The Last Chance (1945 film)
| The Last Chance | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Leopold Lindtberg |
| Produced by | Lazar Wechsler |
| Written by |
Alberto Barberis Elizabeth Montagu Richard Schweizer |
| Starring | Ewart G. Morrison |
| Cinematography | Emil Berna Franz Vlasak |
| Edited by | Hermann Haller René Martinet |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
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Release date
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Running time
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104 minutes |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Language | German Italian English Swiss German French Yiddish Dutch Polish |
| Box office | 3,068,298 admissions (France) |
The Last Chance (German: Die letzte Chance) is a 1945 Swiss war film directed by Leopold Lindtberg. It was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prize of the Festival (the Golden Palm). The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1943, the Allies have landed in southern Italy, so Allied prisoners of war are transported north by train. When the train is bombed from the air at night, some of the prisoners escape. Englishman Lieutenant Halliday and American Sergeant Braddock stumble across each other in the dark and team up.
The next day, they are given a ride in a cart carrying sacks of wheat. The driver manages to talk Italian soldiers out of inspecting his cargo, before letting his passengers off in the countryside. When they reach a river, they split up to search for a boat. The Englishman encounters a pretty young woman washing clothes. The two men get a boat and start rowing, but then the woman runs up and tells them that an armistice has been signed, so they turn around. They head to town, but it is strangely quiet, and nobody is in the streets celebrating. Then the Germans arrive and take over. The woman's uncle gives the two men civilian clothes and recommends they try to sneak aboard a freight train, which they do. At one stop, they watch helplessly as a woman is separated from her husband, who is taken away with others by train by the Germans.
Afterward, they head into the mountains. They encounter a band of partisans, who let them cross a bridge. One of the Italians warns them not to endanger the people in the town. The pair go to the church, where the priest agrees to help them. Refugees return from trying to cross the mountains, driven back by a snow storm. The priest takes Halliday to the inn and introduces him to Giuseppe, the guide. He promises to try to get the entire party, along with the new additions, across tomorrow. He points out a Polish tailor and his niece, a factory worker from Belgrade, a professor more concerned about his papers than his own life, and Frenchwoman Madame Monnier. As Halliday is leaving, Frau Wittels (the woman who lost her husband earlier) and her son Bernard arrive to join the group. Already hiding in the church is British Major Telford. He persuades Halliday and Braddock to stick around and perhaps join the partisans.
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