A Wessex Film Production, made at London Film Studios, Shepperton, England, and on locations in Germany and Denmark. Filmed with the co-operation of the British War Office and Air Ministry. Print under review is presented by J. Arthur Rank with release through Rank's General Film Distributors. However, the film was originally presented by Alexander Korda's London Films and released through British Lion. Copyright in the U.K. and Australia by Wessex Productions. Not copyrighted in the U.S.A. New York opening at the 72nd Street Trans- Lux: 28 August 1951. U.S. release through Snader Productions: 28 August 1951. U.K. release through British Lion: 16 October 1950. Australian release through Universal-International: 8 June 1951. 9,225 feet. 102 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: A meticulously accurate transcription of a thrilling and highly ingenious escape from a German POW camp, telling of the sweat and toil spent to enable three R.A.F. men to reach Britain in safety.
NOTES: Number four at the British box-office for 1950, following The Blue Lamp, The Happiest Days of Your Life, and Annie Get Your Gun. Number seven at the Australian box-office for 1951, following Samson and Delilah, Show Boat, Harvey, The Happiest Days of Your Life, A Place in the Sun, and The Great Caruso. Number four in the Daily Mail's annual poll of 1,379,849 British picture-goers, following Odette, The Blue Lamp and Morning Departure. Winner of a Picturegoer Seal of Merit.
COMMENT: Comparisons with the later Stalag 17 and The Great Escape are now inevitable. This POW camp is very clean and tidy — with sheets on the beds yet — which gives it quite a different atmosphere to the grimy Hollywood Stalag 17.
Nonetheless within its different confines, The Wooden Horse is equally realistic. As might be expected with Eric Williams himself penning the screenplay, this film emerges as a very faithful transcription of the novel. Even the opening narration by Leo Genn is lifted direct from the book. The events are true. They are here re-staged with scrupulous accuracy which extends not only to the naturalistic acting and totally unobtrusive direction, but to the meticulously realistic sets and costumes.
There is of course no female interest. This is both a plus — in that it contributes to condensing the plot and making it more immediate — and a minus — in that it lessens the movie's overall appeal. Genn, Steel, Tomlinson and the others like Anthony Dawson, Bill Travers and Peter Finch (in a small role as a hospital patient) play very smoothly, but one can't help hankering for some real star power.
Aside from the scenes in the tunnel where the cramped and confined nature of the excavation is very effectively conveyed (I suppose by shooting through glass into a tank), the direction, as said, remains uninteresting and routine. Like the acting, it's smoothly capable but lacks vigor. It says much for the slackness of Lee's directorial rein that the film's most exciting and suspenseful episodes take place outside the POW camp where extensive location shooting in Denmark and Germany widen its impact. Here also the photographer really comes into his own, his charismatic skill making seemingly light work of difficult location assignments such as the night scenes at the dock.
My only disappointment with the location sequences is that the action outside the camp does not follow Tomlinson's adventures. A bit of cross-cutting between the escapees would have brought more force to the climax.
In fact, "The Wooden Horse" is too soberly realistic in writing, direction and playing for its own good. It's not exciting enough. But that's just my opinion. The movie achieved an enormous public and critical success.
SYNOPSIS: A meticulously accurate transcription of a thrilling and highly ingenious escape from a German POW camp, telling of the sweat and toil spent to enable three R.A.F. men to reach Britain in safety.
NOTES: Number four at the British box-office for 1950, following The Blue Lamp, The Happiest Days of Your Life, and Annie Get Your Gun. Number seven at the Australian box-office for 1951, following Samson and Delilah, Show Boat, Harvey, The Happiest Days of Your Life, A Place in the Sun, and The Great Caruso. Number four in the Daily Mail's annual poll of 1,379,849 British picture-goers, following Odette, The Blue Lamp and Morning Departure. Winner of a Picturegoer Seal of Merit.
COMMENT: Comparisons with the later Stalag 17 and The Great Escape are now inevitable. This POW camp is very clean and tidy — with sheets on the beds yet — which gives it quite a different atmosphere to the grimy Hollywood Stalag 17.
Nonetheless within its different confines, The Wooden Horse is equally realistic. As might be expected with Eric Williams himself penning the screenplay, this film emerges as a very faithful transcription of the novel. Even the opening narration by Leo Genn is lifted direct from the book. The events are true. They are here re-staged with scrupulous accuracy which extends not only to the naturalistic acting and totally unobtrusive direction, but to the meticulously realistic sets and costumes.
There is of course no female interest. This is both a plus — in that it contributes to condensing the plot and making it more immediate — and a minus — in that it lessens the movie's overall appeal. Genn, Steel, Tomlinson and the others like Anthony Dawson, Bill Travers and Peter Finch (in a small role as a hospital patient) play very smoothly, but one can't help hankering for some real star power.
Aside from the scenes in the tunnel where the cramped and confined nature of the excavation is very effectively conveyed (I suppose by shooting through glass into a tank), the direction, as said, remains uninteresting and routine. Like the acting, it's smoothly capable but lacks vigor. It says much for the slackness of Lee's directorial rein that the film's most exciting and suspenseful episodes take place outside the POW camp where extensive location shooting in Denmark and Germany widen its impact. Here also the photographer really comes into his own, his charismatic skill making seemingly light work of difficult location assignments such as the night scenes at the dock.
My only disappointment with the location sequences is that the action outside the camp does not follow Tomlinson's adventures. A bit of cross-cutting between the escapees would have brought more force to the climax.
In fact, "The Wooden Horse" is too soberly realistic in writing, direction and playing for its own good. It's not exciting enough. But that's just my opinion. The movie achieved an enormous public and critical success.