Word: robson
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...Flora Robson carries the message of the picture as she gradually comes to realize that Naziism is not "in the blood" of Frieda, the fraulein whom her nephew married to repay for helping him escape from a German prison camp. Miss Zetterling portrays a hard-faced, stoical Frieda at first, but gradually develops her role of the misunderstood German girl, hated by the small English town into which she has been thrust, until her husband finally comes to know and love her as the warm, understanding person...
...aura of hostility greets Frieda when she arrives in Denfield before the war has even ended. Miss Robson as Aunt Nora, a "cold, logical woman," realizes that her chances to gain a seat in the House of Commons are ruined if she condones her nephew's marriage to a German. Publically she proclaims that all Germans are alike and thus voices the belief of most others as well. But privately she tells Frieda that in six months nine-tenths of the community would come to accept her but there would always be the other tenth...
...audience recognizes from the start that the German bride (Mai Zetterling) of the demobilized Englishman (David Farrar) can't be wholly "guilty" and is perhaps hardly "guilty" at all. A large part of the picture merely shows Mr. Farrar's mother (Barbara Everest), political-minded aunt (Flora Robson) and fellow townsmen slowly getting used to the obvious. Miss Zetterling's brother (Albert Lieven), on the other hand, is as fanatical a Nazi as Hitler himself; so there is no very interesting question about brother's guilt...
Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is appointed Superior; as it turns out, she is a bit too young and imperious for the job. Sister Briony (Judith Furse) is taken along for her medical knowledge. Sister Honey (Jenny Laird) is a gentle creature, a tonic for jangled nerves. Sister Philippa (Flora Robson) is responsible for the garden. Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) is a jagged-voiced, quarrelsome neurotic; it is hoped that the drastic change of surroundings will do her good...
...snatches of crisp Shavian dialogue, but the entire effect is uneven and erratic. As the Roman conqueror, Claude Rains is excellent. He plays his part with intelligence and a calmness unmoved by the grandeur about him. Vivian Leigh is an effective contrast as Cleopatra, the girlish queen. Flora Robson, as Ftatateeta, a weird combination of killer and nurse, handles herself with barbaric competence. Stewart Granger, who looks like the muscular product of a California beach, manages adequately to make about half the audience squeal ecstatically...