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49th Parallel (1941)

TV_14  123 min  -  Drama | War | Thriller   -  15 April 1942 (USA)
7.4
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Ratings: 7.4/10 from 2,665 users  
Reviews: 55 user | 30 critic

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.

Director:

Michael Powell

Writers:

Emeric Pressburger (original story and screenplay), Rodney Ackland (scenario), and 1 more credit »
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Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations See more awards »
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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard George Richard George ...
Kommandant Bernsdorff
Eric Portman Eric Portman ...
Lieutenant Hirth
Raymond Lovell Raymond Lovell ...
Lieutenant Kuhnecke
Niall MacGinnis Niall MacGinnis ...
Vogel
Peter Moore Peter Moore ...
Kranz
John Chandos John Chandos ...
Lohrmann
Basil Appleby Basil Appleby ...
Jahner
Laurence Olivier ...
Johnnie - the Trapper
Finlay Currie Finlay Currie ...
The Factor
Ley On Ley On ...
Nick - the Eskimo
Anton Walbrook Anton Walbrook ...
Peter
Glynis Johns ...
Anna
Charles Victor Charles Victor ...
Andreas
Frederick Piper Frederick Piper ...
David
Leslie Howard ...
Philip Armstrong Scott
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Storyline

In the early years of World War II, a German U-boat (U-37) sinks Allied shipping in St. Lawrence Bay and then tries to evade Canadian Military Forces seeking to destroy it by sailing up to Hudson Bay. The U-boat's Fanatical Nazi captain sends some members of his crew to look for food and other supplies at a Hudson Bay Company outpost. No sooner than the shore party (lead by Lieutenant Hirth) reaches the shore, the U-boat is spotted and sunk by the Canadian Armed Forces leaving the six members of the shore party stranded in Canada. The Nazi Lieutenant then starts to plan his crews' return to the Fatherland. He needs to reach the neutral United States or be captured. Along the way they meet a variety of characters each with their own views on the war and nationalism. In this film Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger show their ideas of why the United States should join the Allied fight against the Nazis. Written by Steve Crook <steve@brainstorm.co.uk>  

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | U Boat | Canada | Seaplane | Escape  | See more »

Genres:

Drama | War | Thriller

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French | German

Release Date:

(USA) See more »

Also Known As:

49ème parallèle See more »

Box Office

Budget:

£132,000 (estimated)
See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ortus Films See more »
Show detailed company contact information on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

 | USA:  | USA: (TV version: M-G-M print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Tony Thomas in his book 'The Great Adventure Films' states that this film " . . . was begun in April of 1940 and took eighteen months to complete. More than two-thirds of it was shot in Canada and required a great deal of travel. The Canadian government assisted the [film] company by giving facilities and loaning service-men and policeman whenever necessary, but the Royal Canadian Navy declined to allow the use of a submarine in the role of the U-37 since the few they had were actively engaged in real warfare. The [film] company solved their problem by commissioning a shipyard in Halifax, Nova Scotia, to build them a replica of a German U-Boat." See more »

Goofs

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): The woman heard over the Factor's radio (the wife of the man he plays chess with via radio) speaks with a thick Brooklyn accent ("sub*moige*"), when in fact she lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. See 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.
See more »

Crazy Credits

Along with the credits for the actors at the beginning of the film, there
is a 'starring' credit for 'The music of Ralph Vaughan Williams'. See more »

Connections

Featured in War Stories (2006) See more »

Soundtracks

"Prelude: The New Commonwealth"
Composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams See more »