Desperate Journey (1942)
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71% of critics liked it
(7 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(99 ratings)
Errol Flynn are the on-screen spark plugs in this bracing propaganda yarn, which relies on the personalities of its casts as well as the lively direction of Raoul Walsh to overcome the improbabilities of its plot. In 1942, a lone RAF bomber flying deep into Germany (just inside the old Polish… More Errol Flynn are the on-screen spark plugs in this bracing propaganda yarn, which relies on the personalities of its casts as well as the lively direction of Raoul Walsh to overcome the improbabilities of its plot. In 1942, a lone RAF bomber flying deep into Germany (just inside the old Polish border) is shot down after completing its mission. The skipper is killed, and left in command is Flight Lieutenant Terry Forbes (Errol Flynn), an Australian who plans on leaving damage behind on the ground so the Germans remember him, even if he doesn't make it back to England. The rest of the crew consists of brash American bombardier Johnny Hammond (Ronald Reagan), bookish Canadian navigator Jed Forrest (Arthur Kennedy), wide-eyed Flight Sergeant Lloyd Hollis (Ronald Sinclair), the son of a World War I hero, and First World War veteran Kirk Edwards (Alan Hale, Sr.). They're captured in short order, and brought before Luftwaffe Major Otto Baumeister (Raymond Massey) for interrogation -- they not only manage to escape, but gather some information vital to the Allied war effort. Now they only have to figure out how to cross most of Germany and Holland, avoiding capture along the way by a mix of sheer daring, blind luck, and assistance from two anti-Nazi Germans (Nancy Coleman, Albert Bassermann) -- and just when it seems that all of the odds have turned against them, they find themselves faced with a German plot to wipe out a major part of London, and one last opportunity to get home. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
- Directed By
- Raoul Walsh
- Genres
- Drama, Action & Adventure, Classics
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Sep 26, 1942 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Tom Milne, Time Out
Aside from some expendable propaganda heroics, rousingly handled by Walsh.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Instinctive existentialism of a very high order, and a very entertaining adventure (1942).
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Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Lively adventure.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Desperate Journey was viewed at the time of its release as a ludicrous, comic-strip war adventure. That view has only been strengthened over the years.
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, Film4
Walsh's desperately daft flagwaver often lets propagandizing get the better of its smooth running.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
Featured Audience Ratings
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Cast
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Errol Flynn
as Flight Lt. Terrence Forbes
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Ronald Reagan
as Flying Officer Johnny Hammond
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Arthur Kennedy
as Flying Officer Jed Forrest
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Raymond Massey
as Maj. Otto Baumeister
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Sig Rumann
as Preuss
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Pat O'Moore
as Squadron Leader Lane Ferris
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Ronald Sinclair
as Flight Sgt. Lloyd Hollis
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Louis V. Arco
as Feldwebel Gertz
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Charles Irwin
as Capt. Coswick
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Robert O. Davis
as Kruse
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Walter Brooke
as Flight Sgt. Warwick
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Harry Lewis
as Evans
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Don Phillips
as Kenton
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Frank Alten
as Lieutenant
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Felix Basch
as Dr. Herman Brahms
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Albert Basserman
as Dr. Mather
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Elsa Basserman
as Frau Raeder
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Barry Bernard
as Squadron Commander
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Sven Hugo Borg
as Mechanic
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Nancy Coleman
as Kaethe Brahms
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Helmut Dantine
as German Copilot
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Carl Ekberg
as Telephone Repairman
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Richard Fraser
as Squadron Leader Clark
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Arno Frey
as Pvt. Trecha
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Gene Garrick
as Polish Boy
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Ilka Gruning
as Frau Brahms
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Alan Hale
as Flight Sgt. Kirk Edwards
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Ludwig Hardt
as Pharmacist
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William Hopper
as Aircraftsman
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Kurt Katch
as Hesse
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Bruce Lister
as English Officer
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Jack Lomas
as Magnus
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Lester Matthews
as Wing Commander
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Otto Reichow
as Pvt. Koenig
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Henry Rowland
as Motorcycle Scout
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Ferdinand Schumann-Heink
as Sentry
- Hans Schumm
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Lester Sharpe
as Driver
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Bob Stephenson
as Gestapo Agent
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Roland Varno
as Unteroffizier
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Henry Victor
as Heinrich Schwartzmuller
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Douglas Walton
as British Officer
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Harold Daniels
as German Soldier
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Walter Bonn
as Sentry
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Rolf Lindau
as Sergeant
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Sigfrid Tor
as Pvt. Rasek
- Albert Bassermann
- Patrick O'Moore
- Sig Ruman
