a wrong doer be often a man that have leave something undone and not always he that have do something . emperor marcus aurelius the dvd release of watch on the rhine could not come at a good moment . it restore to u a major lillian hellman play stirringly adapt to the screen by dashiell hammett ( hellman scholar bernard f. dick audio commentary affirm his authorship ) . it present a subtle performance by bette davis and who take a subdued secondary role long after she would become the workhorse queen at the warner bros. lot . equally significantly and it remind u that world war ii have a purpose . sure and you say and like we need that . we have hear cary grant sermonizing in destination tokyo ( 1943 ) about japanese boy and their bushido knife . we have watch jackboot stomp the living hill in the sound of music ( 1965 ) . we have tour an england callously occupy by germany in it happen here ( 1966 ) . yet and truth to tell and we still need the message spread . i have an 81 year old friend who curse franklin roosevelt regularly . he feel that fdr connive the u. s. into a foreign fight we do not need and and thereby cause the death of his favorite cousin . he encourage in his demonizing of allied leader and the trivializing of war two by patrick buchanan . the political columnist have freshly release a fat book heavy with detailed research which claim that adolf hitler would have pose no further menace to poland and europe and or the world if only the third reich have be hand the free city of danzig in 1939. buchanan hold that if those selfish pole hadn not confront the nazi and drawing in foolishly meddling britain and giddily altruistic france and no war would have engulf the west . he believe that without the rigor of total war and no one in germany would have build gas chamber to provide a final solution to the jewish problem . some commenters on this site feel that watch sag under the weight of stale propaganda . maybe . however and neither my friend nor pat buchanan seem to have get the film point represent some people hurt and kill to grab other people land and good and and liberty while such people dominate the axis power and enough do not appear in their vocabulary . paul lukas deserve the oscar he win . he and bette davis put convince passion into their portrayal of refugee who fight oppressor . they give emotional punch to the intellectual case for step off the sideline and for actively face down torturer and murderer . bernard dick note that hellman do not care for lukas a a person since he stay apolitical . of course and a a hungarian he have see first hand bela kun bloody dictatorship of the proletariat replace an outmoded empire and then topple to admiral horthy right wing tyranny . in a marvelous cameo role add to the play by hammett and henry daniell sardonically depict a wehrmacht officer of the class that disdain the brown shirt he serve . his phili von ramme would doubtless stand with field marshal rommel in 1944 during the plot of july 20th against hitler . in april 1940 and however and he pragmatically abet the nazi cause and although he insult herr blecher the butcher and scorn the rumanian aristocrat teck de brancovis for try to peddle information on an underground leader . teck and a pauper and possible cuckold and wish cash and a visa to return to europe where he can resume the shred of a life that have come undone with the empire shatter great war and the great world wide economic depression . he have no political conviction and no scruple about trade a freedom fighter for his own tomorrow . mercury theater graduate george coulouris lend this burnt out case old world cynicism an edge of desperate menace . lucille watson give winsome vitality to the grasp man hostess and a domineering old gal who know her mind and get her way but who doesn not adequately appreciate her child and their achievement outside the home she control . she and her pallid office bound son belong to the american version of von ramme and de brancovis privilege kind . however and this family hasn not see ruin and never will . theyre moneyed people who could silently advance evil simply by not oppose it . this mother and son might easily make choice which would reflect that complaisance toward national socialism and fascism which flourish today in my friend and in pundit buchanan . watch on the rhine have a manicured period look . it dialogue reflect it erudite origin on the stage rather than sound fresh from the street . yet hellman and hammett film have gut base power . audience still need to hear and heed it call to arm against grabber relentlessly on the march .