Review of 49th Parallel (1941) by Trent M — 04 Jan 2004

[font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=#000000]Strange, entertaining propaganda from Powell & Pressburger. A Nazi U-Boat becomes stranded in Northern Canada; as some of the soldiers go on land to capture the trading post, the U-Boat is blown up and the Nazis take the post (and French-Canadian trapper Laurence Olivier) by force.

From then on they begin a long cross-country odyssey throughout Canada, meeting a lot of famous actors who cameo throughout. Now, let me just repeat if you missed; Laurence Olivier plays a FRENCH-CANADIAN TRAPPER NAMED, OF ALL THINGS, JOHNNY.

Not only that, but he actually does a pretty decent job of it too. Once you get past all the initial 1940 Canadian clichés (the Inuit dude who lives at the post is played, none too convincingly might I add, by an Asian who was apparently told to randomly scream gibberish to pass off as dialogue), there?s actually a good film under here.

It?s propaganda, yes, but it doesn?t really lower itself to chest-thumping patriotism and gross caricatures in the characters (maybe a little with the trapper? but it?s all good). It?s actually quite well-made for its time, using a lot of exteriors and special effects; even the rear-projection looks good.

A curio, probably, but it holds up better than most curios.[/color][/size][/font].