376 49th Parallel

[Matango]

Does anyone else suspect something more than meets the eye with Anton Walbrook's character and the soon-to-be-16-year-old girl living with him and his mother? She seems very much under his spell, and he looks at her with quite a proprietorial eye.

I like Leslie Howard's character. I'd say he's based on Peter Fleming, another wandering writer of that period, with a similar personality. Very popular at the time, and arguably the first modern travel writer.

[Tommaso]

Tomasso, Im glad you find Parallel still has that ambling free form. But I still find it, and One of our Aircraft regrettably dogged by the propaganda requirements of the period which really "softens" both pictures to marshmallow.

I see your point, David, but it surprises me how well these films function despite of the propaganda, and how Powell's direction constantly highlights the more general, 'deeper' human topics that are not bound to the specific situation of the time (for example the manipulation of human beings by Nazi propaganda in "49th", the contrast of the imposed 'law&order' of the Nazis with the 'natural order' as expressed by the half-mythical Canadian landscape in the same film, the 'independent' local communities in both films). The images tell more than the dialogue in both films, I think.

Powell probably aimed at a similar stance in "River Plate" with the respect and friendship the two opposing commanders show for each other, but that film again is a failure as far as Pressburger's part is concerned (though perhaps not as much as "Ill met by moonlight"), although it still has some stunning scenes ( the thousands of extras on that wharf, for example).

Alandau, there is no 'connection' between the Nazis and the Indians in the film: they are opposites, quite clearly in the film, and with good reason.

I have similar problems with Canterbury Tale frankly which I find almost unbearably literally written, and played . Anyway any comparison between the two is ludicrous when put against the sublime Blimp. In which both director and screenwriter individually coalesce into their most heartfelt whole.

Curiously, I find "Blimp" much more overtly 'propagandist' (though not necessarily for the war effort) in its highlighting of what I feel is Powell's regret for the slow downfall of the older and very British values that Blimp stands for. A truly great film, of course, but for me less 'universal' than "Canterbury Tale".

What Im saying is Powell - both with and without Emeric - made some of the greatest pictures in the English language. But Im not so dogged an auteurist as to claim greater significance for all of them, just as I dont for Hawks or Renoir.

Of course not, and apart from their two late films, I also find "Matter of life and death" and "Black Narcissus" slightly overrated, despite their visual splendours. Much in agreement of course with your thoughts about "Red Shoes", and on "Small Back Room". This is a highly unusual film in its anti-heroic stance and the depiction of a much stronger female character than the male protagonist, WITHOUT resorting to the usual femme fatale clichés. Not to speak of that dream sequence. An overlooked masterpiece, really.

[ltfontaine]

Tomasso, Im glad you find Parallel still has that ambling free form. But I still find it, and One of our Aircraft regrettably dogged by the propaganda requirements of the period which really "softens" both pictures to marshmallow.

Sure, these very British wartime films are intentionally and explicitly “propagandistic,â€

[lazier than a toad]

Also 49th Parallel hardly seems jingoistic compared to almost any other items of propoganda. Or many other war films for that matter.

And as far as propoganda goes a "war is hurts alot of people, not just us, and the enemy are not all monsters" message is far from the worst that can be delivered. Or perhaps that should be hardly seems jingoistic in the sense that it conveys any extreme, blind or chauvinist nationalism. As trying to urge a nation and its soldiers into a war could clearly be interpreted as a little jingoisitc.

[Belmondo]

At the risk of both oversymplifying and insulting everyones' intelligence at the same time, perhaps we can conclude that "49th" is telling us what we must fight against, "Blimp" is telling us what we are losing, and "Canterbury" is telling us what must be saved. Lord knows, the single image of Shiela Sim on that wind blown hillside in "Canturbury" and everything that exists in the village below her is worth saving and the (arguably) overscripted story does nothing to diminish it. I agree that "49th" is probably the most overtly propagandistic of these three, but it is suffiently complex in its character development to transcend "mere" propaganda, and delivers the necessary message at a time before the Nazis were shown to be complete monsters. World war II gave us hundreds of propaganda films and most of them will never be Criterion discs for good reason. In American theaters during the war years, audiences were subjected to an endless series of features on the subject of "Why we Fight". Today, we find these unsubtle, embarassing, and unwatchable - words that will never apply to Powell and Pressburger.

[kinjitsu]

DVD Savant

[Tommaso]

Interesting review, and it makes my mouth water even more to lay my hands on that CC set.

One more point: I find it interesting that the reviewer describes this as a sort of 'wartime thriller' in the aftermath of "Spy in Black" and "Contraband". While this is certainly true to an extent, I never saw it as the main focus of the film. I was perhaps always more interested in the way "49th parallel" contrasts several 'lifestyles' and their effect on how you relate to the war problem. Thus I wouldn't see it as a shortcoming that the film operates with what the reviewer calls "stereotypes", i.e. "'the jolly frenchies and the fluffy inuits". These are arche- rather than stereotypes in my view (just like the aesthete with the Matisse paintings in the wilderness), persons who in their way of looking at the world can/could be found in Britain to the same degree. And just as in a 'bildungsroman' (or a road movie) the hero (or in this case: the viewer) is asked to 'try out' several possible ways of relating to the world, we are presented with several ways of looking at the war and at life, and we ultimately learn all their shortcomings. I would say, however, that that Hutterite society which appears relatively early in the film has all the sympathy of the filmmakers here, and their way of living in unity with nature and 'God' clearly prefigures the themes of "Canterbury Tale" and "IKWIG". But as the reviewer says, it's utopian, but perhaps a utopia located in the past rather than in the future, as these later films show.

To vary Belmondo's post above: we learn what we must fight against in order not to lose what must be saved.

[ellipsis7]

Most P&P filmographies - Ian Christie's 'Arrows of Desire', BFI's recent 'The Cinema of Michael Powell', IMDB - unusually have this running at 24 minutes... It runs 45 minutes on the CC disc, presumably the correct R/T, which is recorded right (46 mins) in 'Michael Powell - Interviews with filmmakers' and the first of Powell's own 2 autobiographies (the second published posthumously goes for 24 mins)...

[Blublub]

I also had a very hard time getting past the propaganda element. If it wasn't P&P I don't think I would have bothered.

Olivier is hilariously awful as the trapper. Still, it's worth it just for the scenery and Anton Walbrook - he's brilliant, and that little monologue about the Nazis not being "brothers" is riveting.

[Gregory]

there is no 'connection' between the Nazis and the Indians in the film: they are opposites, quite clearly in the film, and with good reason.

To me, when Phillip Armstrong Scott read a page from his manuscript on the Blackfoot he was plainlsaying that the supposed similarities between their tribal customs and Nazi world-view suggested that the Nazis' behavior was like that of savages. How did you interpret the scene?

I also had a very hard time getting past the propaganda element. If it wasn't P&P I don't think I would have bothered. ... Still, it's worth it just for the scenery and Anton Walbrook - he's brilliant, and that little monologue about the Nazis not being "brothers" is riveting.

Odd that you liked that monologue, which seemed to me one of the high points of the film's propaganda moments. I did think that it was well done, though.
On the whole, I didn't feel the propaganda hurt the film here, simply because P&P were able to develop it into something deeper than virtually all other war propaganda. I agree with Lazier Than a Toad that as propaganda goes, a film that shows that "war is hurts a lot of people, not just us, and the enemy are not all monsters" is far from the worst -- I might even say it's the best one could expect in that historical context. For me, it was engaging on every level far more than, say Battle of the River Plate or They're a Weird Mob, which I recently watched.

[Tommaso]

To me, when Phillip Armstrong Scott read a page from his manuscript on the Blackfoot he was plainly saying that the supposed similarities between their tribal customs and Nazi world-view suggested that the Nazis' behavior was like that of savages. How did you interpret the scene?

Shit, I can't re-watch it at the moment, as I already sold my Institut lumiere disc but am still waiting for the Criterion to arrive. But if I remember correctly, I didn't see it as an analogy that we as the viewers were supposed to pick up at face value. On reflection, this seeming similarity only makes us aware of the differences between the Indians and the Nazis. I remember that scene where the Germans come to a sort of grand style meeting of Indians somewhere in a city, and there the Indians are shown in a very 'respectable' manner. But really, I have to watch it again to say something more substantial.

[ellipsis7]

Armstrong-Scott surely represents Western tolerance and celebration of diversity, towards art, culture (Picasso, Matisse, Mann) and nature, and in relation to his work and treatise on the Indians/Native Americans, he is demonstrating tolerance, interest and respect for other peoples, civilisations and customs, the principle of difference and coexistence, as opposed to ethnic cleansing and primacy of a master race as practised by the Nazis, who only recognised one form of human governance, the Third Reich totalitarian dictatorship of the Fuhrer...

[Gregory]

Armstrong-Scott surely represents Western tolerance and celebration of diversity, towards art, culture (Picasso, Matisse, Mann) and nature, and in relation to his work and treatise on the Indians/Native Americans, he is demonstrating tolerance, interest and respect for other peoples, civilisations and customs, the principle of difference and coexistence, as opposed to ethnic cleansing and primacy of a master race as practised by the Nazis, who only recognised one form of human governance, the Third Reich totalitarian dictatorship of the Fuhrer...

Yes, I agree that that's the general contrast. Armstrong-Scott represents the ideal of the civilized human, who will only resort to violence when strongly provoked, and the two surviving Nazis represent the aggressive savages. I believe they were meant to be seen as atavistic forms of "primitive" ways of life, of which the Indians on display in the crowded festival scene are relics. (And I'm advisedly using the terms "civilized" and "savage," which have historically connoted all kinds of things.)

[Lemmy Caution]

World war II gave us hundreds of propaganda films and most of them will never be Criterion discs for good reason. In American theaters during the war years, audiences were subjected to an endless series of features on the subject of "Why we Fight". Today, we find these unsubtle, embarassing, and unwatchable - words that will never apply to Powell and Pressburger.

I strongly disagree. The Why We Fight series was primarily directed by Frank Capra, and they remain very interesting both as historical documents and as propaganda films. They skillfully blend actual footage (Allied and captured), staged scenes, and even animated maps and charts. The Battle of China (WWF #6, I believe) was particularly impressive, graphic and compelling. They are all very watchable and well-made.

The 2-disc Dvd set I picked up remarkably has nearly 4 hours per disc. After the eight Why We Fight films, there are 2 air force propaganda films, which are blunt, crude and unsubtle -- especially when compared to Capra's Why We Fight films.

Lastly, it's interesting to see how Capra and crew deal with two thorny problems. They condemn the fascist propaganda as evil lies, but then what exactly are the Why We Fight films, if not the same thing only from our side. The solution? These are "informational films" (from the Army), which try to appear objective. Secondly, the films try to persuade Americans that WWII is a battle of democracies vs. dictatorships. But then what about our ally the Soviet Union and good ol' Uncle Joe? Well, you'll just have to watch Why We Fight #5, The Battle of Russia (1943) to find out. Happy viewings.

[HistoryProf]

Tomasso, Im glad you find Parallel still has that ambling free form. But I still find it, and One of our Aircraft regrettably dogged by the propaganda requirements of the period which really "softens" both pictures to marshmallow.

Sure, these very British wartime films are intentionally and explicitly “propagandistic,â€

[ellipsis7]

P&P's wartime movies have to be taken in the context that they did not always meet the approval of the British authorities, so can't really be classed as straightforward 'propaganda'.... THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP was detested by Churchill, who did everything in his power, and that of those around him, to stop the film seeing the light of day (including refusing to give Laurence Olivier - who had appeared in 49TH PARALLEL - leave from active service to appear in the lead role, ultimately to be played by Roger Livesey) ... P&P persevered with fullsome backing of committed Christian, flour manufacturer and movie magnate J. Arthur Rank, and BLIMP was a major success with contemporary audiences, as well as a true classic ('the British "Citizen Kane"' - Sarris, 'the finest English feature' - Jarman)....

P&P were never at any stage part of the establishment per se., always being treated with a degree of suspicion, culminating ultimately in the savaging of Powell's PEEPING TOM.in 1960... During the war Pressburger was classified as something of an 'alien'...

Fascinating archival material on the political brouhaha surrrounding BLIMP is reproduced in the published edition of the script (ed. Christie, Faber, 1994) and POWELL, PRESSBURGER AND OTHERS (also ed. Christie, BFI, 1978)... Some of these are excerpted on the CC disc...

In an appendix to POWELL, PRESSBURGER AND OTHERS, Christie reproduces a declassified document from the UK Ministry of Information dated early 1940, entitled 'Programme for Film Propaganda'...Themes to be "1. What Britain fights for 2. How Britain Fights 3. The need for sacrifices if the fight is to be won."... It suggests these ideas can variously be put across by Feature films, Documentaries, Cartoons & Newsreels... "The main objects of feature films can be: - 1. British Life and Character"... ('Goodbye Mr Chips' and the Lady Vanishes' being cited examples)..."2. British Ideas and Institutions.... 3. German ideals and institutions in recent history".... It explains in a section on Feature Films what is meant, with reference to P&P's CONTRABAND...

"Feature Films of the present war are already being made by private companies... A film on CONTRABAND is well under way; another on CONVOYS has been begun, a third on MINESWEEPERS is in preparation. In all these the documentary element is made part of a dramatic story.... An important feature film could deal with the good relations of French and English troops in France..."

Later the document recognises the drawbacks of straight propaganda...

"The film being a popular medium must be good entertainment if it is to be good propaganda. A film which induces boredom antagonises the audience to the cause it advocates. For this reason, an amusing American film with a few hits at the Nazi regime is probably better than any number of documentaries showing the making of bullets etc."

And next reveals the programme's covert intent...

"This leads to the further consideration that film propaganda will be most effective when it is least recognisable as such. Only in a few rare prestige films, reassurance films and documentaries, should the Government's participation be announced.The influence brought to bear by the Ministry on Producers of feature films , and encouragement given to foreign distributors must be kept secret. This is particularly true of any films which it is hoped to distribute in America and other neutral countries, which should in some instances actually be made in America and distributed as American films."

The whole thrust of the document, especially the last section, clearly anticipates a film like 49TH PARALLEL, made in North America (Canada), and aimed at US audiences...

On a personal note I started my career at Granada Television in Manchester, an ultraliberal broadcaster founded and then headed by Sidney Bernstein, previously owner of a famous chain of picture palaces (cinemas), lifelong socialist, sometime Producer of Alfred Hitchcock films, and Film Adviser to the Ministry of Information from 1940 to 1945... So this document was not prepared by out and out right wing spooks!....

[tryavna]

here we have an American G.I. literally stealing the pants off a Nazi on the eve of America's entry into the war

I share your love for this film and am glad you've discovered its charms for yourself.

However, before one of our Canadian friends jumps on you, it should be pointed out that Massey plays a Canadian soldier, not an American G.I. -- hence his despair at going a.w.o.l. before he discovers that his fellow passenger is indeed the remaining German.

[HistoryProf]

here we have an American G.I. literally stealing the pants off a Nazi on the eve of America's entry into the war

it should be pointed out that Massey plays a Canadian soldier, not an American G.I. -- hence his despair at going a.w.o.l. before he discovers that his fellow passenger is indeed the remaining German.

I actually rewatched the last half hour today because I was second guessing that... and came in to add a correction

[doghouse reilly]

I, for one, am disappointed that "Nazi road movie" didn't flower into a proper genre.

[Florinaldo]

Olivier is hilariously awful as the trapper. Still, it's worth it just for the scenery and Anton Walbrook - he's brilliant, and that little monologue about the Nazis not being "brothers" is riveting.

I've never understood the praise for Olivier's allegedly mimicking a realistic French-Canadian accent. He sounds more like a crazy Parisian let loose in the Canadian wilds (think Louis de Funès gone native). Walbrook's sequence is indeed the moral and dramatic center of the film, and his strategic underacting makes it all the more effective.

I feel the film turns into a systematic travelogue, trying to set scenes in quaint and picturesque settings that scream "Canada" for the viewr to recognize. I am not sure the films fails because it is propaganda, but more because of the lazy and formulaic way in which it was designed. Propaganda and art is a difficult proposition and few films of the period managed to achieve it in a way that lasted beyond their immediate consumption date.

P&P succeeded in two of their damatic films, Blimp and OOOAIM, but so many efforts by others are unwatchable these days; at least that's the reaction I had only recently to a broadcast of Went the Day Well?, despite the favorable reputation it still enjoys.

[HistoryProf]

Shame, I haven't seen "Spy in Black", but comparing "49th parallel" to "Ill met at moonlight" seems absurd to me. The latter is incredibly dragging, with really dull dialogue from Pressburger far below his usual standards, whereas "49th parallel" has all of their usual sparkle and is a very differentiated film in its non-clichéd depiction of the Nazis. Like "Canterbury Tale", the film is a sort of road-movie with the object of self-realisation for many of the characters; only the main character fails in this, of course (but is given a stunning showdown nevertheless). I would agree about Powell the naturalist having free rein here: the landscape photography is incredible, also the scenes with the Canadian Indians. All of this totally unlike anything else shot at around the same time. The actors are all very, very good and fit their roles perfectly (also unlike "Ill met by moonlight"), and the whole thing is perfectly accompanied by the music of Vaughan Williams. And so on and so on...

Sorry for feeling unable to give a deeper or more intellectual analysis of why I think this film is great, but I find everything in it so incredibly perfect that all my critical faculties seem to melt into nowhere everytime I think about it. As I said in an earlier post, I ultimately think that some of their later works are even better, but still "49th" is a gem of filmmaking.

I just have to quote this to say I feel entirely the same way. I just rewatched this for the third time in the last year and I can't quite explain it, but I simply love this movie...I love everything about it, even Sir Laurence's horrible accent - heck, his performance is one of the many charms for it's ridiculousness!! Perhaps it's the historian in me, but the overtly propagandistic elements actually make the film all the more entertaining and fascinating as a historical relic as well as a great film. The speeches in the commune are just mesmerizing....I don't know what it is really, but it's just captivating from start to finish. I can't help but think of the film's context as I watch it, which only adds to the depth of my viewing enjoyment.

It also makes me REALLY need to see Contraband and Edge of the World....are the R1 discs available on Amazon worth it? I believe Contraband is a Kino title...but the Edge of the World disc art seems to scream bootleg/crap quality (though it is apparently an Image release...the cover i've seen on line is horrid). Any advice on the best way to view those with what's available? Any chance they too might join the collection?

[ellipsis7]

CONTRABAND & THE SPY IN BLACK are excellent - I don't know abiut the disc quality, as I recorded both off aiir from Film Four... The opening of SPY is especially ingenious, while the climactic shootout of CONTRABAND in a warehouse full of Neville Chamberlain busts is also brilliant... Obviously 49TH PARALLEL carries more political and philosophical ideas (beautifully handled) than the earlier films...

ILL MET BY MOONLIGHT, is unusually based on a true story, and at the tail end of P&P's main collaboration, and is distinguished by being filmed almost entirely at night by Powell (not dissimilar to CONTRABAND set in a London just getting used to wartime blackout)...

[Tommaso]

I don't care much for "Moonlight", but would also very much recommend "The Spy in Black" and "Contraband", and most of all "Edge of the World". Truly a masterpiece with a lot of intensity and fascinating views of the rough landscape of the island, though it's not entirely free of melodrama. But if you like Flaherty's "Man of Aran", you will certainly love this. According to the Beaver, the BFI disc is much superior to the R1 Image/Milestone release, which however has the distinction to have the only release of Powell's short "An Airman's Letter to his Mother" as an extra. And normally I think that Milestone tries to deliver high quality discs, so I don't suppose it's too bad (though the BFI really looks fantastic for a film of that vintage, and the early silent documentary on St. Kilda is fascinating).

Kino's "Contraband" disc isn't too great (video-sourced, unrestored print with somewhat faded contrast IIRC), but certainly watchable. A great, noirish spy thriller, and there are some rather sexy scenes with Valerie Hobson, too. Not to be missed.

[ellipsis7]

Thanks, Tommaso, for that 'Airman's Letter...' info...

Yes, EDGE is great, and the BFI disc highly recommended - there's also an interesting OOP book (reprinted by Faber & Faber in 1990) written by Powell in 1938, 'Edge of the World: The Making of a Film'...

Have a soft spot for ILL MET..., insofar as a close relative had some involvement in the actual operation...

[Tommaso]

Ellipsis7, I didn't know about "Airman's Letter" being on the Image disc before I looked at the Beaver comparison, too. Ah well, I always hoped it would show up on some CC edition as an extra, now I know why I didn't...

That book by Powell you mention was originally called "200.000 Feet on Foula" (the title referring to the feet of film he originally shot), and if you've got 2.750$ and don't know how to spend them, well, here you go. Good that Faber have reprinted it, although I like the original title far better...