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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 741

Barbed Wire

192779 minUnited States
RomanceDramaWar
Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: English.
This copy runs
78:54
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Paramount Pictures · Public domain

Synopsis

A French farm becomes part of the wartime world of prisoners and guards. The young woman living there develops feelings for a German captive, placing personal affection against the hostility surrounding them. Their relationship asks whether two people can recognize one another beyond the national identities that the war has made into barriers.

Cast

DirectorsRowland V. LeeMauritz Stiller

Inspirations

The film adapts Hall Caine's The Woman of Knockaloe, moving the setting from the Isle of Man to Normandy. It also changes the novel's conclusion.

Reception and legacy

Its plea for understanding met resistance from sections of the British press and audience. Caine publicly objected to readings that treated the story's sympathy for individuals as support for Germany.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and credits

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 12, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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