Two Thousand Women (1944) Reviews

• WWII internment camp for women comedy-drama

  davey-71998-08-30

  The critics were a bit sniffy at the time of its release, but this is one of the jolliest films made during the war. It concerns a group of English women caught in France during World War II and interned in a posh hotel. It's full of the sort of "There'll always be an England" stiff upper lip stuff that looks so kitch these days, and yet there's also a feeling of release for these women since there are no men around. Sadly, some RAF men accidentally parachute into the camp and the women have to hide them from the Germans. The men are undercast and a bit dreary, but they wouldn't stand a chance against the cream of British character actresses anyway. The rest of the film concerns the women's attempts to smuggle the men out of the camp. The plot however is irrelevent. What matters is the way these actresses work without having to compete for billing with any male star. The film is fun, risque and the best British romp before Tom Jones.

• Stylish, sexy wartime comedy-drama.

  Neil-1172001-08-23

  All those women are confined in a remarkably luxurious German internment camp without male company. What a waste, as so many of them seem to have film star looks and wardrobes to match. So what better spot for some British airforce chaps to seek refuge? Seriously now folks, those British boys must be helped to escape at once. But it's awfully hot in here don't you think, perhaps I'll just take a bath... After a slow and rather class-conscious opening, the story develops into a stylish, sometimes funny and often sexy battle of wits against the usual hapless German guards and the occasional informer. Along the way, the camera lingers wistfully on every stockinged thigh and lacy bosom, but somehow everyone manages to keep thinking of England – at least some of the time. A top cast of female leads.

• Light-Hearted Thriller About British Internees.

  rmax3048232012-09-24

  Patricia Roc is on leave from a French convent. She's wearing her nun's habit when the French authorities pick her up and accuse her of being a German spy. She LOOKS like a nun. She has a clean, honest, pretty face that's not overly expressive. I guess I should say she looks the way a nun SHOULD look. My nuns didn't resemble her at all. Mine impressed me as huge bat-like creatures waiting to swoop down on you with a ruler. Anyway, she's a novice, not yet having taken her vows. What this almost always means is that there's a man in her future -- and so there is. The Germans occupy the town and Roc is given crummy clothes and transferred to a guarded compound that used to be a luxury hotel, somewhere near Rouen. There are a thousand or more other British women held prisoner there. They are the usual varied group. There is Flora Robson with her long face and squinched eyes exuding authority. There is the cynical babe crepitating with wisecracks. There is the stripper (ie., whore) who is selling her body to the German sergeant in return for a single room instead of a double. There are one or two hefty Nazi moles in the group too. Their life in the internment camp didn't strike me as particularly demanding. Nobody complains about the food. It's an attractive resort hotel, after all, with spacious grounds including a summer house. Their most ardent complaint is that they have to schlepp hot water up four flights of stairs to take a bath and then two at a time must share the tub before the water cools. Except for the barbed-wired inner and outer walls, conditions are better than those under which I grew up. But the capacious rooms and the absence of genuine hardships is necessary to maintain the tone of the story, which is Gemutlich and even gay. The girls stage shows in the ballroom, with costumes and a band, to entertain one another as well as the German staff. Then -- cherchez l'homme. A British bomber is disabled over the compound and three men parachute inside its walls. They must be hidden from the soldiers and the spies. And then, after a romantic interlude between Patricia Roc -- whose character has the same name as an attractive girl I once took to Roseland in New York -- the three airmen must be helped to escape. As the aviators speed away in their stolen staff car, the ladies all gather on the stage and sing, "There'll Always Be An England." The story isn't uninteresting and there are a couple of witty lines in the dialog. At the beginning, Roc is hustled onto a German truck filled with other captured internees. The woman next to Roc introduces herself and begins gabbing away. A third girl is sitting there and, not having been introduced, asks, "Don't I exist?" The other snaps, "Yes, unfortunately." For all the dashing around, giggling, and chat, it's never slow or boring and there are some moments of genuine drama. A diverting war-time piece.

• Despite a few odd plot elements, a very good British propaganda film.

  MartinHafer2010-04-08

  While I could see a few plot problems here and there, this British propaganda film did a good job of rallying the folks at home for the war effort. It begins in France just after the fall of the country (summer 1942). While you rarely hear about them, naturally some British citizens got stranded in the country and could not make it back to the UK. This film concerns British women who were interred by the Germans in a rather nice and luxurious hotel. While I have no idea how the Germans actually treated such women, I doubt if they were as nice and lax as they were in the film. This is a rare case where the Nazis portrayed in the propaganda film seemed nicer than the real thing--usually it's the other way around! The film initially is about these women adjusting to their new home and it took a strange turn when three British airmen were shot down and actually sought refuge with the women! The idea of them being able to just sneak in to this guarded facility seemed hard to believe. However, because the acting was very good as well as the direction and script, it seemed to work well. Despite a good job, there were a few sour notes. One was that when the prisoners or escaped fliers fought with Nazis, the bad guys had a very convenient habit of NOT crying out for help when they were attacked!! The other was late in the film when one woman went from loving one of the fliers to turning him in to the Nazis with incredible speed--it made no sense and seemed quite contrived. Still, the film generally underplayed the drama and was otherwise pretty convincing. For a somewhat similar plot but better handled is Claudette Colbert's "Three Came Home"--which is based on a real American woman's experience in a Japanese internment camp.

• British Cinema at it's best

  garlygogs2011-10-30

  I recently stumbled upon this film on Channel 4. Thankfully I only missed the first ten minutes as it turned out to be a most enjoyable film. If you're reading this review then you have most probably seen the movie so a synopsis is not needed. All I really have to say is that the mainly female cast is absolutely superb. I defy anyone to pick out a single performance that stands out from the rest. Phyllis Calvert, Patricia Roc, Thora Hird..the excellent cast just oozes British actresses who went on to even greater performances. The only thing that let's this film down are the actors who play the British soldiers. Whilst they are good, I found them maybe a little too old for the parts. All in all though, it is a splendid film. If a remake were made today, it could boast an amazing cast of todays British talent. I checked IMDb after watching this film and sadly, most of the cast are with us no more. It is as a tribute to them that I write this little review.