thinker1691 Emeric Pressburger wrote the book which inspired this movie called " 49th Parallel " or 'The Invaders' and which was later directed by Michael Powell, neither could have dreamed, such a small movie could have ever garnered such world wide attention. From it's inception to the finished scene, one is impressed by the remarkable journey of the main characters and their trek through the rugged Canadian wilderness. That journey begins when a German U-Boat surfaces in the waters of Canada. Stopping for supplies, the Submarine is suddenly attacked by the Canadaian military and within minutes is sunk. Only a handful of men escape and they proceed to the interior of the country where they hope to be rescued by German compatriots. all the while they kidnapped, maim and murder anyone who confronts their Nazi Philosophy. Throughout the rest of the movie the Germans which include their leader try to blend in wherever they travel weather it be through religious settlements or high mountain campsites. For American audiences, it's disturbing to visually search for the international actors like Laurence Olivier, Leslie Howard and Raymond Massey scattered throughout the film. Still, it's worth it as they do so well at keeping our interest glued to the screen. It's also noteworthy to learn the film and it's author as well as the director secured a multitude of awards. Therefore, the movie is easily recommended to any and all seeking entertainment. ****

sol ***SPOILERS*** Truly bizarre British war propaganda movie that has a bunch of German sailors stuck in Canada when their U-Boat, U-37, was sunk by the Canadian Air Force in Hudson's Bay. These bumbling "Nazi Supermen" as they like to be called then embark on a mission to cross the length and breath of Canada to Vancover which takes almost the entire length of the movie only to end up in Niagria Falls some 2,200 miles east of Vancover when they were headed for! All that travailing in what seems like the time it takes to go from San Francisco to Oakland which is something like two or three miles!Lead by their both fearless and at the same time brainless leader Let. Hirth, Eric Portman, the Nazi sailors seem to have luck on their side with everything going in their favor even though they never bother to hide their identities by always shooting off their mouths and giving Nazi salutes in how great their country Nazi Germany and their leader Adolph Hitler is. This in a country that's in a life and death struggle with Germany and that even saying good things about the Nazi regime can put them,if they were Canadian citizens, behind bars for at least five years or until the end of the war! We get to see the Nazis get involved with a number of Canadians as well as native Eskimos whom they end up killing yet nobody in the Canadian military or internal security service, like the mounties, seems to even notice it! This after their Nazis sub was sunk and an all out alert was called to track down and arrest or even shoot its surviving members! There's also a scene with the Nazis ending up in this German religious Hutterite Christan community where one of them Vogel, Nall MacGinnis, has a change of heart about the Fatherland and tries to join it. Finding a girlfriend Anna, Glynis Jones, and a job as the community baker didn't set well with Vogel's commanding officer Let. Hirth, who had the poor and love sick slub shot at sunrise for his defying his orders.***SPOILERS*** The last 15 or so minutes of the film really starts to get utterly ridicules with the two surviving Nazis Let. Hirth & Lorhmann, John Chawdos, ending up in the Great Pacific North-West in this Indian colony with English Indian expert Philip Armstrong Scott played by a wimpy and effeminate sounding Leslie Howard. Scott who befriended the two Nazis, like every other Canadian in the film, soon realized what their up to after they tied him, which he seemed to enjoy, up and destroyed his precious paintings books and notes, which greatly upset him, about the Indian tribes in the area. In what seems like him being Immune to bullets Scott captures Lohrmann single handedly,telling the group of Canadian hunters and mounties to stay out of it, only to have Let. Hirth escape some 2,200 miles back east,in what seems like a few minutes, to Niagria Falls in his attempt to cross into the neutral, at the time, USA and get political asylum there. Just when you thought that you've seen everything poor Let. Hirth runs into an AWOL Canadian Army soldier Andy Block, Raymond Massey, on the train he's hiding in and as usual the brainless Nazi shoot his big mouth off about his plans to escape to the USA and thus become a big hero in the Fatherland, Nazi Germany, in being able to outwit the entire Canadian population. That gives Andy, who left the Canadian Army because he wasn't sent to Euurpe to fight the Nazis, a reason to put an end to Let. Hirth's flight to freedom by cold cocking the by now daffy ridicules and reality challenged Nazi who was,in the train inspectors finding that he wasn't on the train's manifest, on his way back to Canada anyway!

kerndtsr Another movie that makes German's look like either idiots or blood thirsty barbarians. You luckily sneak your U-boat across the Atlantic undetected, risking your life for the Fatherland, good job sailor. So why in the world, especially with visibility for miles and miles would you surface your U-boat in the middle of bay in broad daylight!!! Who's that stupid? The people who had to go ashore were already gone, so there was no reason to sit around anyway. Plus they made no effort at all to even submerge the damned thing. AHHHHH! The pilots were all right on target with there bombs too, you got to wonder how much practice did they have at that part of the war. Not a scratch on anyone when the seaplane crashed too. Missed the airbag deployment.

writers_reign It's unbelievable that Pressburger won a Best Screenplay award for this although it was wartime I suppose and standards went out the window. Seen today it's a rambling, largely incoherent and unrealistic story of Six Nazis In Search Of A Neutral Country. The bizarre casting does little to help and it was clear that the actors with marquee value, Olivier, Massey, Howerd, were never On Call at the same time. Of these Olivier is by far the worst, an acting joke with an accent that would bring a blush to the cheek of Dick Van Dyke. Eric Portman as the Senior Nazi strikes his one note in frame #1 and never deviates from or embellishes it throughout. It probably meant something to someone, somewhere back in 1941 but not to your jaded, cynical correspondent in 2008.