was one of the unfortunate escapees from a Nazi concentration camp.
Worth mentioning are Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy as an unsuspecting married couple who are naive enough to get caught up in Tracy's predicament.Fred Zinnemann doesn't give the picture enough tension throughout to keep the suspense taut and tight.
We follow the plight of one of the prisoners – Spencer Tracy (George) – as he attempts to avoid capture and escape the country.The film starts off with a narration by Tracy's fellow escapee and leader of the breakout - Ray Collins (Wallau).
"The Seventh Cross" is a film I have a watched a number of times, because it stars one of my very favorite actors -- Spencer Tracy Supporting actors include Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy -- real man and wife, and this was their first film together.
The supporting actor of note was Ray Collins (of later "Perry Mason" fame), one of the Concentration Camp victims here, who doesn't survive, but posthumously continues to narrate the film.This was one of Fred Zinnemann's early directorial efforts, long before "High Noon".
The Nazi commandant vows to find each escapee and hang each on another of the 7 crosses (hence the title).The focus then shifts to Tracy, who also has, perhaps, the least dialog of any of his screen roles...because he is a man alone.
Tracy's character does escape Germany and he regains his faith in humanity...although the ending is quite abrupt.Among the supporting actors of note were Signe Hasso (good and simple performance), Hume Cronyn (as a loyal friend; good performance); Jessica Tandy (as Cronyn's wife, also a good performance); Agnes Moorehead (in an odd role for her); and Herbert Rudley (as a loyal friend, played well).This is a very well done movie, and many will want it on their DVD shelf.
Spencer Tracy moves from one of seven concentration camp escapees back into joining the human race..
That losing the will to live is why the narrator in the film says he got him out of the camp when he did.Watching Tracy slowly regain his humanity as friends (like the wonderful Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy) and strangers (like the terrific Agnes Moorehead) help him is very special.It is similar in theme to the very popular relatively new YA novel Markus Zusak's _The Book Thief,_ in that both depict "good" Germans and a Germany where there are some who will do the right thing.
Because Tracy's character is so detached at the beginning of the film we need the narrator telling us why we are seeing what we are seeing play across his face.
*That* would have been something!) _The Seventh Cross_ is a very good film.
The Seventh Cross is a film based on a novel by Communist author Anna Seghers.
Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy got their first notice in The Seventh Cross.
And this has to be one of the only films where Kurt Katch was not a Nazi, but a member of the underground.Two things always stood out about The Seventh Cross.
I recently viewed "The Seventh Cross" for the first time in many years and was favorably impressed both with the level of the acting, particularly Tracy, and the suspense that the filmmakers were able to generate in telling the story.
By the time MGM got around to releasing "The Seventh Cross" in 1944, the so-called "Final Solution" was well underway in Nazi-occupied Europe, but the horrors of the death camps were not generally known to most people in the United States until Allied troops entered German in the spring of 1945.
George Heisler(Spencer Tracy)is one of seven men that escapes from a Nazi concentration camp.
I don't think anyone would dispute that Paul Roeder (Hume Cronyn) was a good man, but his conversation with George Heisler (Spencer Tracy) about how he had prospered with Hitler in power was disturbingly revealing.
***SPOILERS*** Tense drama with a number-7-of prisoners escaping from a Nazi concentration camp circa 1936 who are being tracked down by the Gestapo and when captured crucified for their "crimes" against the state.
As the film progresses George finds out just who his friends are by them willing to risk their lives and safety of themselves and their families in getting him out of the country before the Gestapo gets their hands on him.It's a tough grind for George with almost all those who try to help him end up getting arrested and sent to the local Nazi concentration camp in many cases being both beaten and executed.
George finally gets help from his friend factory worker Paul Roder, Hume Cronyn, who after finding out he's an escapee from a concentration camp does everything to help him get legal papers and a passport, from the local anti-Nazi movement, to ship him out of Nazi Germany.
George finally makes his escape from Nazi Germany via a Dutch freighter in the dead of night to start a new life in free Holland.
The seventh is reserved for Spencer Tracy, who slouches grimly through the movie, visiting places and people who might help, trying to get a place to sleep, enough money and forged papers to leave Germany, and -- above all -- those prison clothes he's wearing.It's not one of Tracy's better performances.
Hume Cronyn is fine as the cheerful factory worker who wants to help his friend, Tracy, but has his family to think about.