The timing of this film is unfortunate. It came out in October, 1945--several months after the war in Europe had ended. Had it come out during the war, it would have been an excellent propaganda film for the folks at home. Instead, it just seems a bit odd to come out when it did.As far as the casting goes, it IS unusual. Constance Bennett plays the lead and over the years she tended to play a variety of rich society ladies. Co-starring is Gracie Fields, a British music hall singer and comedienne. It's a strange pairing but it worked..particularly since they de-glamorized Bennett for the part.The story begins just as France is falling to the Nazis in 1940. An American woman (Bennett) and her companion (Fields) are trapped in Paris. They also accidentally come upon a pilot of a downed British plane...and through this help to create an underground organization which repatriates pilots through the course of the war. Naturally, the Germans are more than a bit anxious to catch them. The film's biggest strength might just be because it came out when it did. Instead of snarly, over-the-top Nazis, the Germans in this one are more believable than ones you would have seen in films just a short time earlier. Plus, a restrained performance by Bennett (one of her better ones actually) help to make this an enjoyable and well made film.

Three years after Joan Crawford walked through an approaching crowd as the Nazis entered Paris (with her hair unmussed), veteran actress Constance Bennett took on the invading fifth columnists in order to help stranded English soldiers get out of the country safely. Aiding her in this is veteran English actress/music hall performer Gracie Fields who doesn't get to be comical here as she was in earlier films. The film really gets exciting during one moment when Bennett hides a soldier in the trunk of her car and deals with Nazi soldiers who help her change her tires. With suspicious landlady Eily Maylon supposedly reporting her activities to the Nazi's, Bennett is soon being watched, and this leads to an exciting confrontation where everybody in the complex is threatened with torture and death unless the members of the underground give themselves up. Unfortunately, the film doesn't represent reality well in the conclusion which goes for the traditional Hollywood happy ending rather than what probably would have happened in a real life situation.Made towards the end of the war, this pretty much seems to have lost its impact simply out of a "been there, done that" sort of feeling. Of course, there's the typical propaganda and a few moments of grave tension which are hand-gripping moments of true fear. Ms. Bennett was the film's producer which gives a good indication of why in her 40's she looks totally glamorous throughout. It's still entertaining, but one of those films on a much made topic that seems standard when compared to such classics as "The Mortal Storm", "Underground" and "Edge of Darkness".

I happen to be a fan of Constance Bennett's, and also an admirer - she was not only a fine actress and a beautiful, glamorous woman, but a crackerjack businesswoman and someone who worked hard for the war effort.Having hit 40, Bennett was no longer in demand for leads; in fact, in Two-Faced Woman, she'd had a supporting role. "Paris Underground" is a film she produced herself in England, and it's very good. It's the story of the American wife, Kitty de Mornay (Bennett) of a Frenchman (George Rigaud) who is swept into the Resistance when she's asked to help get an English flier back to London. The work excites and intrigues her so much, she decides not to leave France and instead, continues helping fliers escape. She is assisted in this by a nervous friend (Gracie Fields).I found this a suspenseful and interesting film, and although it wasn't shot in France, some of the sets, like the baker's, were quite good. The performances are excellent. Rigaud as Kitty's husband is suave and likable; Kurt Krueger is excellent as a German officer who takes an interest in Kitty, and Gracie Fields, in her last role, though she lived until 1979, is wonderful as Kitty's friend.This is a little known gem, and I thought it was well done.

In a late example of a fading Hollywood star going to England for a career boost, delectable Constance Bennett plays a madcap, irresponsible Yankee stuck in occupied France. She's uses her glam appeal to aid the resistance & help Allied troops escape with the help of co-hort Gracie Fields, the Brit Music Hall star in her final screen perf. The whole unlikely enterprise is done with reasonable flair under surprisingly lively direction from Gregory Ratoff and stellar lighting from lenser Lee Garmes. Too bad no one was able to turn the corner for the last act when the film tries for a darker, more serious tone, but it's well worth a gander. As is the still jolie Mme Bennett.