49th Parallel

49th Parallel (Criterion #376). 1941 Janus Films & General Film Distributors Ltd.
Starring: Eric Portman, Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard, Raymond Lovell, Raymond Massey
Co-written by Emeric Pressburger
Director: Michael Powell
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A propaganda film made during World War II. Michael Powell was originally asked by the British government to make a film about mine-sweeping. Powell had other ideas: making a movie to sway opinions in the United States, which was still neutral at the time, in hopes of "scaring the pants off the Americans". 49th Parallel was the end product, but it took the attack on Pearl Harbor to finally bring the U.S. into the war. Powell teamed up with his fellow Archer, writer Emeric Pressburger, and after getting approval from the British and Canadian governments, started work in 1940.

The Royal Canadian Air Force sinks a German U-boat in Hudson Bay. The survivors attempt to evade capture by traveling across Canada to the still-neutral United States. Nazi lieutenants Hirth (Portman) and Kuhnecke (Lovell) lead their fellow survivors, and meet an eclectic range of people, including Johnny, a French-Canadian trapper strictly from commercial (Olivier), some pacifictic German Hutterite farmers (led by Anton Walbrook), and an eccentric English teacher (Howard), who gets wounded, but is still able to help capture one of the sailors.

Hirth ends up encountering an AWOL Canadian soldier Andy Brock (Massey) on a freight train, but he fails to gain entrance to the U.S. when Brock alerts the officials that he isn't listed on the manifest.

The film's title is taken from the 49th parallel, which also serves as much of the U.S.-Canadian border. No scenes in the movie take place anywhere near that frontier, and the only border scene in the movie takes place near Niagara Falls (slowly I turn...), located further south of the 49th parallel line.

A fine effort from The Archers. Olivier is also particularly effective in this one, almost to the point of ridiculousness. Recommended.