Customer Reviews

The Invaders (49th Parallel)

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These are the words spoken by the Nazis in this film to strike enough fear into the hearts of Americans to encourage them to join WWII, in this all-star propaganda vehicle that is riveting and features terrific performances; some of the big names involved in this production were also behind the camera, with Michael Powell directing, Emeric Pressburger as writer, Freddie Young as cinematographer, David Lean as editor, and a score by Ralph Vaughn Williams.

As the German U-boat gets bombed by the Canadian Air Force, stranding the six man landing party led by Lt. Hirth (Eric Portman), you follow them as they try to "blend" into the Canadian populace, with the intentions of crossing the border into the US.
Some of the stellar performances include Sir Laurence Olivier as a French Canadian trapper who has spent so long in the wild he is not aware the world is at war, Anton Walbrook ("The Red Shoes") is fabulous and so handsome as the leader of a peaceable community, where we also find a lovely young Glynis Johns, who is an orphan living there. Leslie Howard, an actor who I could watch read the proverbial telephone book, is marvelous as a writer who invites the strangers into his teepee in the woods, and Raymond Massey gives a delicious portrayal of a young man who has overstayed his leave from the military.

Also starring in this film is the Canadian landscape, which we get to see and admire as the Nazis make their way from coast to coast.
Though the plot has some gaping holes, it is well written, fast-paced, and quite exciting, and is a fascinating film from an historical perspective, and because of the participation of so many great performers and filmmakers.

This was Powell and Pressburger's contribution to the British war effort. It's main aim was to help sway the American public into joining the war on the British side. By 1940, Britain and it's Empire, including Canada, were at war with Nazi Germany. America remained adamantly neutral. The US Neutrality Act forbade any direct appeal by the British to the American people but P&P sidestepped this by having the Germans stage a landing in Canada instead and showing how the Nazis were a threat even to far-away America.

The crew of the German raider U-37, after torpedoing a Canadian merchant ship, is sunk by the RCAF in northern Hudson Bay, near the Canadian Arctic (Talk of propaganda - as we learn in the commentary, the three B-10 bombers we see attacking the sub, actually made up the entire fleet of the RCAF in 1940). Six of the U-37 crew make it to shore alive. They have to cross hostile Canadian territory to reach the safety of neutral America. The film contrasts the kindness and decency of Canadians, emphasising their kinship with their American brethren to the south, against the brutality and inhumanity of the Nazis. As the U-37 crew trek southward, they encounter various Canadians who prove their loyalty in one way or another, often delivering ringing lectures about the rightness of the allied cause. Laurence Olivier is almost unrecognisable as the jolly French trapper whom the Nazis try to tempt by declaring that Hitler has sworn to free French Canadians from the tyranny of the British. Instead he risks his life trying to warn the Americans. Eskimo hunters (Inuit), described as semi-apes by the Nazis, manage to kill one of the Germans as they flee south. Leslie Howard plays to type, the caricature of the glib, upper-crust, Anglo-Canadian gentleman, totally uninterested in the war half a world away, but who finally stands up when it truly counts. Raymond Massey plays a Canadian soldier gone AWOL. We see Blackfoot Indians in full regalia, in the Canadian Rockies, staring balefully at the invaders, as the valiant RCMP hunt down the fugitives. Even German Canadians, in the form of a German Hutterite community (similar to the Amish), make their loyalty to Canada clear, when they proudly avow their German heritage while disdainfully forswearing any kinship with the Nazis. It is unabashed wartime propaganda and it is none too subtle. But it was and remains enjoyable. P&P won an Oscar for the film's original screenplay.

All 18 minutes worth of footage previously deleted from the American release has been replaced. This includes the German Lieutenant Hirst's exposition on Nazi racial theory, where he lumps the Canadian Eskimos (Inuit) together with Negroes as "semi-apes", just "one-degree" above the Jews. Also restored is the scene with the Inuit, Nick, lying dead on the floor with his skull shattered by a rifle butt. Also restored are references to the priest Father Malotte as a German spy - this latter sequence being deleted for fear of offending American Catholics. The ending works almost like an early Hitchcock thriller - will they or will they not reach the safety of America and what will the Americans do when they arrive?

The picture has been handsomely restored with only an occasional instance of dirt seen. It is presented in a slightly window-boxed 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Contrast, black level and grey scale are perfect. The sound is presented in its original 1.0 mono, with clear dialogue and fine music reproduction. Optional English subtitles are provided. There is an excellent full-length commentary from film and music historian Bruce Eder. Aside from the film he talks at some length on Ralph Vaughan Williams' fine score, relating it to Vaughan Williams' various other works. The first disc is rounded out with the original theatrical trailer.

The second disc contains three items. The first is another P&P wartime effort, "The Volunteer", a 46-minute recruitment film for the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It stars then Lt. Cmdr. Ralph Richardson with a cameo by his friend Laurence Olivier. It has extensive footage of the FAA, which by then (1943) was equipped with the Seafire (naval variant of the famous Spitfire). We follow the Royal Navy as it sails around the Mediterranean with the Seafires being put through their paces. The second item is an hour-long audio exerpt from the memoirs of Michael Powell detailing the making of 49th Parallel. The final item is a 50-minute BBC Arts documentary "A Pretty British Affair" chronicling the life-long partnership of Powell and Pressburger with tributes from younger America directors like Francis Coppola and Martin Scorcese. Picture and sound are excellent throughout. There is a 10-page booklet with a fine article on P&P's various wartime efforts, followed by the transcript of Michael Powell's speech at the premier of 49th Parallel.

Note: The 49th Parallel refers to the US-Canada border, which as the film states at the beginning, remains the only undefended border in the world.

Michael Powell directed this odd wartime propaganda film, set in Canada, before the American entry into WWII. A German U-boat has infiltrated the Canadian coastline, seeking to attack and subvert our neighbors to the North, before Uncle sam can wake up and get into the fight. The Canucks make short work of the Nazi, sub, sinking it in Hudson Bay, but a reconnaissance team, now stranded in Newfoundland, sets out to smuggle themselves into the US, where, sheltered by American neutrality, they intend on spreading Nazi propaganda, or perhaps even blowing up the American capitol, or some other act of terrorism. Viewed in the wake of the September 11th, 2001 bombings, this was a remarkable film, particularly as the German strategy was specifically to subvert the openness and freedom of the "decadent" democracies, and turn the rule of law into a weapon against them. Sound familiar? Two sequences bear the unique Powellian stamp of the director's odd, askew sense of humor. The first is a prolonged "Witness"-like interlude in a rural Mennonite community, where the gentleness and loving acceptance of the farmers threaten to upend the authority of the fanatical German leader. Once he manages to peel his men away from the embrace of pacifism and equality, the commandant leads his men Westward in a reckless race towards the border in the Pacific Northwest. The film's most brilliant scene unfolds as the manhunt traps them in an "Indian Days" celebration at a national park: when the police take over the PA system and address the crowd to warn them of the hidden spies, the Germans shrink with terror as they are described to the tiniest, most accurate detail. But the celebrants -- typical consumers of spectacle and passive entertainment -- don't even bother to look sideways at the sweating, tense terrorists in their midst. Why bother? Isn't that someone else's job? This is a fun film, both an historical oddity and prescient reminder that wicked people may always prey on the goodwill of those they see as "weak." Recommended!

While it bit heavy-handed for today perhaps, this fine movie provides some interestig viewing and amusing portraits. Olivier's cameo as a Qubecois is highly hilarious, and worth seeing for its humor. The German sub-crew are portrayed as hardend Nazi's as they struugle across the depths of Canada attempting to reach a still neautral US. War time scenes of Canada and Canadian outlook at the time are interesting, but will probably be lost on most viewers today. Leslie Howard does a classic scripted scene as a neutral rustic turned into anti-Nazi patriot. Again, much here is pretty standard fare for 1940s war propaganda films, but the acting is solid, and the Germans are not all shown as fanatics. Worth seeing as a period piece, for some good acting, and for lesser known roles by well known actors.

This is a gripping war drama around the misfortunes of the famous German U- boat, sunk off Canada and the eventual dramatis personae of its survivors trying to reach some safety in neutral territory. One of the most reminded films of the WW2. Cast and direction are superb.

Another point game for that unforgettable British director: Michael Powell (The red shoes, Peeping Tom, Black Narcissus, I know where I'm going)

"You talk about a new order in Europe," say Peter, the equal of members of a community of faith-based Canadians trying to live simple lives, to several Germans availing themselves of the shelter of Peter's roof. The German survivors of a U-boat that was sunk from out under them appeal to Peter's people as fellows of German descent, to salute Nazism, but Peter will, he says, have no part of "A new order...where there's a hole not big enough for a mouse, where a decent man can breathe freely." "You and your Hitlerism are like the microbes of some filthy disease filled with the longing to multiply yourselves until you destroy everything healthy in the world. No, we are not your brothers," he concludes." Later one of the Germans sits down with peter. Peter asks him, "How can a man like you...I mean you're a simple good human being. How can you get mixed up with such a lot of gangsters?" The German responds: "What can you do. When you're a boy you like playing soldiers. When you're a young man you cannot get work unless you belong to them. When you're an old man you're anxious not to lose what you've got." Peter: "But there are thousands of men like you. Men who don't like the way things are going." German: " I suppose so. I suppose they don't know themselves. I didn't know." Peter: "It's as if a blind man said he doesn't know the sun shines." "I suppose so," the German agrees. Peter: "Why don't you stay with us?" "Do You mean it?" "Of course I mean it" "Even if you know who I am, where I come from?" "I don't care who you are, where you come from."

Oddly, the supposed stars herein (Lawrence Olivier & Leslie Howard) are the least captivating characters. Fortunately, both don't appear for long in this otherwise well-acted, and captivating, film. Howard plays a writer living in the woods who amazingly just happens to have a Picasso canvas (yes, unframed) in his tee pee. Later one of the Germans destroys it to reinforce the point that Nazi's care not for such things in life (notwithstanding Hitler's legions having looted half of Europe's art treasures). The scene just tries to do too much an ought really have been edited down, but it's one of Leslie Howard's few scenes. The best performance is given by Anton Walbrook who plays Peter (Glynis Johns also makes a lasting impression in this film), but the actors portraying the Germans are believable as well; as is Raymond Massey (albeit in a small part). Massey, the Canadian solider who is 'slightly' AWOL at the time, berates a lone Nazi with these lines: "Why you spoon-fed louse. I can grouse about the food [in the army] and the CO [commanding officer], and anything I blame please. And that's more than you with your gestapo and your storm troopers and your Aryan bushwa---Aww, nuts, what's the good of talking to ya. You cannot even begin to understand democracy. We own the right to be fed-up with anything we damn please and say so out loud when we feel like it. And when things go wrong we can take it. We can dish it out too. " Such is the point of the film, a 1942 Canadian film to trumpet its fighting spirit; as evinced by the characters played by Olivier, Howard, Massey, and assorted others who appear simple folk, but when pushed rise to the occasion. It's an above average 2 hour and 2 minute film, all in all. Were it edited to an hour and forty something minutes It would have been half again more effective, however, or such is my opinion at least. Cheers

This film was written by Emeric Pressburger and directed by Michael Powell just before they finalized their partnership as The Archers, when they would take co-credit for writing, directing and producing their movies. The British government wanted a film that would help convince America that the fight against the Nazis was also America's fight. Powell and Pressburger convinced the government to film the movie in Canada. They created an episodic adventure story which gave ample opportunities to make the case that the war against Nazi values was also an American war. Powell and Pressburger enlisted several well-known British and Canadian actors to play at scale, and had to shoot their scenes around these actors' scheduled return to Britain.

In 1940, a German U-boat is sunk in Hudson Bay in northern Canada. Six crewmen escape. They are led by Lt. Hans Hirth (Eric Portman), a dedicated Nazi who realizes that if they can make their way across the border (the 49th parallel) to the United States, they'll be returned to Germany. If they are caught in Canada, they'll be interred for the war's duration. The film is about how they try to make it to the border and the different kinds of Canadians they encounter. There are four major episodes, tied together with smaller adventures. In episode one, the Germans find a small Inuit village and some French Canadian trappers (Lawrence Olivier, Finlay Currie). They treat the Inuits as substandard humans; the Inuits and French Canadians resist and some are shot as the Germans get away. In the second episode they encounter a Hutterite farming community led by Peter (Anton Walbrook, himself a recent Austrian refugee from Hitler). The message here is that Canadians have come from all different countries and backgrounds, and that they value cooperation and peaceful acceptance of differences. In the third episode they come across a writer (Leslie Howard) who feels the war is so far away it hardly makes a difference. But when the Germans show contempt for what they see as his weakness and destroy his paintings and books, he arouses himself and fights back. In the last episode, Hirth is the remaining German and has hidden in a train's freight car going across the border at Niagara. He finds himself sharing the car with a Canadian army deserter (Raymond Massey), who finds his patriotism. In an action that is clever and courageous, the deserter ensures that Hirth is caught in Canada and then declares his readiness to return to his unit and fight.

As usual with a Powell/Pressburger film, it is extremely well crafted and untypical of its genre. Not all the German's are shown as villains. Their journey as they get closer and closer to the border arouses a certain kind of enthusiasm. You don't really hope they make it, but you are caught up in their efforts. And while the movie is made up of episodes carefully crafted to send home a message to the American audience, it holds together as a well-told tale. Nearly 65 years later, it still is an effective movie. Partly this is because of the acting. Although Olivier uses an awful pseudo-hearty French accent, the other actors hit their marks. Howard is very good as a slightly too civilized intellectual who finally understands what's at stake. Eric Portman does a fine job of playing a ruthless, committed Nazi, but also a man who is shrewd and resourceful. Anton Walbrook is excellent as the wise leader of the Hutterite farming community. And Niall MacGinness is very sympathetic as one of the German crew, a young man who used to be a baker and now would like to stay with Peter and the farmers.

I saw it on cable, but I have a VHS tape, which can still be purchased. It's not out on DVD.

What a great old film this is,due to the times when it was set there is a certain amount of propaganda running through the movie both on the Germans side and the Allies side.Six Germans who are marooned on the mainland after there U-Boat is sunk set off across Canada hoping to make it to the U.S so they can claim diplomatic immunity.One by one they are slowly cut down either by a plane crash , capture or in one case hung by one of their own for treason.All parts are played really well right up to the end when you think the last guy is going to make it.At the moment I am in the process of watching these old films because I think they were more believable back then and the acting was far better to anything in Hollywood today.

Crackerjack suspense propaganda movie about the pluck of the Canadians (and British, of course) in the fight against Hitler. A German U-boat is sunk in Hudson's Bay after it's sunk a Canadian cargo ship; six men escape. As they make their way across Canada they meet up with a variety of Canadian citizens (trappers, a religious community, an anthropologist, and a soldier on leave). The real power of the picture is how each of these encounters shows, in the most human way, the strengths of Canadian democracy and freedom. Revealed is not a blatant, one-dimmensional patriotism, but rather a realistic portrayal of the real thing. Laurence Olivier appears as a trapper (all too briefly) and Leslie Howard is the anthropologist who discovers his courage. A movie to be proud of - in 1941 as well as today.
[Hopefully when this makes it to DVD they use the longer British version than the shorter one made available in the US.]

I cannot express how much I enjoyed this movie. I imagine that it was very effective during WWII, because even now it made me want to grab Hirth and throw him into a lake. My favorite scenes were the Hutterite meeting speechs and Leslie Howard capturing one of the Germans. Finlay Currie did a good job as the trading post owner, and Laurence Olivier was amusing, if a little fake on the accent. All in all, this is a movie I would definitely watch again!