Arise, My Love (1940) review

American pilot/mercenary Tom Martin (Ray Milland), about to be executed by firing squad at the end of the Spanish Civil War, is "saved" by journalist Augusta Nash (Claudette Colbert) who claims she's his "wife," but once the truth is discovered they flee and wind up in Paris, then she gets dispatched to Berlin by her boss Mr. Phillips (Walter Abel) and Tom follows along, but their passenger ship SS Athenia is sunk by a German submarine.  The opening escape sequence - in which Tom's aviation skills are tested - is thrilling, but after the leads arrive in less-chaotic France it really drags itself out: Tom's "active pursuit" of Augusta might have seemed "romantic" in 1940, but now it seems stalker-ish and creepy ... and then it takes an actual torpedo to wake the narrative back up again (it's surprising how meandering most of it is considering it was co-written by Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett).  Of course, the whole movie is a work of propaganda - even the maid is allowed time to deliver a speech - and the final scene is pointedly aimed at the American audience to help with the rise of Nazi Germany ... it's funny that "we're" only regarded as "my love" when the enemy is at the gate.