Recently, I found myself immersed in a classic film from 1943 titled Watch on the Rhine, featuring the iconic Bette Davis alongside Paul Lukas. It’s a cinematic experience I wholeheartedly recommend.
I won’t delve too deeply into the narrative to avoid spoiling the unfolding drama, but for those who are impatient, here’s a handy Wikipedia summary.
The story is set in 1940, amidst the backdrop of Washington, D.C., a time when the U.S. had yet to enter into open conflict with Germany.
While watching, I couldn’t help but notice two significant reflections on the erosion of our economic freedoms.
First, one character carries a whopping $20,000—equivalent to over $400,000 in today’s currency. Remarkably, he seems unfazed by the prospect of being stopped by law enforcement and facing the grim reality of asset forfeiture.
Secondly, a conversation unfolds where an airline is contacted to arrange a flight for one character to Mexico, under the alias “Ritter.” One can’t help but wonder: would the airline not confirm this alias against the ID presented during check-in? Surprisingly, there are no such checks in place.
This lack of scrutiny is not merely a reflection of 1940; it also highlights a bygone era of travel freedoms. My first airline experience dates back to the summer of 1969, when I jetted from Winnipeg to Chicago for a conference in Rockford, Illinois. While I wasn’t traveling with large sums of cash, the absence of ID checks was notable. The Northwest Orient ticket agent simply recorded my name without further verification.
An intriguing tidbit: Lillian Hellman, the playwright behind this work, was rumored to be a Communist, as was Dashiell Hammett, the screenwriter. Why does that matter? As noted by Wikipedia:
Hellman penned Watch on the Rhine in 1940, shortly after the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact of August 1939. The play’s plea for a united front against Hitler stood in stark contrast to the Communist stance of the time. The title is derived from a German patriotic song, “Die Wacht am Rhein.”
Good for her for standing her ground.
Dashiell Hammett, writing the screenplay in 1942, faced no hurdles in his task, as by then, the Communist Party had shifted its position against Hitler.
