The Wooden Horse (1950)

Director:

Jack Lee

Writer:

Eric Williams (novel)

Release Date:

14 September 1950 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

True story of three British POWs and their attempt to escape from Nazi Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Prisoner Of War | Based On Novel

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Leo Genn	...	Peter
David Tomlinson	...	Phil
Anthony Steel	...	John
David Greene	...	Bennett
Peter Burton	...	Nigel
Patrick Waddington	...	Senior British Officer
Michael Goodliffe	...	Robbie
Anthony Dawson	...	Pomfret
Bryan Forbes	...	Paul
Dan Cunningham	...	David
Peter Finch	...	Australian in Hospital
Philip Dale	...	Bill White
Russell Waters	...	'Wings' Cameron
Ralph Ward	...	Adjutant
Franz Schafheitlin	...	Camp Commandant

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Danish | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:U (video rating) | UK:U (original rating) | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Denmark

Company:

Wessex Film Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

Filming was hampered by bad weather, indecision over the ending and other delays. This contributed to the film going significantly over budget. By the time the ending was to be shot, director Jack Lee had left the project so producer Ian Dalrymple completed it.

Quotes:

[Doctor, visiting prisoners in hospital, hears they are listening to music by Beethoven]
Doctor: Ah, Beethoven. He is a good German.
Prisoner: [calls out from the background] Yes. He's dead.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hitler: The Comedy Years (2007) (TV)

Disappointingly boring

This film is about British prisoners of war from the World War II escaping from a camp in Germany.

I find "The Wooden Horse" disappointingly boring. The subject could have been thrilling, suspenseful and adrenaline fuelled, but "The Wooden Horse" is told in a very plain way. It's a collection of plain and poorly told events, with no suspension and thrill. The first half plainly tells how the prisoners of war dug a tunnel, but the events are so plain, with not enough blunders and close shaves to make me on edge. The latter half of the film is even worse, they are just moving from one place to another without any cat and mouse chase. And could the characters talk a bit less and have more action in an action film! I am disappointed by "The Wooden Horse", it wasted the potential to be a great film.