Direction and screenplay are below average in this movie. The script is clunky, the music distracting, and the acting so-so. While the subject is interesting and the plot is superb it falls short. Alan Ladd is great even when he doesn't try to act well and the other actors do their best, but I think they were held hostage by bad direction. Maybe Irving Pichel was just having a bad day when he made this movie. Worth watching if you appreciate the courage and sacrifices of a past generation that allow us to live free.