{"id":31109,"date":"2013-05-02T15:37:54","date_gmt":"2013-05-02T22:37:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31109"},"modified":"2022-06-22T09:56:24","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T16:56:24","slug":"we-are-not-alone-1939","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31109","title":{"rendered":"We Are Not Alone (1939)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Did you really think I&#8217;d allow them to be together for another minute?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Poster-300x226.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"226\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-31161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Poster-300x226.jpg 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Poster-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Poster.jpg 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nOn the brink of World War I, a kind doctor (Paul Muni) hires a down-on-her-luck Austrian dancer (Jane Bryan) to be a governess for his high-needs son (Ramond Severn) &#8212; but when his shrewish wife (Flora Robson) learns about Bryan&#8217;s troubled past and insists that she leave, unforeseen trouble soon emerges.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cecil Kellaway Films<\/li>\n<li>Doctors and Nurses<\/li>\n<li>Falsely Accused<\/li>\n<li>Flora Robson Films<\/li>\n<li>Governesses and Nannies<\/li>\n<li>Marital Problems<\/li>\n<li>Paul Muni Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nEdmund Goulding&#8217;s adaptation of <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/We_Are_Not_Alone_%28novel%29\">James Hilton&#8217;s 1937 novel<\/a> &#8212; about an overly kindhearted doctor whose attempt to help a struggling young Austrian refugee leads to his downfall &#8212; remains an overlooked treat from what is often referred to as Hollywood&#8217;s &#8220;golden year&#8221; (1939). The ever-versatile Paul Muni effectively portrays a man so genuinely kindhearted as to border on foolish naivete, committed to his stern wife to an extent far beyond what most would tolerate, and unable to foresee the ramifications of inviting a beautiful young girl into his household; it&#8217;s fascinating to watch the subtlety of his growing understanding as the depths of his wife&#8217;s intolerance and jealousy are revealed. Robson, meanwhile, is remarkable in the undeniably tricky role as his wife &#8212; her portrayal is far from unilaterally shrewish, instead demonstrating the wealth of conflicted emotions behind her character&#8217;s every statement and action; while we despise her choices, we nonetheless understand on some level the thrust and sincerity of her convictions. Finally, Bryan &#8212; a gifted, glowing actress who <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/name\/nm0116953\/bio\">gave up her career in Hollywood shortly after marrying<\/a> &#8212; manages to elevate her character from merely the &#8220;other woman&#8221; into a believable portrayal of a scared refugee genuinely grateful for the assistance Muni innocently affords her. Unfortunately, the storyline goes on for about half an hour too long, and eventually devolves into an unnecessarily metaphorical commentary on wartime prejudices &#8212; but the tale until then is a compelling one of a household torn apart by a tragic conflict of attitudes and priorities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Paul Muni as Dr. Newcome<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Muni.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Muni.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"320\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Muni.png 416w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Muni-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Muni-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Flora Robson as Jessica Newcome<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Robson.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Robson.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"320\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Robson.png 416w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Robson-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Robson-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Jane Bryan as Leni<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Bryan.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Bryan.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"320\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31163\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Bryan.png 416w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Bryan-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Bryan-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"416\" height=\"320\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-31162\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Cinematography.png 416w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Cinematography-128x98.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/05\/We-Are-Not-Alone-Cinematography-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 416px) 100vw, 416px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a most enjoyable &#8220;forgotten&#8221; film. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0032115\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1939\/12\/01\/archives\/the-screen-reviews-and-news-paul-muni-and-jane-bryan-in-we-are-not.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/moirasthread.blogspot.com\/2011\/05\/cmba-blogathon-movies-of-1939-we-are_17.html\">Moira&#8217;s Thread Blogspot Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/london\/film\/we-are-not-alone\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Did you really think I&#8217;d allow them to be together for another minute?&#8221; Synopsis: On the brink of World War I, a kind doctor (Paul Muni) hires a down-on-her-luck Austrian dancer (Jane Bryan) to be a governess for his high-needs son (Ramond Severn) &#8212; but when his shrewish wife (Flora Robson) learns about Bryan&#8217;s troubled past and insists that she leave, unforeseen trouble soon emerges. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Cecil Kellaway Films Doctors and Nurses Falsely Accused Flora Robson&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=31109\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31109"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84978,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31109\/revisions\/84978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}