07 Feb 49th Parallel
49th Parallel, WWII Movie starring Leslie Howard and Laurence Olivier
(1941) When, early in the war, a U-boat off the coast of Canada is sunk by the RCAF a small group of Nazi survivors travel toward neutral U.S. They terrorize the citizens they meet in a wide variety of towns and settlements along the way.
The goal of this British movie was propaganda … to scare the American people into joining in the fight against Germany. I would have been scared! Two very popular actors, Laurence Olivier and Leslie Howard, worked for half their salary because they believed in the cause.
The movie was released in the UK in October of 1941. By the time many Americans were able to see it, we were already at war. The screenwriter won an Academy Award for best story.
49th Parallel (The Criterion Collection) at amazon.com
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