Escape by Night
Director: Roberto Rossellini
Year Released: 1960
Rating: 1.5
A young Italian woman takes in three POWs during World War II - a Russian, an American and a Brit - and hides them in her attic at great risk to herself and her boyfriend. Basically minor (very, very minor) Rossellini - the script is subpar and scenes don't seem to flow, and there isn't much of a sense of urgency until the Nazi Bullies show up around half way through (I saw the 138 minute version), plus the characters are basically stereotypes and lack complexity. It doesn't help that Rossellini already made one of the masterpieces about the war in Rome, Open City, the fantastic Il Generale della Rovere and the very good Germany Year Zero, so this can't help but feel like a second-rate effort.
