The One That Got Away (1957)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Kendal Burt (book)
Howard Clewes (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 December 1957 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

This is the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war taken in Britain...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | German | Prisoner Of War | WWII | Based On Book

Cast

Hardy Krüger	...	Franz von Werra
Michael Goodliffe	...	RAF Interrogator
Colin Gordon	...	Army Interrogator
Alec McCowen	...	Duty Officer, Hucknall
Terence Alexander	...	RAF Intelligence Officer
Jack Gwillim	...	Commandant, Grizedale
Andrew Faulds	...	Lieutenant, Grizedale
Julian Somers	...	Booking Clerk
Harry Lockart	...	German Prisoner
Robert Crewdson	...	German Prisoner
George Mikell	...	German Prisoner
George Roubicek	...	German Prisoner
John Van Eyssen	...	German Prisoner
Frederick Jaeger	...	German Prisoner
Richard Marner	...	German Prisoner

Runtime:

106 min | UK:111 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:K-12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Lake District, Cumbria, England, UK

Company:

Julian Wintle Productions

Trivia:

Hardy Krüger was only cast after a couple of British A list actors had passed.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Von Werra ducks beside the ice-covered road to avoid a car, the car is an early '50's Chrysler product, even though the story is set in the winter of 1940-41.

Quotes:

Franz von Werra: Hello, RAF intelligence? Hello, RAF. I'm looking for the microphone hidden near the window of my room. This is Oberluetnant Von Werra calling the RAF, are you recieving me? Werra calling and testing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Question of Faith (2006) (V)

THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY (Roy Ward Baker, 1957) ***

This is one of several classic British war films made during the 1950s, but which I never had the opportunity to watch before: in retrospect, it has survived better than some of the others because the central character is not English and, therefore, such stiff-upper-lip sentiments are kept largely at bay throughout; the fact that he's actually a German who's portrayed as a resourceful - even charming - scoundrel rather than the stereotypical Nazi villain, makes the film all the more interesting when viewed today!

It details the exciting true-life escape story of ace pilot Franz von Werra (an ideally cast Hardy Kruger in his first international role) from several British prison camps in 1940; ironically, he was lost at sea not long after having reached Germany and resumed his war duty! The plot is basically split into three sections: the first establishes von Werra's defiance of authority and his resolve to break free from confinement - culminating with his initial escape attempt; transferred to a new camp, we immediately see him at work on building a tunnel - this time, he's part of a mass breakout and, by impersonating a Dutch flyer, almost manages to take off with a plane belonging to the R.A.F.!; finally, he leaps off a train transporting him to a Canadian prison and, bravely enduring the freezing weather, makes it across the border by boat into the still neutral U.S.A.

Absorbing and suspenseful, this is an excellent example of its type and period, with all the care that professional handling could bestow; above all, the quality of Eric Cross's black-and-white cinematography is most evident during the scenes of hardship in von Werra's various getaways. While this is Hardy Kruger's show all the way, the supporting cast highlights numerous minor staples of British cinema from this era, namely Michael Goodliffe, Alec McCowen, Terence Alexander and John Van Eyssen.

Ultimately, the best compliment I can pay to the film is perhaps that it makes for a worthy companion piece to Robert Bresson's inspirational A MAN ESCAPED (1956; one of the greatest of all films) and Andrew L. Stone's very funny THE PASSWORD IS COURAGE (1962) - both also dealing with the story of true-life P.O.W. escapees - although THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY is, in hindsight, neither as introspectively solemn as the former nor as gently humorous as the latter. In any case, I've watched and thoroughly enjoyed a good many contemporaneous British war films (THE CRUEL SEA [1953], THE COLDITZ STORY [1954], THE DAM BUSTERS [1954] and ICE COLD IN ALEX [1958], to name but a few); there are, however, quite a few more I need to catch up with - THE WOODEN HORSE (1950), ALBERT R.N. (1953), DUNKIRK (1958), I WAS MONTY'S DOUBLE (1958), DANGER WITHIN (1959), etc.