Leofwine_draca 49TH PARALLEL is a thematic war movie by the Powell & Pressburger team. It follows the misadventures of a bunch of Germans who find themselves stranded in Canada and must go undercover in order to reach the American border; as a neutral country, America will provide them a place of safety. Along the way, the Germans meet up with various characters and conflicting attitudes toward the war are subsequently explored throughout. 49TH PARALLEL is a well acted movie and as a propaganda piece it's less gung-ho than usual, taking time to explore the depth of the situation and raising some interesting questions at the same time.

gavin6942 A WWII U-boat crew is stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral United States.Said Michael Powell, "I hoped it might scare the pants off the Americans." Screenwriter Emeric Pressburger remarked, "Goebbels considered himself an expert on propaganda, but I thought I'd show him a thing or two." After persuading the British and Canadian governments, Powell started location filming in 1940.Now, how effective the film was in getting America into the war, I don't know. Certainly not nearly as effective as Pearl Harbor ended up being. But what you do have is a great war story of Nazis in Canada. The plot has some questionable elements -- the Germans speak very good English -- but the idea of a war thriller is always good if you have the talent to pull it off like Powell does.

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. ****

hjmsia49 Where do I begin reviewing this comedy of errors. A German U-Boat sinking ships in the Atlantic decides to sail thousands of miles to Hudson's Bay for supplies (Germany would have been closer). They sail to the far west side of Hudson's Bay where no U-Boat ever entered during WWII because they would find no shipping targets there. The U-Boat surfaces and raises the national flag instead of the German naval ensign. They send ashore six men for "supplies." For some fathomless reason, not one but three RCAF Hudson bombers are patrolling this area? They attack the U-boat whose captain fails to dive on their approach but instead chooses to fight them off by personally manning the lone machine gun. A fitting ending to the most ill-advised journey of any submarine. The Nazi invaders occupy a dwelling ashore with rifles and fixed bayonets, what cramped submarines carry bayonets? They shoot poor Laurence Olivier to put a merciful end to his horrible performance. The Nazis then skyjack a sea plane which conveniently one of them knows how to fly? They run out of fuel and crash into a cold north Canadian lake where all manage to swim ashore with no sign of hypothermia. There in the middle of the most sparsely populated area of Manitoba they find a commune of German speaking Christians, whom they promptly alienate? They then decide to "walk" over a thousand miles to Vancouver to board a Japanese ship. On the way they meet effete Leslie Howard in his canoe paddling to his teepee full of valuable paintings. Need I go on? This is the kind of film that gives propaganda a bad name. No wonder many Canadians found all the stereotypes laughable. A shame so many good actors were wasted on this total fantasy. The biggest joke is that the film actually won an Oscar for Best Screenplay. Were standards that low in the 1940's.