About

Persisting with the war theme of their first two films and made to encourage America to enter the war, Pressburger’s Academy Award-winning, episodic script furiously encapsulates anti-Nazi sentiment. After the destruction of their U-boat, a ruthless complement of German officers navigates their way across Canada, finding their unwavering ideology challenged by a variety of ethnic groups and personalities. The A-list cast features Laurence Olivier as a French-Canadian trapper, Anton Walbrook as the leader of a German Hutterite settlement, Leslie Howard as an English anthropologist, and Raymond Massey as a Canadian soldier, in a series of encounters that culminate in stirring grand speeches, confronting Eric Portman’s haughty Nazi Lieutenant Hirth. 49th Parallel offers a curious examination of solidarity from more than one perspective of the conflict: a delicate, humanistic approach in storytelling, the brutal, merciless, and unquestioning actions of the Nazis, and the vehement political stance of the filmmakers against Nazism.

49th Parallel will screen from an imported 35mm print.

PG | Adult concepts