The One That Got Away **** (1957, Hardy Kruger, Michael Goodliffe, Terence Alexander, Colin Gordon, Alec McCowen) – Classic Movie Review 5790

Director Roy Ward Baker’s exciting 1957 British wartime adventure film The One That Got Away stars Berlin-born Hardy Kruger, who came to Britain to play Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the real-life German wartime pilot shot down over England and captured by the British.

It is the fascinating true story of the only German prisoner-of-war to escape from imprisonment in Britain during the Second World War. With World War Two only a decade away and all the anti-German feeling of the time in the UK, it is entirely remarkable that by 1957 it was acceptable for the British to celebrate the daring exploits of the only Nazi PoW held in Britain to make it back to Germany.

Hardy Kruger as Generalmajor der Waffen-SS Karl Ludwig in A Bridge Too Far (1977).

The cocky Nazi flight officer vows that he will manage to escape from his British captors in World War Two, never gives up trying to break free, and makes numerous bold attempts to flee in order to get back to Germany fight again.

Baker’s movie is a solidly crafted, old-fashioned adventure, and this popular J Arthur Rank Studios movie delivers the required amounts of excitement, with Kruger giving a highly engaging performance. Director Baker delivers a thrilling film, with a heart-stopping finish at the St Lawrence Seaway in Canada.

Howard Clewes’s screenplay is based on Kendal Burt and James Leasor’s 1956 book.

Also in the cast are Michael Goodliffe, Terence Alexander, Colin Gordon, Alec McCowen, John Van Eyssen, Jack Gwillim, Andrew Faulds, Julian Sommers, George Mikell, John Van Eyssen, Robert Crewdson, Richard Marner, Paul Hansard, Harry Lockart, George Roubicek, Frederick Jaeger, Cyril Chamberlain, Robert Dorning, Glyn Houston, Stratford Johns, Robert Raglan and Michael Ripper.

The One That Got Away runs 111 minutes, is shot in black and white by Eric Cross, is produced by Julian Wintle, is scored by Hubert Clifford, and designed by Edward Carrick.

It was released on 22 November 1957.

Kenneth More turned down the star role because he had just played another real-life PoW, Douglas Bader, in Reach for the Sky (1956). John Davis, head of the Rank organisation, wanted Dirk Bogarde to star but director Roy Baker insisted on a German and Rank’s overseas distribution manager suggested Hardy Kruger.

A Messerschmitt Bf 109 and Hawker Hurricane are featured. The latter is still in existence, flying with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

Hardy Kruger was discovered outside Germany by UK film distributor J Arthur Rank, casting him in three British film shot back-to-back: The One That Got Away (1957), Bachelor of Hearts (1958) and Blind Date [Chance Meeting] (1959). Anti-German feeling was of course still strong in postwar Europe, but Hardy was successfully promoted as a ruggedly handsome blond heartthrob and became an international favourite.

The One That Got Away was a hit at the British box office in 1957 and also did  well in West Germany, taking more than £3 million there. Its profitability prompted producer Julian Wintle to form his own production company and he made two films with German main characters, Bachelor of Hearts (also starring Krüger) and Tiger Bay (with Horst Buchholz).

Hardy Kruger [Franz Eberhard August Krüger] (12 April 1928 – 19 January 2022) appeared in more than 60 films since 1944. He became an international star in Hatari!, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Wild Geese, Sundays and Cybele, A Bridge Too Far, The Battle of Neretva, The Secret of Santa Vittoria, The Red Tent, and Barry Lyndon.

The cast are Hardy Krüger as Franz von Werra, Michael Goodliffe as RAF Interrogator, Colin Gordon as Army Interrogator, Alec McCowen as duty officer at Hucknall, Terence Alexander as RAF intelligence officer, Jack Gwillim as Commandant at Grizedale Hall, Andrew Faulds as Lieutenant at Grizedale Hall, Julian Somers as booking clerk, Harry Lockart as German prisoner, Robert Crewdson as German prisoner, George Mikell as German prisoner, George Roubicek as German prisoner, John Van Eyssen as German prisoner, Frederick Jaeger as German prisoner, Richard Marner as German prisoner, Paul Hansard as German prisoner, Edward Cast as duty driver at Hucknall, Cyril Chamberlain as Sergeant ‘Later’, Reed De Rouen as Canadian truck driver, Michael Golden as First detective, Glyn Houston as Harry, the aircraft fitter working on the Hurricane fighter, Stratford Johns as Second detective, Charles Morgan as Workshop manager at Hucknall, Al Mulock as American patrolman at Ogdensburg, Michael Ripper as Corporal of group with cook, Anthony Sagar as Cook who captures von Werra in Kent, Norman Rossington as Sergeant at Swanwick, Ben Williams as Policeman at Hucknall, and Frank Williams as station porter.

Frank Williams (2 July 1931 – 26 June 2022) was best known for playing Reverend Timothy Farthing in the BBC TV sitcom Dad’s Army (1969–1977).

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5,790

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com

Hardy Kruger [Franz Eberhard August Krüger] (12 April 1928 – 19 January 2022).