|
''49th Parallel'' is a 1941 British war drama film; it was the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as ''The Invaders''.〔Davenport 2004, p.138.〕 Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the US-Canadian border.〔 The only border scene is at Niagara Falls, which is located farther south. The British Ministry of Information approached Michael Powell to make a propaganda film for them, suggesting he make "a film about mine-sweeping." Instead, Powell decided to make a different film to help sway opinions in the still-neutral United States. Said Powell, "I hoped it might scare the pants off the Americans (thus bring them into the war )."〔Price 1986, p. 347.〕 Screenwriter Emeric Pressburger remarked, "Goebbels considered himself an expert on propaganda, but I thought I'd show him a thing or two." After persuading the British and Canadian governments, Powell started location filming in 1940. The original choice to play the German officer, Lieutenant Hirth, was ''Archers'' ==Plot== Early in the Second World War, ''U-37'', a German U-boat, makes its way to Canadian waters and participates in the Battle of the St. Lawrence. It succeeds in evading an RCAF patrol and moves north. While a raiding party of six Nazi sailors is put ashore in an attempt to obtain supplies, the U-boat is sunk in Hudson Bay. The six attempt to evade capture by traveling across Canada to the neutral United States. Led by Lieutenants Hirth (Eric Portman) and Kuhnecke (Raymond Lovell), the small band of sailors encounter and sometimes brutalize a wide range of people, including the Eskimo Nick (Ley On), and a French-Canadian trapper (Laurence Olivier). Happening across a floatplane crew and local Eskimo onlookers, the group steals the aircraft and begins flying across Canada. Outside Winnipeg they attempt to stir up the Hutterite community, believing them to be sympathetic to the German cause. Lieutenant Hirth's stirring speech is rejected by Peter (Anton Walbrook), the community's leader, and even by one of their own, Vogel (Niall MacGinnis), who comes to the aid of Anna (Glynis Johns), a 16-year-old girl. Vogel, who would rather join the community and ply his trade of baker, is tried by Lieutenant Hirth and summarily executed for the greater crime of trying to break away from the Nazi group. Hijacking an innocent motorist for his automobile, Hirth, Lohrmann and Kranz flee west. With all of Canada searching for them, and having killed eleven civilians along the way, Lohrmann is arrested by Canadian Mounties at a public gathering. Next, Kranz confronts writer Phillip Armstrong-Scott (Leslie Howard) in a cave and despite wounding him is knocked cold. The story comes to a head with a confrontation on a freight train between Hirth, the sole remaining fugitive and absent-without-leave Canadian soldier Andy Brock (Raymond Massey). When Hirth learns that the train has crossed into the United States at Niagara Falls, he surrenders his gun to a customs official and demands to be taken to the German embassy in the US, that was still neutral. Brock explains that Hirth is wanted in Canada for murder but while the US border guards are sympathetic to his plea, they cannot find any official reason to send him back to Canada. Brock then points out that Hirth is locked in the freight hold but is not listed on the freight manifest. The US guards are happy to accept this pretext and send the freight car, along with Hirth and Brock, back to Canada as "improperly manifested cargo". The film ends with the train reversing to Canada and Brock about to pummel Hirth in the boxcar. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「49th Parallel (film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|