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The Captive Heart

1946 British film by Basil Dearden From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Captive Heart
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The Captive Heart is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave.[1] It was written by Angus MacPhail and Guy Morgan. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which time he forms a long-distance relationship with the widow of a British Army officer. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

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The film is partly based on the true story of a Czechoslovak officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, Josef Bryks MBE, and his relationship with a British WAAF, Gertrude Dellar, who was the widow of an RAF pilot.[3]

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Plot

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In 1940 France, Czechoslovak Army Captain Karel Hašek escapes from Dachau and assumes the identity of a dead British officer, Geoffrey Mitchell. He later winds up with British prisoners of war, captured when the Germans overrun the French. They are marched to a prison camp in western Germany. Hasek is initially suspected of being a spy by his fellow prisoners, due to his ability to speak German and none of Mitchell's comrades were captured. Some wish to lynch him, but Major Dalrymple, the senior British officer, hears Hašek out and believes his story, especially after a visit from a Gestapo agent from Heer Forster, who ran Dachau during Hašek's stay, who eyes Hašek's suspiciously. To avoid suspicion, he maintains the fiction that Mitchell is still alive, corresponding with his widow Celia. Prior to the war, Mitchell had abandoned his wife and their two children. But Hašek's letters, supposedly written by her husband, rekindle Celia's love.

Over time, Forster keeps visiting the camp, and Hašek fears he may be unmasked. Forster compliments him on his nearly perfect German and seems to recognise him, but cannot quite place him. Later, after almost four years captivity, Forster tells Hašek he knows he is not Mitchell and that his photograph has been sent to Berlin for identification. Soon after, it is announced that some prisoners are to be repatriated, but when Hašek goes for his medical exam, he is turned away. A plan to save him is devised without his knowledge. Late one night, Private Mathews, a burglar in civilian life, breaks into the Kommandant's office with Dalrymple and Lieutenant Stephen Hardy, a piano player and one of Hašek's close friends during their stay. Locating the list of those to be repatriated, they replaces Matthews' name with that of Mitchell/Hašek. The plan works, and Hašek is "returned" to Britain.

He travels to Celia's residence and breaks the news of her husband's death. She is devastated, and Hašek leaves. After she recovers, however, she rereads his letters, realizing that she has fallen in love with the writer. When Hašek calls her on the telephone on VE Day, she is eager to speak with him.

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Cast

Many of the prisoners were played by serving soldiers.[citation needed]

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Production

Locations included the ex-naval prisoner of war camp Marlag, near Westertimke, which had remained largely intact after the end of the war the previous year, and Aston Rowant railway station.[citation needed]

Reception

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Box office

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at the British box office in 1946.[4][5]

The Washington Post said it was the fourth biggest hit at the British box office in 1946 after The Wicked Lady, The Bells of St Marys and Piccadilly Incident.[6] According to Kine Weekly the "biggest winner" at the box office in 1946 Britain was The Wicked Lady, with The Captive Heart being a "runner up".[7]

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The Captive Heart is a moving, sincere and often beautifully directed picture and should take its place among our more exceptional war films, if only for its finest moment, the return of Corporal Horsfall to his wife. The excellent music by Alan Rawsthorne endorses the policy of using the finest of our younger composers for the scoring of our more important films. Great trouble has been taken to authenticate the details of camp life, and Guy Morgan, a journalist who was himself a prisoner in Marlag Milag Nord, collaborated in the writing of the screenplay. The Unit was assisted by the B.A.O.R. in making the large-scale camp scenes, for which there can be nothing but praise."[8]

Kine Weekly wrote: "Intensely moving melodrama built on the courage and good fellowship of a group of soldiers captured by the Germans in 1940. ... Human, authentic, thrilling and cleverly written story, subtle feminine angle and box-office cast."[9]

Picture Show wrote: "This is a moving and dramatic story of a group of prisoners of war, captured in 1940. Their experiences, their memories, and behaviour give us a fine imprestion of the magnificent spirit and humour that buoys them up in separation and suffering. It is dominated by Michael Redgrave's brilliantly sensitive porayal of a Czech officer who assumes the identity of a dead British officer. The well-chosen cast are all excellent, and the direction is intelligent."[10]

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References

External links

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