49th Parallel

Released Oct 8, 1941

1h 47m

Mystery & Thriller

List

88%

Tomatometer

16 Reviews

75%

Audience Score

500+ Ratings

In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth (Eric Portman) attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral. Along the way, the German soldiers encounter brave men such as French-Canadian fur trapper Johnnie (Laurence Olivier) and soldier Andy Brock (Raymond Massey).

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

While it might not seem so on the surface to those weaned on Why We Fight and, conversely, The Eternal Jew, 49th Parallel is wholly valid as propaganda.

Feb 18, 2007

Full Review

Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

... a prime example of wartime propaganda turned into rousing entertainment with (Powell and Pressburger's) smart writing, engaging characters, and creative cinema.

May 4, 2024

Full Review

Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

Leslie Howard, Raymond Massey, Laurence Olivier and Anton Walbrook are the stars in a cast flashing with talent; and Michael Powell directs with his usual flair for the handling of action against a natural background.

Aug 9, 2022

Full Review

Reg Whitley

Daily Mirror (UK)

It puts Michael Powell bang on the map as a producer, and Fred Young's photography -- is in the highest Hollywood class.

Feb 17, 2022

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

It's war adventure effectively functions as a British propaganda vehicle in pointing out the emerging threat of Nazism, but I find his narrative of Nazi fugitives terribly contrived and manichean. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/10

Nov 5, 2020

Full Review

Roger Moore

Movie Nation

A classic that reminds us of a time when we knew Nazis aren't "very fine people."

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 28, 2020

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Alec B

Making the villains the main characters was a great idea as was the episodic narrative (which allows multiple opportunities for Fascism to be thoroughly debunked and humiliated). Many great performances but Walbrook is the real standout.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/28/24

Full Review

david l

49th Parallel is a British WWII movie that was rather culturally diverse in its cast for this time period. The movie excelled in the strong action-adventure elements and accomplished technical aspects. The problem here is twofold. One is the the foolish idea to excessively humanize the Nazis and portray them as the protagonists while the other is the subpar acting from a couple of performers, Laurence Olivier being the most egregious with his terrible accent and hammy performance.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Its worth reading wikipedia after watching the film as it gives an insight into why this film was made and might change your perspective on the film. As it is, it certainly is watchable and the propaganda message is loud and clear. It also stands out from most other ww2 films of the era where the story is about the Nazi's rather than the Allies. Worth a watch

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

s r

Powell and Pressburger impress again. This time with a wholly original production of anti-nazi propaganda to incite the US to join the war. It's plot is completely unpredictable and ends with an appropriate ending. Although the anti-nazi sentiment is over the top at times, driving you to hate them, it still has an appropriate, almost poetic balance. Saw it digitally.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Pretty awful ww2 propaganda pro democracy and anti hitler prose. The beginning "french" actor accent was so awful. The portrayal of Natives and Inuits was also pretty stereotyped, altho at the time im sure it was revolutionary because at least they played themselves and it wasn't "black-faced." It was just the type of old movie that acts like its so profound, but u dont feel anything at the moments u know they want u to because it is so forced. You can tell though some of the shots even by todays standards are beautiful and some action scenes are decent. It just hasn't aged well and there are so many better WW2 movies to date.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/15/23

Full Review

Ed M

I've seen a lot of World War II movies but this is unique. So original.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/30/21

Full Review

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Michael Powell

Director

Eric Portman

Lt. Hirth

Laurence Olivier

Johnnie

Anton Walbrook

Peter

Leslie Howard

Philip Armstrong Scott

Raymond Massey

Andy Brock

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Synopsis

In the early days of World War II, a German U-boat is sunk in Canada's Hudson Bay. Hoping to evade capture, a small band of German soldiers led by commanding officer Lieutenant Hirth (Eric Portman) attempts to cross the border into the United States, which has not yet entered the war and is officially neutral. Along the way, the German soldiers encounter brave men such as French-Canadian fur trapper Johnnie (Laurence Olivier) and soldier Andy Brock (Raymond Massey).

Director: Michael Powell
Screenwriter: Emeric Pressburger
Production Co: Ortus Films
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 8, 1941, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 11, 2017
Runtime: 1h 47m

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