I had never heard of this film, despite very much liking Tyrone Power and sometimes liking Joan Fontaine. But it's a gem...mostly! Tyrone Power...well, I may be a man, but what a hunk! And, more importantly, what an actor, and he's as good here as ever as a former soldier troubled as WWII gets more and more difficult. Joan Fontaine here has lost her sometimes-haughtiness, and is so good as the upper class young lady who joins the WAF and falls in love (with Power).Thomas Mitchell, usually a favorite character actor of mine, seemed slightly out of place here as an older soldier. Nigel Bruce has a very nice role here as an innkeeper; if you don't know he's in the film, you almost might not recognize him. Gladys Cooper, a wonderful character actress is here; sometimes she was wonderfully sweet, and sometimes quite the opposite; this is quite the opposite, and she doesn't get much screen time. One of the better small roles is Alexander Knox as a minister who knows the horror of war.The story is a good one -- a deserter (although we don't know that until later in the film) is struggling because of his reasons for not going back to the front...not cowardice, but animosity toward who the war will really benefit (the upper class of British society). He falls in love with an upper class British girl who has joined the WAF. They have some wonderful times together, but then he becomes hunted. Where will he go? What will he ultimately do? And then he is severely injured when saving a family during an air raid, and Fontaine's father -- a surgeon -- saves his life...and Fontaine and Power are married in the hospital.I wasn't particularly enamored with the ending, which seemed to come very suddenly, but overall this was a very well-done film. Some say it's 20th Century Fox's answer to MGM's "Mrs. Miniver" (also 1942). The latter is a fine film starring one of my favorite actresses, but I think I prefer "This Above All". Highly recommended, though because of the ending it will not end up on my DVD shelf.

Tyrone Power and Joan Fontaine star in this movie about war, patriotism, and being true to one's beliefs. Joan's a upper-crust member of society who volunteered for the WAAFs. Tyrone, an enlisted man, meets Joan, for a blind date, kind of. But he appears to have a secret or something in his past that bothers him and it begins to bother Joan.What begins as a low-key drama becomes a suspense espionage film as he is running from the law. My thoughts are not all together as I write this, and I feel it deserves a better written review than I am doing. It becomes a very personal, spiritual film as he wrestles with his conscience and the morality of war. I recommend this for anyone who wants an intelligent and deeply felt movie not just about war, but about real people thrown into these situations, who only want to do the right thing but feel they are losing a part of themselves by what they think is compromising their beliefs.Now one of my favorite movies of the stars, "This Above All" is out on a Tyrone Power DVD collection, but should be shown by TCM, so that more people will be more familiar with this unknown gem.

Given that all the other reviews on this film are from people who live outside the UK i thought i would give a review from the UK.In my view this is the phoniest film about the war in 1940 that was ever perpetrated by Hollywood.Virtually everything about it was wrong.The characters always seem to be going to restaurants and travelling in cars as if there was no rationing.They go down to what is clearly supposed to be a restricted area on the coast without ID.They go to a pub where a Hollywood idea of cockney is spoken other than the "Mumerset" accent of Nigel Bruce. Now there were conscientious objectors but these were normally people with a conscience about taking part in war.James Mason is one example.However the ideas and views put forward by Powers character would not have been current in the later part of 1940.By that time this country was fighting on its own in a life and death struggle.Chamberlain had resigned and Churchill was now PM.There was an all party coalition government not a National Conservative government.Hitlers peace feelers had been rebuffed and with the blitz there was now no go back.So the anti war sentiments put forward in the film are totally unbelievable as is Powers character.This film may have been a big success in its day but now looks very dated.

This is a wonderfully acted, compelling love story set during WWII in England. Joan Fontaine's portrayal of an aristocratic woman who joins the WAAFS and falls in love with a deserter (Tyrone Power) is superb. She is beautiful, tender, courageous, and quite believable as Prudence. Her speech on what England means is eloquent and is one of the highlights of the film. Tyrone Power is awesome as Clive, too. Joan's character is steadfast in her love for Clive and the chemistry between Joan and Tyrone is wonderful. With the resurgence of patriotism in America this film should be shown more often on the movie channels. Maybe they will catch on soon. A not-to-missed film.