She's hated in her Norwegian town for being an alleged Nazi spy, but only a select few know the truth, that she's working for the underground to destroy them, not help them. Old friends curse at her in the streets, fellow dancers on the floor in a restaurant walk off the floor when she comes on with Nazi officer Carl Esmond. But for Merle Oberon, it's all in a days work, and she holds her head up high as she goes on with her mission. A British officer (Brian Aherne) falls in love with her while in a local hospital, and together, they fight the Nazi's with dignity and courage, willing to die for the cause of freedom. It's another "Edge of Darkness", the excellent Warner Brothers film of the same year that echoed with the words " Let them look to Norway" as the peace fighters of the world gathered together to fight against fascism. That Errol Flynn/Ann Sheridan movie was excellent in every detail, and while this is a good film, it can't hold a candle to "Edge of Darkness". Resistance films since "The Mortal Storm" have covered the same territory, and each one has its purpose, its high points, and a few its flaws. Oberon was so much more than a ravishing beauty; she was extremely talented as well, and is excellent here.Of the large supporting cast, I have to single out character actress Isobel Elsom as a nurse who risks her life to help Aherne. When she is confronted by the Nazi's, she momentarily gasps in horror, then regains her composure and smirks. As Aherne warns Oberon, a resistance worker has a length of six months before they are caught, but as Oberon reminds him, it's worth the risk. Oberon and Aherne have some very romantic moments, so while "Edge of Darkness" is stronger in detail, "First Comes Courage" is a reminder that freedoms of all kinds are at risk when mad men are allowed to control the world. The wedding scene between Oberon and Esmond is dramatically scored, giving the impression of the horror going through Oberon's mind.

Merle Oberon plays Nicole Larsen, a Norwegian who is playing a VERY high stakes spy game. She is working for the Resistance AND at the same time dating* the local Nazi commander. However, the plan has always been that the commander gets too close to discovering her true identity that the British would send in commandos to kill him. They don't want to use local talent because the murder would lead to serious retribution towards the local populace. So, the plan is to have an agent specifically target this Nazi during a raid to hide the true purpose of the attack. Now this is a pretty simple plan...perhaps too simple. So the writer throws in a monkey wrench. The commando who is sent in to kill the man is also Nicole's former lover, Captain Lowell (Brian Aherne). And then, to further muddle things, the Nazi wants to marry Nicole and Nicole wants to go through with it and NOT have the man killed. Why? Well, see the film.This is a very nice espionage film that strongly emphasizes self- sacrifice and patriotism. I am sure the message was being pounded hard in order to bolster the war effort at home, but it was done deftly enough that it did not come off as preachy of obvious like many propaganda films. Overall, well acted and worth seeing...so good I almost gave this one an 8.

If for no other reason, this incredible movie should be seen to enjoy the acting skill of Merle Oberon, especially in the scene where she finally reveals to her husband, the Nazi Major, that she loathes and despises him and that she has only been with him in order to spy on Nazi activities. Directed by Dorothy Arzner, a pioneer among women directors, the movie has an endearing ending in which Merle Oberon turns her back on her lover in order to carry on her underground activities. Made in the middle of World War II, this movie is evidence of the producers and writer's knowledge of the horror of the Nazi occupation in Norway, and it presented a powerful message to the moviegoers of the day that any sacrifice was necessary to defeat the German menace. The script for this movie was based on "The Commandos", a novel by Elliot Arnold.

Dorothy Arzner's last directorial effort is replete with her usual feminist slant on things as Merle Oberon -- playing a Norwegian -- is caught between romantic Nazi officer Carl Esmond, who wants to marry her and British spy Brian Aherne who loves her, which is all a great inconvenience to her winning the war for Norway. The men are busy playing with their big tanks and their large meetings -- the state marriage of Esmond and Oberon with its TRIUMPH OF THE WILL sized set decorations is very funny. The occasional battlefield shots looks to me like they are modeled on those sets of plastic soldiers that used to be advertised on the back of comic books.Oberon, appropriately enough, seems to spend much of her time trying to keep a straight face as Esmond tries to romance her into marriage. It fits neatly into the sort of movie that Arzner used to direct Ruth Chatterton in in the early 1930s, but here, deprived of her favorite screenwriter, Zoe Akins, and forced into the confines of wartime propaganda, she still manages to get in the occasional sly dig.