No one made a greater variety of unusual and important movies about World War II than Powell and Pressburger, and this combination of propaganda and suspense is one of the most affecting. Early in the war, a German submarine is sunk off the coast of Canada, and the fanatical Nazi commander (Portman) tries to lead his crew across the border to neutral America.
he German group are whittled down, encountering a series of characters who represent the allies: Howard perfectly encapsulates the diffident but indomitable Englishman, Olivier is a moustachioed French trapper and Raymond Massey delivers a coup de grace as an American G.I. who's obviously keen on getting into the fight early.