IMDb > 49th Parallel (1941)
49th Parallel
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49th Parallel (1941) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   1,967 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Michael Powell

Writers:

Emeric Pressburger (story)
Rodney Ackland (scenario) ...
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Contact:

View company contact information for The Invaders on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

15 April 1942 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | War | Thriller more

Plot:

A WW2 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 USA. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations more

User Comments:

The score of this film should not be left out of any appreciation... more (50 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Richard George ... Kommandant Bernsdorff
Eric Portman ... Lieutenant Hirth
Raymond Lovell ... Lieutenant Kuhnecke
Niall MacGinnis ... Vogel
Peter Moore ... Kranz
John Chandos ... Lohrmann
Basil Appleby ... Jahner

Laurence Olivier ... Johnnie - the Trapper
Finlay Currie ... The Factor
Ley On ... Nick - the Eskimo
Anton Walbrook ... Peter
Glynis Johns ... Anna
Charles Victor ... Andreas
Frederick Piper ... David
Leslie Howard ... Philip Armstrong Scott
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Additional Details

Also Known As:

Forty-Ninth Parallel (UK) (alternative spelling)
The Invaders (USA)
more

Runtime:

123 min | USA:104 min | USA:122 min (TV version: M-G-M print)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Norway:12 (re-rating) (1962) | Norway:16 (1946) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Ortus Films more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

Esmond Knight was first choice to play Lieutenant Hirth, but he had enlisted in the Royal Navy at the outbreak of war. more

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the map of North America shown after the opening credits, the eastern boundary of North Dakota is inaccurately drawn, bulging out well into Minnesota, where in fact the border between the states is an almost straight, though slightly slanted, line. more

Quotes:

[first lines]
Prologue: I see a long, straight line athwart a continent. No chain of forts, or deep flowing river, or mountain range, but a line drawn by men upon a map, nearly a century ago, accepted with a handshake, and kept ever since. A boundary which divides two nations, yet marks their friendly meeting ground. The 49th parallel: the only undefended frontier in the world.
more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Return to the Edge of the World (1978) more

Soundtrack:

Prelude: The New Commonwealth more


FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
14 out of 25 people found the following comment useful.
The score of this film should not be left out of any appreciation..., 14 July 2001
Author: gabivadnai

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.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (50 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for 49th Parallel (1941)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Mein Kampf and Olivier forfarmarkus-1
Just Saw this Movie tripRworld
Fanatical Nazi U-Boat Crew exaggerated for film southwestern71
The Two Jahners john-harry-adams
Powell's and Pressburger's kind of humour-possible spoilers! Equinox23
wow the_atheist-1
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