A lawyer, a priest, a farmer, a surgeon, a wine vendor: these civilians-turned-soldiers are among the combatants captured and held in a POW camp after Nazi troops overrun France. Also among the captives is fiery Victor Labiche, a former cab driver chained to a wall in solitary confinement because of his defiance of prison authorities. Soon after Thousands Cheer, Gene Kelly set aside his musical prowess to showcase his dramatic talents in this wartime morale booster. He plays Victor, whose will to fight is crushed by the torment of solitary confinement. But his passions rekindle when, after being smuggled out of camp as part of a POW escape, he witnesses courage of fellow escapees and resistance partisans in combat against Nazi troops. Jean Pierre Aumont plays the escapee whose act of bravery inspires the firefight. Aumont joined the Free French Forces after completed of the film and became a decorated war hero.