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Watch on the Rhine

Play trailer Poster for Watch on the Rhine 1943 1h 54m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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80% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Anti-Fascist German engineer Kurt Muller (Paul Lukas), with his American-born wife, Sara (Bette Davis), and their three children, returns to the United States in 1940 after spending 17 years in Europe, where Kurt has engaged in underground resistance to the rising Nazi threat. Unscrupulous Romanian count Teck de Brancovis (George Coulouris), a houseguest of Sara's family in Washington, D.C., discovers Kurt's secret and threatens to expose his activities to his contacts at the German embassy.

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Watch on the Rhine

Critics Reviews

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Variety Staff Variety 03/26/2009
Watch on the Rhine is a distinguished picture. It is even better than its powerful original stage version. Go to Full Review Bosley Crowther New York Times 05/20/2003
4.5/5
A fine, sincere, outspoken film. Go to Full Review TV Guide 01/31/2012
2.5/4
Yawn. Go to Full Review John J. Puccio Movie Metropolis 03/26/2008
7/10
...as important today as its was in 1943. (Bette Davis Collection, Volume 3) Go to Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com 01/30/2008
C+
Starring Bette Davis, Lillian Hellman's anti-Nazi play was made into simplistic film, full of contrivances and propagandistic speeches, meant to justify U.S. involvement in WWII. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jeff S @jeffstone 03/08/2024 This one starts slowly and for some of us isn't even that enjoyable at the beginning, but the waiting is worth the time. Bette Davis is especially great in this drama about family, greed, loyalty, and the horrors of war. See more mark g @Mark_Alan_G. 12/15/2023 The acting is dismal. I could not get past how poor the acting was. Ruined movie completely. See more acsdoug D @acsdoug 02/26/2023 The story is completely contrived, the dialogue is bereft of any resemblance to normal conversation. The entire project is merely a vehicle for Hellman's virulent anti-fascism. Understandable, given Hellman's politics and the fact it was made during wartime. However, that doesn't make for a very interesting movie. See more 03/20/2022 One of those propaganda movies Hollywood was obligated to churn out. This one's made in '43 but the battlefield is a wealthy household in suburban DC during 1940 or '41, pre-Pearl Harbor. Stilted dialog explains to Americans why Europe's battle is our battle. As a nice period touch, the only blacks in the film are Steppin' Fetchit type servants. See more 05/14/2021 Watch on the Rhine is an extremely touching personal and anti-fascist movie from a Lillian Hellman play. Very moving and remarkably apt even 80 years later See more Steve D 07/22/2020 The script is overblown but the performances are strong and the story important. See more Read all reviews
Watch on the Rhine

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Cast & Crew

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Herman Shumlin

Director

Bette Davis

Sara Muller

Paul Lukas

Kurt Muller

Geraldine Fitzgerald

Marthe de Brancovis

Lucile Watson

Fanny Farrelly

Beulah Bondi

Anise

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Watch on the Rhine

Watch on the Rhine (1943) Watch on the Rhine (1943) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Anti-Fascist German engineer Kurt Muller (Paul Lukas), with his American-born wife, Sara (Bette Davis), and their three children, returns to the United States in 1940 after spending 17 years in Europe, where Kurt has engaged in underground resistance to the rising Nazi threat. Unscrupulous Romanian count Teck de Brancovis (George Coulouris), a houseguest of Sara's family in Washington, D.C., discovers Kurt's secret and threatens to expose his activities to his contacts at the German embassy.
Director
Herman Shumlin
Producer
Hal B. Wallis
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Bros.
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 27, 1943, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 23, 2017
Runtime
1h 54m
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