We Are Not Alone

Anyone want to hear Paul Muni talk in a British accent? Those of you who raised your hand, go out and rent the romantic drama We Are Not Alone. He's never usually the romantic lead, so I was very excited to see this movie. As it turned out, the romantic portion of the story was very brief, but it was still entertaining.

Doctor Paul and his wife, Flora Robson, have different parenting approaches about their slightly difficult son, Raymond Severn. Flora takes a stern hand and locks him in a dark room when he gets scared and emotional; Paul cuddles him and gives him loving support. Then, when Paul hires a nanny, Jane Bryan, Flora feels resentful. Jane is a former patient, and she seems to easily attract the love of both Paul and Raymond.

You can rent this movie if you want to, but don't expect Gone With the Wind. It's not the most romantic movie in the world, and although it's rather sad, it doesn't leave you with a very good feeling. Just to give you a clue, when Jane complains to Paul that they're being punished for something they haven't done, Paul says, "We are not alone." Have another movie handy for a double-feature or make this a matinee.

Paul Muni and Jane Bryan give an outstanding performance in this drama. Taken from a novel by James Hilton, this story concerns a village doctor, his wife, and a plain German girl who became their little boys governess. Most of the movie is of the trial of the doctor and the governess who are accused of killing the mean spirited doctor's wife. The love between the simple doctor and the German governess is so tender that your heart goes out to both of them.. Jane Bryan, a young actress from the Warner lot was an outstanding actress, but a few years after making this movie, she quit making films and seemed to disappear completely. It was our loss.

This was James Hilton's most upsetting novel, a parallel to Hans Fallada's "Was nun, kleiner Mann?" about the plight of small humble people at the mercy of a world of inhumanity. Paul Muni makes one of his finest performances ever as a good and decent but not very clever small town doctor, who is governed by a bit too orderly wife (Flora Robson), who doesn't like music, while Paul Muni actually plays the violin and does it well. As one of his patients he takes care of a young dancer who has broken a delicate bone, but she is foreign (Austrian) and has no one to turn to when she falls out of luck, deserted by her dancing company and attempting suicide in her abandoned despair. She proves to have a very good hand with children, and the doctor and his wife need a nanny for their young son (about 5 or 6), so even Flora welcomes her. But she becomes such good friends with both the son and the musical doctor, that Flora feels bypassed and takes action, ordering her to leave. There the trouble begins.

It coincides with the outbreak of the first world war, and as an Austrian the delicate Jane Bryan finds herself a declared enemy in a very hostile country, where the small town folk don't hesitate to lynch local Germans. And so it goes from bad to worse.

Edmund Goulding has much of the credit for this extremely human and touching film, which could make anyone's heart melt. A sure thing is you will never forget it. It completely dwarfs "Good-Bye Mr Chips" of the same author and almost the same year for its deeper human poignancy. "We Are Not Alone" refers to the fact which the doctor quietly observes, that those who suffer as martyrs for meaningless hatred in local places indeed are not alone, since hundreds of thousands of innocents are martyred at the same time in the trenches of the war.

There are many delicate details in this film making it worth seeing again now and then, since situations like this always will remain actual and important reminders.

I have watched this movie many times because I always enjoy watching Paul Muni, no matter what role he is in. This movie is an opportunity to see Muni without the heavy make-up that he wore in many of his movies. Although I like this movie a lot, I was rather disappointed in the ending. It seemed to change gears about halfway through. The movie goes from being a poignant love story to making a political statement about war. But I still recommend it. Muni, Flora Robson and Jane Bryan all give excellent performances and Muni's relationship with his son is beautiful to see.