The Last Chance - Swiss Film - 1945
I first watched this film on BBC Television when I was about 11 years old in 1962.
I remember thinking about how realistic it was, leaving nothing out of place as a good film production. On IMDB, I notice that no "goofs", anachronisms, or continuity flaws are listed. That is because there weren't any.
What inspired me about the films authenticity, was how the escaped prisoners of war overcame the language difficulty - one of the men had a working knowledge of the Italian language that he would have picked up as a prisoner of war.
Language problems are always something that more commercial War films often seem to short cut - as if the film audience is supposed to believe that everyone in Europe speaks English.
I searched for years to see if I could find any reference to this film and eventually found it in a copy of Leslie Halliwell's Film Goers Companion. The advent of the Internet allowed me to watch the film again on YouTube.
What is also quite unusual about the film is that the leading roles are played by actors who, themselves, had served in the Second World War, had been captured, and had escaped to Switzerland - very brave men.
It is also interesting that the supporting cast consisted of many well-known European actors and actresses. Performers such as Luisa Rossi and Therese Giehse were very famous at the time. The latter was once described as the greatest actress in Europe.
It is surprising that I have never seen the film shown again on the television since 1962.
The film has many poignant moments, which adds to the whole defined aura of the film.
The Last Chance neither glamorises, nor comes over as an anti-war film, but serves as a reverent tribute to the brave men and women who served in such a conflict where so many people suffered and died.
I give it 10 out of 10.
I first watched this film on BBC Television when I was about 11 years old in 1962.
I remember thinking about how realistic it was, leaving nothing out of place as a good film production. On IMDB, I notice that no "goofs", anachronisms, or continuity flaws are listed. That is because there weren't any.
What inspired me about the films authenticity, was how the escaped prisoners of war overcame the language difficulty - one of the men had a working knowledge of the Italian language that he would have picked up as a prisoner of war.
Language problems are always something that more commercial War films often seem to short cut - as if the film audience is supposed to believe that everyone in Europe speaks English.
I searched for years to see if I could find any reference to this film and eventually found it in a copy of Leslie Halliwell's Film Goers Companion. The advent of the Internet allowed me to watch the film again on YouTube.
What is also quite unusual about the film is that the leading roles are played by actors who, themselves, had served in the Second World War, had been captured, and had escaped to Switzerland - very brave men.
It is also interesting that the supporting cast consisted of many well-known European actors and actresses. Performers such as Luisa Rossi and Therese Giehse were very famous at the time. The latter was once described as the greatest actress in Europe.
It is surprising that I have never seen the film shown again on the television since 1962.
The film has many poignant moments, which adds to the whole defined aura of the film.
The Last Chance neither glamorises, nor comes over as an anti-war film, but serves as a reverent tribute to the brave men and women who served in such a conflict where so many people suffered and died.
I give it 10 out of 10.