Nonureva Really Surprised!

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

jacobs-greenwood Charles Boyer is a Romanian playboy, stuck in Mexico while he tries to get a VISA to enter the United States, a process which normally takes years. He runs into an old friend (Paulette Goddard) who tells him that she gained her U.S. citizenship by conning someone into to marrying her, and later dumping him.In walks Olivia de Havilland (who received an Oscar nomination), playing a lonely (how?!) school teacher who's taken her students on a field trip over the border into Mexico. So, Boyer romances de Havilland as the means to his end. Walter Abel plays an immigration official who's suspicious of Goddard, and then Boyer's motives.There is also a pregnant woman (Rosemary DeCamp), who also wants to get into the U.S., with whom Abel must deal.Directed by Michael Leisen, and featuring an Oscar nominated Screenplay by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar, as was its B&W Cinematography, Art Direction-Interior Decoration, and Score.

vincentlynch-moonoi Overall I feel pretty positive about this film, although the first third or so of the film seemed a bit uneven -- some good aspects, some not so good. But the story is an interesting one -- which I'm sure our Republican friends would hate...because it's about illegal immigration from Mexico...but with a twist...apparently the immigration problem with Mexico in the mid-1900s was more of Europeans making their way to Mexico to cross the border into the United States. In this case, Charles Boyer is a bit of a shady character from eastern Europe; he is in Mexico and decides to marry an American woman only as a means to get into the United States. Along comes the somewhat prim teacher, Olivia de Havilland, who is taking some students on a field trip. Boyer seizes the opportunity, and within hours they are married. Boyer's plan is to dump de Havilland after becoming an American citizen, move east (she is from Azusa), and continue in his crooked ways with accomplice Paulette Goddard. Things take some unplanned turns, and Boyer begins to feel guilty about his plan, and eventually begins to fall in love with de Havilland (no big surprise there). Goddard rats on Boyer to de Havilland, but to an immigration official she stands up for him...and then leaves him. But on the way back to California, she is in a serious auto accident and lays apparently dying in the hospital. He comes to her side...illegally, and she pulls through and he gains his way into the country...with good intentions.I've grown to enjoy Charles Boyer more in recent years, and while he was right for this part he seems too sedate here, almost as if his heart wasn't quite in it.I recently watched another Olivia de Havilland film -- "The Heiress" -- and it occurred to me while watching it that Olivia de Havilland was the direct opposite of Bette Davis. Both were great actresses, but most of the roles that one starred in could not have been played by the other. And this film is another good example of that. Able to display a sense of nativity/innocence, but equally able to play the ability of be strong when required...and both in the same role. It's a very good performance.Paulette Goddard seems to get the short end of the stick here as the self-described "tramp" in the film. It's not an impressive role for her.Walter Abel, a very able character actor, is good here as the American immigration inspector. Rosemary DeCamp, an underrated actress, has a small, but good supporting role.Be patient. The film strengthens as it goes on and has some fine moments and touching scenes, particularly on the part of Olivia de Havilland.

bkoganbing As was the pattern of her career at this point Olivia DeHavilland was getting her best roles away from her home studio of Warner Brothers. No matter what she accomplished away from Warner be it an Oscar nomination for Gone With The Wind and for this film, Jack Warner resolutely refused to see her any heavy dramatic parts. His view of DeHavilland as the leading lady waiting patiently for her man to accomplish his mission remained transfixed throughout her tenure at Warner Brothers.I'm sure that given what she accomplished in Gone With The Wind, Warner got quite a sum from Paramount for her services for Hold Back The Dawn. In it Olivia plays a schoolteacher on holiday in Mexico with some boys from her class. But depending on your point of view she's unlucky enough or lucky enough to meet Charles Boyer who is a Romanian refugee wanting really bad to get to this country.Boyer is a part time tango dancer and full time gigolo and his partner Paulette Goddard has already gotten US citizenship by marrying a jockey from Agua Caliente racetrack and later divorcing him. She wants to resume her association with Boyer professionally and personally and Goddard urges him to romance some American tourist and do what he does best and get married.Which is when Olivia falls into Boyer's life. She's young and naive and full of illusions and he really starts to hate himself, romancing some worldly dowager for money is one thing, but Olivia's trust gets to him. He actually commits a sacrifice of sort in this relationship.Although DeHavilland got the Oscar nomination for me Boyer makes the film. The change that comes in his character come subtly and gradually and the tools to do it and the guidance come from script writers Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett and director Mitchell Leisen. Boyer gives a very subtle performance that should have received more recognition.Not to say Olivia didn't deserve her recognition coming in the form of that Oscar nomination for Best Actress. In fact she was the betting favorite to win, but her sister Joan Fontaine beat her out with her performance in Suspicion. As is part of movie legend these two sisters were quite competitive and this didn't help the relationship.In fact Hold Back The Dawn got six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, but came up short for Paramount. Still it's an impressive piece of work even seventy years after it was first released.Also note the performances of Walter Abel as the immigration official and Rosemary DeCamp another refugee who finds her own method of entrée into the good old USA.I hope it comes out on DVD at some point.

Star5 A fabulous film with an all star cast of Charles Boyer, Olivia De Havilland and Paulette Goddard. Boyer plays a man who is trying to get US citizenship, the only way by which turns out to be, marrying De Havilland's character. There is a sweet scene between the two when they set off on honeymoon and they play beautifully together throughout. Paulette Goddard is wonderful as the scheming other half and it's nice to see at the end that she gets what she's after!! Clever start to the film too - look out for Veronica Lake making a movie - and a lovely ending that really couldn't get any better.