The locales depict Canadian life from an Eskimo village to a Hutterite settlement in the Canadian wheatfields. Story is the strongest possible indictment against Nazism. Plot concerns six Nazi U-boat men whose craft is blown up in the Hudson Bay straits. They reach land and commit every sort of crime up to murder in their efforts to reach the neutral territory of the US. The script of Emeric Pressburger (from a scenario by him and Rodney Ackland) is direct and forceful.

The stars are Leslie Howard, with his comedy gifts at high tide; Laurence Olivier (near the start and briefly, thank goodness, for he is hammy and almost ruins the picture), Raymond Massey (also a bit part, but outstanding as he was in almost everything he appeared in); Eric Portman (sinister as sinister can be, the best thing in it, and whose performance holds the whole film together like glue); and Anton Walbrook, as a dignified Hitlerite leader. What an actor and one that time has nearly and sadly forgot.

Despite the heartbreaking difficulties encountered such as the defection of Elizabeth Bergner after the picture was well on its way, Michael Powell, the director, has managed to maintain his stature among the top directors.

4 STARS OUT OF 5

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