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>
Raymond Lovell nearly drowned in the scene where the seaplane crashes in the lake as he couldn't swim and the plane sunk a lot quicker than anticipated.
See more »
Goofs
Continuity:
When Philip Armstrong Scott and his men chase the Nazi into the cave it is only just a short while past sunset (about 10pm). But when they drag him out of the cave it is already sunrise.
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
(Spoken introduction) "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 by a handshake and kept ever since.
A boundary which divides two nations yet marks their friendly
meeting grounds, the 49th parallel, the longest undefended
frontier in the world."
See more »