The Wooden Horse (1950)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Jack Lee

Writer:

Eric Williams (novel)

Release Date:

14 September 1950 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

True story of three British POWs and their attempt to escape from Nazi Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Prisoner Of War | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Leo Genn	...	Peter
David Tomlinson	...	Phil
Anthony Steel	...	John
David Greene	...	Bennett
Peter Burton	...	Nigel
Patrick Waddington	...	Senior British Officer
Michael Goodliffe	...	Robbie
Anthony Dawson	...	Pomfret
Bryan Forbes	...	Paul
Dan Cunningham	...	David
Peter Finch	...	Australian in Hospital
Philip Dale	...	Bill White
Russell Waters	...	'Wings' Cameron
Ralph Ward	...	Adjutant
Franz Schafheitlin	...	Camp Commandant

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Danish | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Denmark

Company:

Wessex Film Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Filming was hampered by bad weather, indecision over the ending and other delays. This contributed to the film going significantly over budget. By the time the ending was to be shot, director Jack Lee had left the project so producer Ian Dalrymple completed it.

Quotes:

[Doctor, visiting prisoners in hospital, hears they are listening to music by Beethoven]
Doctor: Ah, Beethoven. He is a good German.
Prisoner: [calls out from the background] Yes. He's dead.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

It could have been tenser or more fun but as it is it works well and stands as a solid tale

1943. Stalag III is a German POW camp specifically for Allied officers all of whom are keen to escape from the camp and cause as many problems as possible for their German captors. This is the story of one escape attempt from the camp (albeit not the most famous one) that saw a group of British officers deciding to take up vaulting to improve their fitness levels. However, unbeknownst to the guards, the wooden vaulting horse is designed to hold one man, who starts to dig once it is in position on the playing field.

Although the relative fame/success of the two movies have meant that The Great Escape is the WWII escape movie of choice, however this film is also of value as it depicts an escape attempt from the same camp at the same time. Those expecting the same "adventure" and fun tone will perhaps be disappointed to find this is much more of a British affair and is slow, patient, detailed and rather more of a sombre telling of the story. In doing so the film is a bit more respectful to the memory and bravery of those involved although the downside is that it is a bit slow. At times it tempers this by being quite tense but it doesn't achieve this often enough to be considered strong enough. That said it is still engaging stuff as it details an interesting story in a solid and unspectacular fashion.

The cast work well with this approach and turn in respectful performances that capture the "stiff upper lip" spirit of the officers without totally dehumanising them. Although they do very much rely on the caricatures of the genre, the cast do well and include solid turns from Genn, Tomlinson, Steel, Greene and others. Lee's direction is solid but he is perhaps a bit too respectful to the subject matter and should have either gone harder for tension or perhaps allowed a touch of levity to enter proceedings.

Overall this is an engaging if unspectacular telling of a different tale from Stalag III. It could have been tenser or more fun but as it is it works well and stands as a solid tale.