A wonderful collaboration between Emeric Pressburger & Michael Powell (Peeping Tom/The Red Shoes) from 1941. A German U-boat is sunk off the coast of Canada. The commander & a handful of sailors make it to shore & decide to make a long trek to across the country hoping to make contact w/friendly Japanese to make it back to their homeland. Along the way they encounter different sects of Canadian people; a fur trader, a group of German ex-pats who live simply on the land (& whom they try to recruit), a naturalist on vacation, played Leslie Howard, & finally a soldier (Raymond Massey) en route to meet up w/his Army unit traveling via train. A nail biter to be sure that doesn't treat the villains like cartoon cut-outs, this journey of futility yields vast rewards as we get to know the Canadian residents (Laurence Olivier plays the fur trapper w/an accent as thick as his corduroys) who stand by their ideals & valiantly fight to win the day.
Review of 49th Parallel
