So. 49TH PARALLEL. A propaganda film created for the sole purpose of convincing the American people to rise up against Hitler. Unsubtle, with a shameless, crowd-pleasing finale, it should have been a disaster.
Instead, it was filmed by Powell and Pressburger, and it's magnificent. Flawed, but still magnificent.
That the film was also scored by Vaughan Williams, that it was photographed by Freddie Young and edited by David Lean, are dabs of frosting on a tasty cake.
Parts of the film do seem contrived: a sequence with Leslie Howard as a decadent, art-loving anthropologist who can't be bothered to fear an armed Nazi; Laurence Olivier as the world's least convincing French Canadian (a shame, because his character has a few of the best lines).
Other parts of the film are as good as anything by Powell and Pressburger: a thoughtful sequence in a German Hutterite community, led by Anton Walbrook, where Nazi arguments for German unity are not accepted; Niall MacGinnis as a reluctant soldier (an understated, humane performance); and best of all, a tense and frightening plane crash that is a brilliant showcase for sound effects, editing, acting, photography, and direction: a great sequence.
So yes, 49TH PARALLEL is a propaganda film, but the work and thought applied to it have made it much more lasting than propaganda, much more fun.
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