Set in 1940, a U-boat has been sinking merchant shipping in the bay of St. Lawrence in Canada. 6 crewmen led by their fanatic lieutenant (Eric Portman) are ordered to raise the Nazi flag over a trading post. However, when thing go wrong thet attempt to make their way across Canada.
The 49th Parallel refers to the then largely unprotected Canadian-US border and made in an effort to convince the United States they were not immune to the effects of the war while also showing the importance of Canada in the war effort.
The third collaboration of Michael Powell and Hungarian emigree Emeric Pressburger, they saw this film as an important project in the propaganda war effort. It was a unique film in that it was one of the only films that was in part financed by the Ministry of Information and paid for Powell to go to Canada with Rank stumping up the rest.
The film could have been episodic in the way the Germans run into different sets of people, but the beauty of Powell's direction and Pressburger's writing cleverly avoids this. Most of the name actors come and go in the plot, with Portman the only constant through the film, itself a risk given that this was a big feature role. Laurence Olivier as the trapper has something of a silly French Canadian accent, while Anton Walbrook has the best role in one of his great performances as the leader of a Hutterite commune. Others include Leslie Howard and at the conclusion Raymond Massey as the desserter. It does feel towards the films conclusion that there is a scrabble for an ending and some of the propaganda elements date the film. However, at the time of the films release this would have resonated very strongly with its audience, both in Britain and Canada, with Walbrook having the best speech. The film took over a year from inception to release and by the time it was released in the US (under the title THE INVADERS) the US had already entered the war.
The 49th Parallel refers to the then largely unprotected Canadian-US border and made in an effort to convince the United States they were not immune to the effects of the war while also showing the importance of Canada in the war effort.
The third collaboration of Michael Powell and Hungarian emigree Emeric Pressburger, they saw this film as an important project in the propaganda war effort. It was a unique film in that it was one of the only films that was in part financed by the Ministry of Information and paid for Powell to go to Canada with Rank stumping up the rest.
The film could have been episodic in the way the Germans run into different sets of people, but the beauty of Powell's direction and Pressburger's writing cleverly avoids this. Most of the name actors come and go in the plot, with Portman the only constant through the film, itself a risk given that this was a big feature role. Laurence Olivier as the trapper has something of a silly French Canadian accent, while Anton Walbrook has the best role in one of his great performances as the leader of a Hutterite commune. Others include Leslie Howard and at the conclusion Raymond Massey as the desserter. It does feel towards the films conclusion that there is a scrabble for an ending and some of the propaganda elements date the film. However, at the time of the films release this would have resonated very strongly with its audience, both in Britain and Canada, with Walbrook having the best speech. The film took over a year from inception to release and by the time it was released in the US (under the title THE INVADERS) the US had already entered the war.