The Grand Hotel formula that was so overworked in the 1930s made an encore appearance in 1940s Escape to Glory The story is given timeliness by placing the characters on a British merchant ship on the very day that World War II is declared The ship is attacked by a Nazi UBoat resulting in a variety of reactions from the diverse passengersone of whom Erwin Kalser is a German doctor Constance Bennett is glamorous Pat OBrien is boozy John Halliday is pensive and everybody else except for the German medico is plain fearful