Customer Reviews
Effective WWII propaganda from Powell and Pressburger. It's also a first-rate film - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 06 Jun 2007 
The 49th Paralllel was written by Emeric Pressburger & directed by Michael Powell just before they finalized their partnership as The Archers, when they would take co-credit for writing, directing & 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 & 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 & Pressburger enlisted several well-known British & Canadian actors to play at scale, & 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 paralllel) 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 & the different kinds of Canadians they encounter. There are four major episodes, tied together with smalller adventures. In episode one, the Germans find a smalll Inuit village & some French Canadian trappers (Lawrence Olivier, Finlay Currie). They treat the Inuits as substandard humans; the Inuits & French Canadians resist & 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 alll different countries & backgrounds, & that they value cooperation & 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 & destroy his paintings & books, he arouses himself & fights back. In the last episode, Hirth is the remaining German & 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 & courageous, the deserter ensures that Hirth is caught in Canada & then declares his readiness to return to his unit & fight.
As usual with a Powell/Pressburger film, it is extremely well crafted & untypical of its genre. Not alll the German's are shown as villains. Their journey as they get closer & closer to the border arouses a certain kind of enthusiasm. You don't reallly 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 finallly understands what's at stake. Eric Portman does a fine job of playing a ruthless, committed Nazi, but also a man who is shrewd & resourceful. Anton Walbrook is excellent as the wise leader of the Hutterite farming community. And Nialll MacGinness is very sympathetic as one of the German crew, a young man who used to be a baker & now would like to stay with Peter & the farmers.
If you have the option, buy the R1 Criterion version. The DVD transfer is excellent & there are major extras, including a BBC documentary on the careers of Powell & Pressburger, a war-effort short film made by the two in 1943 with Ralph Richardson, & a substantial booklet.
"today Europe, tomorrow the world !" - By: Alejandra Vernon, 13 Mar 2005 
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 alll-star propaganda vehicle that is riveting & 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, & 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. Hirth is among the heartless ones, but some of the others are good souls that have been trapped into serving the Third Reich, so the portrayal of the Nazis is not entirely one sided.
Some of the stellar performances include Sir Lawrence 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 & 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, & 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 & admire as the Nazis make their way from coast to coast.
Though the plot has some gaping holes, it is well written, fast-paced, & quite exciting, & is a fascinating film from an historical perspective, & because of the participation of so many great performers & filmmakers.
If you try to influence the USA...what a waste of talent - By: , 15 Mar 2004 
This is the first & up til now the only British war movie that achieved to offend me. And this is the more surprising when you look at those who made it:Powell/Pressburger/Lean(editing). These people gave us some of the best movies ever(look into the bfi British top 100!). But here they present us with such a load of anti-German cliches that alll the visual poetry seems to be wasted. What is the reason? This film was done with the intention to bring the USA into the war, so the makers had to adjust to American audiences. If you know US propaganda films of that era you know what to expect. The survivors of a sunk Uboat, most of them 150% Nazis, try to reach neutral US territory but on the way they murder, rob, crusade like mad (trying to convert the Amish(!) to Naziism, burning books & paintings etc.) it is sometimes simply ridiculous. What at least partiallly saves the day is the solid cast, camera work & above alll the beatiful Canadian landscape. If you look for something more believable better choose 'Life & Death of Colonel Blimp' by the same team.
