Films Main Encyclopedia Entry Photos From Movie
Escape
Production: Early May 1940 - June 1, 1940, additional scenes filmed in early September 1940;
Premiere: not available;
Released: November 1, 1940;
Production/Distribution Companies: Metro Goldwyn Mayer/Loew's Inc.;
Runtime: 103 min;
Country: USA;
Language: English;
Color: Black and White;
Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Sound System);
Not Available on VHS or DVD;
Cast: Norma Shearer as Countess Ruby Von Treck; Robert Taylor as Mark Preysing; Conrad Veidt as General Kurt Von Kolb; Nazimova as Emmy Ritter; Felix Bressart as Fritz Keller; Albert Basserman as Dr. Arthur Henning; Philip Dorn as Dr. Ditten; Bonita Granville as Ursula; Edgar Barrier as Commissioner; Elsa Basserman as Mrs. Henning; Blanche Yurka as Nurse; Lisa Golm as Anna;
Production Credits:
Produced by: Lawrence Weingarten;
Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy;
Writers: Arch Oboler, Marguerite Roberts;
Original Novel by: Grace Zaring Stone (as Ethel Vance);
Gowns by: Adrian;
Editing: George Boemler;
Music: unknown;
Reviews:
Time, November 18, 1940: "Outspoken, aggressive little director Mervyn LeRoy lost none of the story in transposing it to the screen. Even the saccharine qualities of Norma Shearer are skillfully tempered to fit the regenerated Countess. Only Robert Taylor, unfairly injected into big league competition, falls behind pace. But director LeRoy's combination is too strong to be defeated by this single handicap."
Modern Screen, February, 1941: "One of the most poignantly dramatic films of the year is Escape, gripping and spine tightening melodrama. Both Norma Shearer and Robert Taylor are excellent and the subject matter is very provocative."
Notes/Trivia:
-Based on the novel by Ethel Vance
-Norma Shearer turned down Susan and God for this movie. Susan and God bombed at the box office, while Escape was respectably successful.
-Alla Nazimova's talking debut. She had been a major star in the late 1910s and early 1920s. Her career faded around 1923.
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