Charles Laughton excels as Albert Lory, a shy, ineffectual teacher who rises to the occasion when confronted with the evils of Nazi occupation. While many of the conventions of WWII propoganda films are present, (the brave saboteur, the quisling, the martyr) Laughton's performance rises above the average as he transforms before your eyes, from the cowardly "mama's boy" to a man who meets his fate gaining the respect of all those around him.


# Errors in geography: After the initial credits, there is a notation "Somewhere in Europe ...". All the signs and notices are in English so there is no specific country identified this way. The film could be set in Belgium, Denmark, Holland, Norway or any of the other occupied territories. However, when Professor Sorel, Louise Martin and Albert Lory examine the school textbooks for what must be removed, all the references are to French history and literature, squarely placing the film in France.

# Factual errors: In the initial scenes on the village, an advertisement for War Bonds can be seen on a wall. Although the French government sought funds from its population during the First World War (through National Defense Loans), it would not have occurred in the Second World War as France was so quickly defeated and occupied. The advertisement in this movie therefore is more likely to be a near-subliminal appeal to the American population to purchase War Bonds to support the US effort.

# Anachronisms: The German troops are all wearing WWI style helmets, presumably because the actual style of helmets used by Germany in WWII were not available to the film makers. There are also various other mistakes with the German uniforms.