First Comes Courage. 1943. USA. Directed by Dorothy Arzner. Screenplay by Lewis Meltzer and Melvin Levy, from the novel by Mary McCall Jr. With Merle Oberon, Brian Aherne, Carl Esmond, Fritz Leiber. 88 min.
Dorothy Arzner's final film, completed by Charles Vidor after illness forced her departure, stands as both a sophisticated wartime resistance drama and a complex meditation on female heroism. Set in occupied Norway, the film follows Nicole Larsen (Merle Oberon), who appears to be a collaborator romantically involved with a Nazi commandant (Carl Esmond) but is secretly working for the resistance. Her handler and love interest, a British commando (Brian Aherne), must maintain professional distance while coordinating a crucial sabotage mission. Demonstrating Arzner's characteristic attention to the constraints on women's choices in a male-dominated society, the film becomes a framework for exploring broader questions about performance and survival.