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      The Captive Heart

      1946 1h 48m Drama List
      Reviews 72% 50+ Ratings Audience Score In 1940, Czech soldier Capt. Hasek (Michael Redgrave) is being pursued by the Nazi secret police. To conceal his true identity, he pretends to be a dead British soldier named Capt. Geoffrey Mitchell. But to keep the lie going, he must also write to Mitchell's wife, Celia (Rachel Kempson), as her dead husband from the POW camp where he's imprisoned. Meanwhile, Hasek's fellow prisoners are beginning to suspect that he is not who he claims to be, and so he must convince them that he's not a spy. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl The Captive Heart hits all the expected beats and is enlivened by expert direction and a reliable cast of actors... Rated: 6/10 May 19, 2020 Full Review Amber Wilkinson Eye for Film Given the immediacy, it is perhaps no wonder that the story is leavened with some melodrama and romance, yet watching it now, Basil Dearden's film still has a surprisingly naturalistic aspect. Rated: 4/5 Feb 3, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      paul d The Captive Heart is a gentle, sentimental melodrama stitched together with several romantic story lines and lots of stiff British upper lips. It was made right after WWII and most of the action takes place in a German prisoner of war camp for officers, as well as in the minds and hearts of the prisoners. Although the (unlikely) story is driven forward by repeated exceptional circumstances and heavy sentimentality, it is well worth watching for the inherent goodness of the characters and their yearning for connection and for home. It sends a rather positive and heartwarming message. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Very very nice. A smart and warm take on great stoic characters. I felt I couldn't take my eyes off the screen at times. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member (53%) A very simplistic prisoner of war drama from Ealing studios about a Czech man who changes his identity to that of a British captured soldier to avoid being killed. This looks at the life of both the prisoners and their family back home giving a decent incite into the inner workings of wartime for the vast majority of normal people. The performances are largely standard stuff, with some touches of film noir to the again pretty standard direction. While the plot is predicable with very little in terms of surprises, but the fact that this was released only a few years after the war itself, and as everyone back then who watched this had actually lived through the misery of that page in time, so the makers didn't really attempt to over-aggrandise the events that directors now might feel more inclined. Overall this is so-so matinee stuff that I'd only recommend to big war movie buffs. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A home front propaganda movies despite being made after the conclusion of the Second World War. It's message is clearly about helping soldiers adjust after returning to Britain but it's a strong enough prison camp drama as well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/06/23 Full Review Audience Member A Czech escapee form a concentration camp assumes the identity of a dead British officer, but is then recaptured by the Germans and taken to a prison camp. The British soldiers there become very suspicious and believe that the is a Nazi... This is a lovely British war story, told in a different way most POW films - the prisoners were bored, they weren't always nice to each other, the Germans weren't shown as especially evil and there weren't any Americans winning the war. The use of flashbacks to tell us more about the characters and their families was interesting. I wonder whether the letters the prisoners received and wrote were Red Cross letters? If they were then that is a bit of an error on the part of the film makers, as each letter would have been limited to just 25 words. Seems a strange error to make in 1946, but I would be surprised if there was any other form of communication between German prison camps and Britain. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/23/23 Full Review Audience Member wow umn just seen this movie 4 the 1st time n think that this is a good movie 2 watch....its got a good cast of actors/actressess throughout this movie...i think that rachel thomas, rachel kempson, michael redgrave, jack warner, james harcourt, mervyn johns, gordon jackson, gladys henson, frederick leister play good roles/parts thorughout this movie...i think that the director of this drama/action/adventure/classics movie had done a good job of directing this movie because you never know what 2 expect thorughout this movie its a good movie 2 watch n its a enjoyable movie Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

      Cast & Crew

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      The Captive Heart

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis In 1940, Czech soldier Capt. Hasek (Michael Redgrave) is being pursued by the Nazi secret police. To conceal his true identity, he pretends to be a dead British soldier named Capt. Geoffrey Mitchell. But to keep the lie going, he must also write to Mitchell's wife, Celia (Rachel Kempson), as her dead husband from the POW camp where he's imprisoned. Meanwhile, Hasek's fellow prisoners are beginning to suspect that he is not who he claims to be, and so he must convince them that he's not a spy.
      Director
      Basil Dearden
      Screenwriter
      Angus MacPhail, Guy Morgan
      Production Co
      Ealing Studios
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (DVD)
      May 27, 2008
      Runtime
      1h 48m