Monday, January 24, 2022

The One That Got Away

Hardy Krüger as von Werra.
It'd be hard to make up a story as exciting and unlikely as The One That Got Away (1957), the true tale of a German prisoner-of-war (POW) who escaped from the British army in 1940. 

Lieutenant Franz von Werra's exploits begin when his plane is shot down during the Battle of Britain. After landing safely in the English countryside, he is captured, interrogated, and sent to a country manor being used as a POW camp. Von Werra's first escape glistens with simplicity: During a rest break during an exercise march, he rolls over to the other side of a stone fence. As his compatriots march away, he runs towards the forest in the opposite direction, partially hidden from view by the fence. Despite his efforts to reach the coast, the British capture von Werra five days later.

That does not dissuade the confident German from trying to escape again...and again...and again.

Based on the book by Kendal Burt and James Leasor, The One That Got Away seems like an unlikely film to be made in the mid-1950s. After a bitterly-fought war with Germany that ended barely a decade earlier, here's a British-made movie with a German officer as its de facto hero. To be sure, Lieutenant Franz von Werra was not a Nazi, but he did shoot down numerous British planes. Initially, the film's producers considered casting a British actor in the lead, specifically Kenneth More or Dirk Bogarde. Fortunately, a German actor--Hardy Krüger--was cast in the title role.

Krüger, who was fluent in German, English, and French, had acted in German films previously. His bigger-than-life performance as the unflappable von Werra is the heart of The One That Got Away. He manages to project complete confidence without coming across as smug and, most importantly, convinces the audience to root for his character. When von Werra reminds a British officer that it's his duty to escape, the German officer isn't throwing off a wisecrack. He's just being factual (though it lands him 21 days in solitary confinement).

His performance made Hardy Krüger an English-language star and he followed up The One That Got Away with the romantic comedy Bachelor of Hearts (1958). He quickly became the go-to actor for any international films with significant roles for a German character. His most notable movies are Hatari! (1962), Sundays and Cybele (1962), and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)--which features my favorite Krüger performance.

Hardy Krüger is reason enough to see The One That Got Away, but it's also a rousing story that will hold your attention. Plus, it's the kind of fact-based drama that will have you researching to find further details of von Herra's amazing tale.

7 comments:

  1. I'll have to find this film. I never realized until now how big of an impact Krüger's performances made on me when I was a kid. "Hatari" was a favorite film I watched over and over. "Phoenix" was another, especially the big reveal scene between him, Jimmy Stewart, and Richard Attenborough, with them reacting off one another. The terrific acting right then and there has stayed with me all these years.

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    1. I love that scene in Flight of the Phoenix (and thanks for not including a spoiler)!

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    2. Credit director Robert Aldrich with getting the actors to underplay that scene. A glance here, a low-voice there. An interesting and turns out correct choice of tone, considering what's gone down, with Krüger's naive unawareness pacing the whole thing. Finally, at the end, the dam (Attenborough) breaks.

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  2. I bet most of those who know Kruger know him through Flight of the Phoenix first, and then Harari! He is good in both of them. This looks interesting, and I checked and YouTube comes through again (the search also turns up multiple versions of a Katy Perry song by that name). Seems obscure movies are more likely to be found there, maybe no one is monitoring it for any copyright violations, or maybe they just fall into the public domain.

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    1. I also think some studios are becoming more lax about YouTube content. A lot of old movies aren't streaming and DVDs doesn't sell like they used to.

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  3. Hardy Krûger just left us ; https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/20/movies/hardy-kruger-dead.html

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  4. I liked Kruger's performance in Hatari!, but I didn't connect him to this film when I first started reading your review. Thanis for Patrick Wahl and his YouTube tip.

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