49th Parallel

Although 49th Parallel was conceived as a wartime propaganda film, and is predictably heavy-handed in places, it is more often surprisingly subtle and ambivalent. Michael Powell's creativity, individuality and directorial skill lift the film above the standard flag-waving banality which might be expected from the genre.

Although the general point of the film, particularly aimed at the Americans, is that the Nazis are evil and should be opposed, Nazis are in fact the central characters, and it could be argued that Lt. Hirth (Eric Portman) is the hero. Although he is clearly not a nice person and displays many of the cliched trappings of the stereotypical evil Nazi, he is portrayed sympathetically in some ways. It is possible to sympathise with him and his men because they are lost and alone in a foreign country which they cannot comprehend and where no-one can comprehend them. The war is shown not as a simple battle between absolute good and absolute evil, but as a clash of cultures. Hirth belongs to a German tradition of loyalty, obedience and service to the state which is much older than Hitler. He genuinely cannot understand the concepts of democracy, liberalism and individualism, and is completely bewildered by the lifestyle of the Hutterite community, asking not only "who is your leader?" but "what's the salute?". He is an idealist who believes that he and the rest of the Nazis know what is best for everyone. In Powell's view, the war is not just about democracy against dictatorship, but also liberalism against authoritarianism, individualism against conformity and, above all, pragmatism against idealism.

The way the conflict is illustrated through the German sailors' encounters with diverse Canadians is subtle, intelligent and highly effective. The Canadians are not portrayed as heroes. They have very human failings. They are mostly complacent, ignorant, and hypocritical. They try to bury their heads in the sand and pretend the war isn't happening until they are forced to make a decision by their unexpected encounters with Hirth and his men. Johnny, the French-Canadian fur trapper (Laurence Olivier, horribly miscast), comes across as arrogant and obnoxious, and seemingly has little interest in the war. Scott (Leslie Howard) is appallingly smug, hypocritical and self-absorbed, avoiding involvement in the war by retreating to the Rocky Mountains. Although he is fashionably disdainful of the Nazi leaders, he is unmoved by what they have done in Europe. He is only shaken out of his complacency when the Germans vandalise his books and paintings! Significantly, Hirth crows that " we kicked him out of the Reich years ago" as he burns Thomas Mann's latest book. Scott must have been aware of the sufferings of Thomas Mann and others in Nazi Germany, but felt no need to do anything about it.

The overall result is that although the individual Canadians are not heroic, they eventually make up their minds and join the fight against Nazism (as Powell hoped the Americans would). They each have their own reasons for this, reasons which are often selfish, ambiguous and prosaic. In this, they are the antithesis of the disciplined and idealistic Hirth. It is made clear that those who oppose the Nazis are not merely fighting out of blind loyalty to their countries, but nor are they fighting for any abstract ideal. Democracy is not portrayed as an ideal, but as a pragmatic solution: the worst system apart from all the others. The liberal democratic society of the western world is shown up as a mess, but it is a reasonably happy mess. It is superior to the nightmare of Nazi Germany precisely because it is pragmatic, flexible and individualistic. People are free to live their lives as they choose without an authoritarian government telling them what is best for them. For these reasons, 49th Parallel has an enduring resonance.

Vogel's defection to the Hutterites emphasises the humanity of the Germans and the fact that they were not all enthusiastic Nazis. But ironically, in leaving the Nazis, Vogel loses his sense of duty and becomes as hypocritical and self-obsessed as the Canadians. Although Vogel is not sympathetic to the Nazi cause and shows remorse for his involvement with it, he is not proposing to fight against it. He merely wants to hide from reality with the Hutterites and carry on baking bread, regardless of the outside world. His wish to go back to "how things used to be" is essentially the wish of an adult overwhelmed by reality to return to childhood. In this sense, as well as in the more literal military and legal senses, he is a deserter.

Overall, this is an exceptional film, despite some wooden acting and poor continuity, which gives the impression of drastic and ill-advised cuts. For example, in one scene the Germans are stealing a car, and in the next scene they are on a train, with no clue given as to what happened in between. It is not properly explained how the remaining two escaped from the crowd in Banff, and it seems far too easy for Hirth to get on to a plane and fly to Ontario. The scenery is magnificent (and magnificently shot) and the action is genuinely exciting, although the ending is completely absurd. 49th Parallel works as art and entertainment as well as propaganda, in contrast to Nazi films of the same era. The propaganda element is subtle and intelligent, making wider points which are still relevant today. The ultimate testament to the superiority of western liberal democracy is the fact that this film was made in the way it was and allowed to be shown. In an authoritarian dictatorship, Powell would most likely have been shot for treason for making a "propaganda" film so ambivalent and unflattering to the cause it was meant to promote. Narrow minded Nazis (like Hirth) would have been unable to grasp the deeper truths and humanist values at its heart.

The above words are said in this brilliant film, and it sums the film up for me. They come just after the burning of a couple of paintings and ' The Magic Mountain ' in of all places a Canadian wilderness. I will give no other spoilers, because this film transcends propaganda, and when the plot of the film is described it sounds like a typical WW2 story. It is not. It shows a group of rotten people crossing a civilized landscape ( maybe to some idealized ) who learn nothing from the experience. Only one does, but is ruthlessly killed by the others with him. The said others have been made rotten by an ideology that still lives today and still threatens us, shifting from one country to many other countries in the current world we live in. Beautifully filmed with sequences that take one's breath away and images that burn into the mind I consider this film to be one of the best ever made. Powell and Pressburger made a number of fine films, but this excels probably with their ' A Canterbury Tale '. As I was watching I thought of the two sources of all our artistic heritage; Homer's ' The Iliad ' and ' The Odyssey '. Both of the above mentioned films draw upon the latter book in their search for meaning and transformation. As for the acting I have a few doubts, but none can subtract from the 10 I give the film. Lawrence Olivier is frankly terrible imitating a French Canadian and Eric Portman lacks nuances in his performance and too heavily emphasis the ' evil ' in his character. Who stands out most as giving the greatest speech is Anton Walbrook and for those who have not seen the film watch out for the part of the film he is in. It is everything that tolerance and goodness should be and his delivery of words and his presence in the film glowed like a beacon in the darkness. I am ashamed I have not seen this film before.

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressberger's artistic collaboration at the start of WWII benefits from a powerhouse cast.

Clearly propaganda, the cast and crew apparently came from all parts of the world to lend their talents for a "mutual cause." With strains of Ralph Vaughn Williams's score woven into the cinematic fabric, Pressberger's elaborate story is expansive and involved.

The Oscar nominated film is worth watching, and it's interesting to see Raymond Massey's speech as a G.I. so very Yank-oriented, without a trace of the mannered style he later acquired. Leslie Howard is well cast as a poetic, philosophical dreamer. However, it's Anton Walbrook who really surprises with an uncharacteristic subtle naturalistic style.

This is apparently the project Elizabeth Bergner used to defect from Germany to the U.S., leaving the film for Hollywood (and Glynis Johns to take over the role). The actors playing Nazis are all quite strong.

I should only like to add to the already comprehensive, very well observed and intelligent review of this film on the previous pages, namely, that the film score by the great Ralph Vaughan Williams should not be left out of any discussion of the picture. As the film starts with the magnificent mountain scenery and Eric Portman's fantastic introductory speech ("shook hands on it and kept it ever since...", "the 49th parallel, the only undefended border in the world...") you seem to be immediately transported into the spirit and persuasion of this exercise in trying to convince all Americans, not just Canadians, that they should join the fight, their place is with all the others, Europeans, British, French, all peoples under the Nazi yoke.

You'd be tempted to think that there's no way '49th Parallel (1941)' could have turned out anything less than excellent. Not only do Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger perform their famous double-act, but there's also the equally-enviable partnership of David Lean (here working as editor) and cinematographer Freddie Young. But we must remember that in the realm of WWII propaganda there lie dangerous waters, and only the most talented filmmakers (so far, I count Hitchcock, Wilder, Renoir, Curtiz and Reed) can navigate their war-themed picture towards any degree of lasting respectability. We can certainly add Michael Powell to that list of famous names. '49th Parallel' is different from most of its contemporaries because it presents the film solely from the German point-of-view. The portrayal is not favourable, of course, and at least their commander reeks of pure evil, but the German characters are nonetheless humanised to no small extent. These aren't cold, immoral monsters, but ordinary people, swept up in euphoric Nazi ideology and pining for the simpler life they can barely remember.

When a German submarine is destroyed in Hudson Bay, Canada, the surviving Nazi soldiers – led by the fiercely patriotic Kommandant Bernsdorff (Richard George) – must navigate their way across the country into the then-neutral United States of America. The native citizens they meet along the way are largely jovial and laid-back, many hardly aware of the war raging across the Atlantic, and the Germans haughtily deem them foes unworthy of the Fuhrer's might. But these Canadians, as placid as they first seem, can surely recognise fascism when they see it, and each of the soldiers is picked off one by one, like the characters from a war-themed version of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." Among the unwitting local patriots is French-Canadian trapper Laurence Olivier – a caricature but an entertaining one – anthropologist/author Leslie Howard, and grinning deserter Raymond Massey, each of whom shows the Nazis that they're dealing with an enemy whose sheer spirit overshadows all of Hitler's armies combined.

The film was apparently intended as a tribute to Canada's involvement in the war, and perhaps – as was Hitchcock's 'Foreign Correspondent (1940)' – a call-to-arms for the then-isolationist United States, who would hold back until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Many of the film's characters remark upon the sheer remoteness of the war relative to their own lives, unaware that it is actually standing before them; this idea was almost certainly aimed at American audiences. After the brilliantly suspenseful first act at Hudson Bay, I initially felt that the film was going off track by continuing to follow the Germans after their aerial departure from the remote village. However, as time wore on, I began to appreciate what the film was aiming for. Though the snow-swept slopes around Hudson Bay may seem leagues away from the Canadian/American border, Kommandant Bernsdorff and his ever-dwindling band gradually progress their way south, until, not only does he reach the border, but he physically crosses into the United States. The War had never been closer.