MovieChat Forums > 49th Parallel (1942) Discussion > Scott's strategy

Scott's strategy

posted 9 years ago by JackBluegrass
4 replies | jump to latest

I was totally confused by Scott's striding toward the hidden Portman (was he the last lieutenant?). Scott counts off the remaining shots, as he defiantly strides toward his shooter.

1. Is a Nazi lieutenant an extremely poor marksman?
2. Is Scott incredibly brave (stupid)? Take your pick. I know the lieutenant's enlisted man destroyed Scott's Picasso and Matisse, but c'mon.
3. The other men - supposedly assisting Scott - scrambling around the scene in background do absolutely nothing of assistance for Scott, except scramble as Scott directly approaches the lieutenant. Total waste of the men's energy, but very visually dramatic.

E pluribus unum

[–] Steve Crook 9 years ago

It was Kranz not Portman (Lieutenant Hirth) in the cave

Scott was pondering if he was brave or a coward in the teepee so walking up to the cave was his way to prove it. He's also an Englishman and so is foolish (and I say that as a Brit )

Kranz is a poor shot. Despite Scott being illuminated in the (very variable) light from outside the cave, he misses with 4 out of 5 shots. The 5th just hits Scott in the leg. But that's nothing unusual. How many shots are fired in most Western, Gangster or Adventure films and how many of those come close to hitting any target

Steve

[–] JackBluegrass 9 years ago

Thanks for the info, Steve. I didn't know which German officer was which while watching the movie. Maybe German officers didn't have to be expert shots, while more was expected of the enlistees/drafted.

It's surprising that Lawrence Olivier had a rather short screen time in this movie. His "Fractured French" was funny. His range of different types of roles over the years was impressive.

E pluribus unum

[–] Steve Crook 9 years ago

Everyone picks on poor Larry and his accent. He wasn't meant to be speaking French, he wasn't even speaking French Canadian as most people know it. He wasn't from Montreal or any big city. He was playing a French Canadian trapper who had been living in the wilds "down north" for about a year. When he had someone to speak to he became over-excited, even before the Nazis showed up

Steve

[–] hobnob53 9 years ago

Don't forget also that Kranz is firing in the dark and from a cave, which means his view and ability to aim properly is at least somewhat obstructed. Anyway, as a Naval officer he might not have had much practice with handguns.

But Steve, Philip Armstrong Scott isn't English. He's Canadian, as he himself alludes. Yeah, okay, he's Leslie Howard, but then the only real Canadian in the film is Raymond Massey, and by 1941, with a British ex-wife and two British kids, and American citizenship looming in three years, even his Canadian credentials were becoming suspect!

Olivier's accent is to me part and parcel of the film. It's not particularly "real" but then throughout his career Olivier's foreign accents were always rather too affected, untouched by nuance or reality.