Blockade (1938)

Academy Awards, USA 1939

Nominated Oscar	Best Writing, Original Story John Howard Lawson
	Best Music, Original Score Werner Janssen

United Artists
Directed by William Dieterle
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb
(DVD, Image Entertainment)

Poor Spanish farmer Henry Fonda becomes a hero after convincing the peasants to stand up against an invading army and fight instead of running away. As an officer, he is assigned the job of rooting out spies, leading to the killing of a man who also happens to be the father of the girl he loves. They survive a bombing together in a bomb shelter, but she turns traitor and becomes a spy for the other side. A blockade of the city causes mass starvation and she decides to turn herself in to save it. Badly dated propaganda meant to convince Americans of the moral necessity of joining Europe in the fight against Hitler. Fonda's final plea directly into the camera is cringe worthy.