Die letzte Chance (1945)

Director:

Leopold Lindtberg

Writers:

Alberto Barberis (writer)
Elizabeth Montagu (writer)

Release Date:

11 April 1946 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Escaping a Nazi prison train in war-torn Italy, an American and a British soldier set out for the Swiss border and find themselves leading a multi-national party of refugees for the Italian underground. |

Awards:

Won Golden Globe. Another 2 wins

Cast

Ewart G. Morrison	...	Major Telford
John Hoy	...	Lieutenant John Halliday
Ray Reagan	...	Sergeant Jim Braddock
Luisa Rossi	...	Tonina
Giuseppe Galeati	...	Wagon Driver
Romano Calò	...	The Priest
Leopold Biberti	...	Swiss Lieutenant
Sigfrit Steiner	...	Military Doctor
Emil Gerber	...	Frontier Guard
Therese Giehse	...	Frau Wittels
Robert Schwarz	...	Bernard Wittels
Germaine Tournier	...	Mme. Monnier
Berthe Sakhnowsky	...	Chanele
Jean Martin	...	Dutchman
Carlo Romatko	...	Yugoslav Worker

Also Known As:

The Last Chance (USA)

Runtime:

USA:104 min | Switzerland:113 min

Country:

Switzerland

Language:

English | Italian | German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #04080) | Sweden:15

Company:

Praesens-Film

A decent World War II film

Set in the Second World War, The Last Chance is about two soldiers (one British and one American) who escape from a train taking them to a German prisoner of war camp and make a break for the promised land of neutral Switzerland. However, things get more complex as these soldiers run into a multi-national group of refugees and attempt to help them across the Swiss border as well, with the German army in hot pursuit.

The Last Chance is a pretty good 1940s war film with a nice depiction of the human side of the war and a very authentic feel (though not to the extent of the great 1945 war films like Story Of G.I. Joe). Winning the International Peace Award and Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the "Best Film Promoting International Understanding" at the Golden Globes, The Last Chance is definitely a film promoting peace and working together, showing the horrible life people were forced to live because of the Nazi's war and the many different nationalities working together (even singing a multi-lingual rendition of "Frère Jacques"). Unfortunately outside of John Hoy the cast aspires to adequate and the film's original print has been so badly damaged and/or deteriorated that no team of highly trained DVD technicians could perfectly restore the picture - but it doesn't look like it would help a ton either way since it looks like hardly any money was put into making the film. But despite the C-Movie look, The Last Chance is actually a decent World War II film.