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Plot

Based on a novel by Ethel Vance, Escape stars Robert Taylor as a young American, the son of a widowed European woman (Alla Nazimova). The mother has been imprisoned in a German concentration camp, compelling her son to ignore America's neutrality and attempt a rescue. Sneaking into German-occupied Europe, Taylor is befriended by a countess (Norma Shearer) who is the mistress of a Nazi general (Conrad Veidt). Taylor isn't certain of the countess' loyalties, but she proves herself by aiding in the rescue of the imprisoned woman. Escape is distinguished by a surprisingly subtle performance from Norma Shearer, though she gives in to her tendency to "ham" in her final denunciation of her Nazi paramour.
MPAA Rating:
Genre(s):
Action,Drama,Thriller,War
Run Time:
104min.
Director(s):
Mervyn LeRoy
Starring:
Norma Shearer , Robert Taylor , Conrad Veidt , Alla Nazimova , Felix Bressart
Themes:
Daring Rescues,Crimes Against Humanity,Mothers and Sons
Tone:
Rousing,Tense
Keywords:
America,General,Germany,Nazism,actor,aristocracy,arrest,behind-enemy-lines,border [geographic],camp,career,concentration-camp,death,doctor/nurse,drugs,escape,estate,extramarital-affair,fame,fidelity,finishing-school,girl,help,loot,love,mistress,mother,mountains,official,plans,plight,rescue,return,school,selling,smuggling,snowstorm,son,stage,stars [celebrities],storm,traveling,war,widow/widower,woman,youth