Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

jacobs-greenwood Directed by William Dieterle, and written by John Howard Lawson, this below average war drama attempts to evoke sympathy for the struggles of peasants during the Spanish Civil War. Henry Fonda plays a simple farmer named Marco who becomes a leader in the resistance against the invaders who would take their land and livelihood. Leo Carrillo plays his sheepherder friend Luis and Madeline Carroll plays a Russian foreigner he meets, and is smitten by, just before the war breaks out. John Halliday and Vladimir Sokoloff play spies who infiltrate the resistance for profit and Reginald Denny a journalist who writes about the peasants' struggle. Robert Warwick, Peter Godfrey, and William Davidson also appear in supporting roles. The film received Academy Award nominations for its Werner Jannsen (his first) Score and Lawson's (his only) Original Story.Peasant farmer Marco (Fonda) and fellow peasant sheepherder Luis (Carrillo) discuss the love of their land and sheep, respectively. They are interrupted when a car driven by a woman crashes into Marco's ox cart. Norma (Carroll) is a foreigner on her way to town where her father is seeking art treasures. Her car no longer functioning, Marco & Luis decide to help her; Luis directs Marco's oxen who tow the car while Marco sits beside Norma in her front seats. He is taken with her beauty and perfume while she dreams of a less traveled life with a home to call her own. When they get to town, she departs to join her father while Marco and Luis begin to return home. Norma learns that her father Basil (Sokoloff) is once again working with a man she detests named Andre Gallinet (Halliday). But Basil promises his daughter that they'll settle down somewhere after they do one more job.While Marco & Luis are headed out of town, they hear gunfire. Soon there is an exodus of all the town's residents until Marco decides it's time to make a stand. With impassioned words, Marco makes a speech which stops his fellow peasants' flight; they all decide to make a stand to save what little they have in the world. Their fight is successful and Marco is given a leadership position by the Commandant (Davidson), though in another town. After watching a magician (Godfrey) perform some slight of hand in a bar, Marco is suspicious enough to have the magician arrested while he follows another participant with fancy shoes. Not knowing that the man is Norma's father, Marco shoots Basil when he resists arrest, after he'd apprehended Basil in his apartment. Norma rushes into the room with several of Marco's men and is naturally upset with Marco for killing her father. Suspected of being a spy, Norma is taken in for questioning. Then, there's an air raid during which Norma and Marco are trapped in a basement together; Luis rescues them, but Norma escapes. She then learns that her father was part of Gallinet's spy ring. Gallinet is in a position to free her from General Vallejo (Warwick) if she'll deliver a message to the town she and Marco first met.After reluctantly agreeing to deliver the secret message, Norma meets journalist Edward Grant (Denny) on the train there. He begins the process of her realization that the people Gallinet is working for are ruthless, but not before she delivers the message to his spies in town. In fact, Gallinet's side has instituted a blockade to keep food and other supplies from reaching the town, in order to break the peasants' spirit and crush the rebellion. The note that Norma delivered will allow them to sink the latest supply ship headed to their town. Horrified after what she sees, starving children and forlorn mothers, Norma goes to Marco to admit her guilt and convince him to let her undo what she'd done. After her impassioned speech, Marco allows Norma to leave, but follows her. Just when Norma had almost gotten the spies to cancel the submarine which would then sink the supply ship, Marco's men moved in and captured them all. However, just before Marco's raid, Luis is seen boarding a small boat with several other men.It turns out that Luis and his companions, under Marco's orders, had dragged a dilapidated and empty ship out to sea to be sunk in lieu of the real supply ship. Of course, none of the spies knew that and General Vallejo and Gallinet, who'd just arrived in town together, are surprised to see the real supply ship arrive at port. Norma, who'd been arrested with six other spies, is taken before the General where she learns that he too is working with Gallinet. The General has just had the other six spies executed to keep from talking and is about to have Norma sentenced to death when Marco rushes in. She and Marco are then taken away. As the General is being congratulated for the supply ship (he'd wanted to sink) arriving safely, Marco and Norma are brought before him, followed by the Commandant who tells the General his spy gig is up. Marco gives yet another impassioned speech, seemingly to the film's audience, asking "won't anybody help?".

ma-cortes ¨Blockade¨ is a passable film unmistakeably set against the background of Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) directed by William Dieterle , the original title of this film was "The River is Blue" and the first director was Lewis Milestone . The title was changed to "Castles in Spain," then to "Blockade" . It deals with two simple sheperd named Marco (Henry Fonda) and Luis (Leo Carrillo) who are forced to take up arms to defend his land during the Spanish Civil War . Along the way Marco falls in love with Russian aristocrat called Norma (Madeleine Carroll) whose father named Basil (Vladimir Sokoloff) is involved in espionage . Later on , Norma is also obligated to spy for Andre Gallinet (John Halliday) . There takes place a blockade about the small location named Castelmare with posters explaining : ¨Warning . Do not discuss military matters with strangers . Beware spies ¨. The story doesn't take sides and was prohibited in some American cities in USA day since . Of course , it was also banned in Spain . The tale does not attempt to favor any cause in the present conflict. Care has been taken to prevent any costume of the production from being accurately that of either side in the Spanish civil war . The film was nominated Best Music, Original Score composed by Werner Janssen . Kurt Weill even wrote music for the original project that was never used. The movie can be seen nowadays as a War/romance/drama with some exciting images , well organized crowd and thrilling scenes . The topic of the Spanish Civil War was politically sensitive and there is some hint that the upheavals of the original project were due to the political content of the film. Much of the dialogue for the movie was supplied by the black-listed John Howard Lawson who was nominated ACademy Award for Best Writing, Original Story and novelist James M Cain (though uncredited and famous author of ¨The postman always rings twice¨) wrote interesting dialogs . The picture was professionally directed by William Dieterle but this film Blockade(1938) was too libertarian to keep him completely from the shadow of suspicion as a socialist sympathizer. This German director had great artistic style and worked with much energy in providing some of Hollywood's and the world's crown jewels of cinematic art. He immigrated to the US and was in Hollywood by 1930s with the offer of directing for Warner Bros. and began directing their series of German-language versions of released films, including: Those Who Dance (1930), The Way of All Men (1930) and subsequently directing dramas (Scarlet down , Fog over Frisco , Fashions), costumer (Kismet,Omar Khayyan) and biopics (Life of Emile Zola , Dr Ehrlich , Juarez , Madame Curie , Reuter) that were a revelation at the box-office. Dieterle some of Warner's American output (his first, The Last Flight (1931), is now regarded as a masterwork) which would ramp up to his being at the helm of six pictures a year through 1934. After that , he directed an extravaganza ,William Shakespeare's "A Midsummers Night's Dream" . Dieterle would direct Paul Muni for Warner's in three first-rate Bio movies: The Story of Louis Pasteur (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), and Juarez (1939) Oscar nominations in all of them. After that , Dieterle moved on to do The hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) at RKO with Charles Laughton as Quasimodo that was one of Dieterle's best efforts . Through the 1940s, Dieterle moved around among the studios executing always vigorously wrought film work, such as, two 1940 Bios with Edward G. Robinson at Warner's. He became associated with independent producer David O. Selznick and actor Joseph Cotten first with his direction of I'll be seeing you (1944). Rating 'Blockade' : 6 , acceptable and passable . Worthwhile watching .

vitaleralphlouis Most other reviewers focused on the politics of the film regarding the Spanish Civil War. Not necessary. There's no way to tell which side Henry Fonda is on, or which side the Bad Guys represent. It's strictly about (a) two farmers and (b) one village, all find themselves entangled with an invasion of powerful forces suddenly intruding on their lands and their lives. It's a struggle against a strange enemy trying to kill you and your friends, to starve and destroy your village with corruption and self-interest. Politically, it reminds the viewer of the current day struggle of OUR country being taken over and being destroyed by an administration of thugs, thieves and other evil-doers.The movie has the look and feel of the great foreign movies of the era; the sets, the lighting, the casting -- couldn't be better. Although filmed in Los Angeles, it'll take you to rural Spain of 80 years ago. Hollywood doesn't make good movies like this anymore, the talent is gone, the cocaine takes over. Skip the action garbage, rent this from Netflix.

kiroman101 To paraphrase the late great Father Coughlin's jibe at the Roosevelt government's provision of "relief that failed to relieve", this inept film on the Spanish Civil War provided propaganda that failed to propagandize. That, at least to this viewer, is the only thought that lingered after suffering through almost 90 minutes of Blockade. I say this with a great deal of reluctance because I have always considered myself a great fan of both the principals of this film, Madeleine Carroll and Henry Fonda, but, alas, not even these two cinematic greats could salvage this bummer. In my quest to apportion blame I suppose the the script writer, a certain John Henry Lawson, is as good a place as any to start. The clunky lines he puts in the mouth of Fonda, a peasant hero of the so-called "republican" cause--particularly his closing monologue--are grounds for confinement in the most austere of labor camps courtesy of his obvious favorite, Comrade Joseph Stalin. I was especially struck by the tepidity of the romantic interludes with the beautiful Carroll, suggesting that a proletarian partisan like Mr. Lawson has little feeling for the more sublime side of human emotions. All of this I could excuse if Blockade offered anything approaching effective political propaganda if that was what it offered; but, at the risk of being tedious, that was precisely where it failed the most.For political propaganda that both entertains and persuades, let me suggest Casablanca. For political propaganda that offers only a few glimpses of the radiant Madeleine Carroll and nothing more, I recommend Blockade. That, unfortunately, is not enough to salvage this less than scintillating 1930s leftist pap.