Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A fine WWII prisoner-of-war escape film...even if we're rooting for the German this time, September 22, 2007
This is one of the better WWII movies about an escape from a prisoner-of-war camp. The story is taut and suspenseful. The odds against success are high but we wind up rooting for the man anyway. The guy is handsome, competent, resourceful and self-confident to the point of smugness. No, the guy isn't played by Steve McQueen. There is no ball-bouncing in a prison cell. The man is Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, played by the German actor Hardy Kruger. Von Werra's Messerschmitt is shot down over England on September 5, 1940. He is captured, interrogated and sent to a prisoner of war camp for officers. He turned out to be the only German captured on British soil who ever escaped and made it back to Germany. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.
Von Werra turns out to be a committed German officer, determined to escape, and with enough drive, ingenuity and luck to escape from British camps three times. The first time sees him staggering for five days through mud and freezing rain to try to reach a British port and a neutral ship. When he's finally recaptured he's half dead. The British send him to a much tougher camp in the north. This time he organizes a tunnel dig, figures out how to make fake identity discs and how to convert rag-tag clothing into something passably civilian. On this break von Werra manages to talk himself onto a RAF base posing as a Dutch pilot. He's captured while seated in the cockpit of a Hurricane trying to get it started. He planned to fly back to Germany. Now the British ship him off to a prisoner-of-war camp in Canada. They figure that'll take the starch out of his determination to return to Germany. They didn't figure that von Werra would realize the significance of the United States being a neutral country and how close the train taking him to the camp would be to the Saint Lawrence River border. Sure enough, in the dead cold of a Canadian winter (January, 1941), he escapes from the train, works his way through the snow and freezing drizzle to the mostly frozen river. He finds a boat and finally is picked up on the American side. Our movie ends here, with a big smile on von Werra's frozen face and mumbled "thank yous" to the American border guard who found him.
Through all of this the escapes are carefully shown with a lot of dramatic tension. You can't help but wind up hoping von Werra's persistence will pay off. Knowing he's an enthusiastic German pilot, a fighter ace, who is eager to get back to the battles takes a little of the edge off, but still...
The One That Got Away is filmed in black and white. There are no sweeping, beautiful shots of the countryside. We're talking late fall and winter in Britain and Canada. It's cold and grey. If it's not snowing, it's raining. If it's not raining, it's drizzling. If it's not drizzling it's still so cold you'll want a fire going during the day. The acting is as cool and competent as the movie.
And what about von Werra after he made it to America? The Canadians tried to get him back. The Americans wanted to send him back. While everyone was arguing his status, von Werra slipped across the U. S. border into Mexico, then made his way back to Germany by way of Peru, Bolivia, Brazil and Spain. He arrived in Berlin on April 18, 1941. He was assigned to fly on the Eastern front, became an ace again, then was sent with his unit to the Netherlands for rest and refitting. On October 21, 1941, his plane malfunctioned during a training flight and went down in the sea. His body was never recovered. Franz von Werra's luck had finally run out.
The Region 2 DVD, available from AmazonUK, has no extras but the film transfer looks good.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the Best Escape Stories of WWII, June 5, 2006
Hardy Kruger gives an outstanding portrayal of a WWII German Aviator captured and determined to escape by any means.
The intensity of Kruger's effort to escape makes this one of the best movies of its kind. Right up there with "The Great Escape"
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Balanced Perspective, July 6, 2008
This is one of those movies that make you realize there was more than just one side in WWII.
Hardy Krueger plays an excellent role. Remember him from "The Flight of the Phoenix," with Jimmy Stewart? Unlike his character in that movie, he plays a much more flamboyant figure in "The One That Got Away."
In an age where Hollywood glorifies Americans as being the only independent & courageous people on the planet, it is nice to see a little redress. Except for "Letters From Iwo Jima," I can't think of another movie that reminds us there are always men on the other side who fight & die for their country.
That brings us to the crux of the matter: Hollywood. Neither "The Boat," originally released as "Das Boot," or "The One That Got Away" was produced in America. If you want a fresh perspective on events - past and present - try looking at foreign made films.
Another reason to recommend this movie: There are no politics involved; simply the drama of one man's ordeal. Considering it was made in 1957 that is something!
The B&W in which it is shot also adds a sense of life & death drama - which it is. If you like movies that are true-to-life (as opposed to make-believe), or you enjoyed "The Boat" with Jurgen Prochnow, then this is one you will enjoy seeing.
I would love too see a remake - although not by Hollywood!
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