In Europe after the war, Jake, an American journalist still recovering
from his war wounds, meets an old flame in Paris. She is Brett
Ashley, a woman surrounded by a throng of admirers she cannot get rid
of. One day, Brett leaves for Spain so that she can marry a
wealthy industrialist. Jack is devastated when he hears of this,
but Brett remembers him and decides instead to live with him.
In the 1940s, the shadowy, skewed visual style of 1920s German expressionism was taken up by directors of American thrillers and psychological dramas, creating that distinctive film noir look.
Continental Films, quality cinema under the Nazi Occupation
At the time of the Nazi Occupation of France during WWII, the German-run company Continental produced some of the finest films made in France in the 1940s.
From its birth in 1895, cinema has been an essential part of French culture. Now it is one of the most dynamic, versatile and important of the arts in France.