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The Captive Heart is a 1946 British war drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Michael Redgrave. It is about a Czechoslovak Army officer who is captured in the Fall of France and spends five years as a prisoner of war, during which time he forms a long-distance relationship with the widow of a British Army officer. The film was entered into the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.[1]

The Captive Heart
Original British 1946 quad film poster
Directed by	Basil Dearden
Screenplay by	Angus MacPhail Guy Morgan
Story by	Patrick Kirwan
Produced by	Michael Balcon Michael Relph (associate producer)
Starring	Michael Redgrave Mervyn Johns Basil Radford Rachel Kempson
Cinematography	Douglas Slocombe Lionel Banes
Edited by	Charles Hasse
Music by	Alan Rawsthorne
Production company	Ealing Studios
Distributed by	General Film Distributors
Release date	29 April 1946 (1946-04-29)
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The film is partly based on the true story of a Czechoslovak officer in the RAF Volunteer Reserve, Josef Bryks MBE, and his relationship with a British WAAF, Gertrude Dellar, who was the widow of an RAF pilot.[2]

Plot

In the summer of 1940, Captain Karel Hašek of the Czechoslovak Army escapes from Dachau concentration camp and assumes the identity of a dead British officer, Captain Geoffrey Mitchell. When he is caught, he joins thousands of British prisoners of war, captured during the Battle of France, on a march to a prison camp in western Germany.

He is suspected of being a spy by his fellow soldiers because of a few small errors and his fluency in the German language. Captain Grayson wants to lynch him forthwith, but Major Dalrymple, the senior British officer, hears Hašek out and believes his story.

To avoid suspicion, he has to maintain the fiction that Mitchell is still alive by corresponding with Mitchell's widow Celia. Prior to the war, Mitchell had abandoned his wife and their two children, but the letters rekindle Celia's love.

In 1944, Herr Forster, who ran Dachau during Hašek's stay, visits the camp. Hašek fears he may be unmasked. The official compliments him on his nearly perfect German and seems to recognise him, but cannot quite place him. On another visit, Forster orders a search that uncovers the prisoners' escape tunnel. Forster then orders that a moat be built around the camp, and the inmates resign themselves to a long stay. On a third visit, Forster tells Hašek that he knows he is not Mitchell and that his photograph has been sent to Berlin for identification. Soon after, it is announced that some prisoners are to be repatriated, but when Hašek goes for his medical examination to see if he qualifies, he is turned away.

A plan to save him is devised without his knowledge. Private Mathews, a burglar in civilian life, breaks into the kommandant's office late at night with Dalrymple and another man. They find the list of those to be repatriated and replace Mathews' name with Mitchell's. On the way back to the barracks, Mathews is attacked by a guard dog and rescued by Hašek. The plan works, and Hašek is "returned" to Britain.

He goes to see Celia. He breaks the news of her husband's death and that he has grown to love her. She is devastated, and Hašek leaves. After she recovers, she begins rereading his letters and realises that she has come to love the writer. When Hašek calls her on the telephone on the day that Germany surrenders, she is eager to speak with him.

Main cast

Many of the prisoners were played by serving soldiers.

Production

Locations included the ex-naval prisoner of war camp Marlag, near Westertimke, which had remained largely intact after the end of the war the previous year, and Aston Rowant railway station.

Reception

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at the British box office in 1946.[3][4] Another source says it was the fourth biggest hit at the British box office in 1946 after The Wicked Lady, The Bells of St Marys and Piccadilly Incident.[5] According to Kinematograph Weekly the 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1946 Britain was The Wicked Lady, with "runners up" being The Bells of St Marys, Piccadilly Incident, The Road to Utopia, Tomorrow is Forever, Brief Encounter, Wonder Man, Anchors Away, Kitty, The Captive Heart, The Corn is Green, Spanish Main, Leave Her to Heaven, Gilda, Caravan, Mildred Pierce, Blue Dahlia, Years Between, O.S.S., Spellbound, Courage of Lassie, My Reputation, London Town, Caesar and Cleopatra, Meet the Navy, Men of Two Worlds, Theirs is the Glory, The Overlanders, and Bedelia.[6]

References

External links

• The Captive Heart at the British Film Institute
• The Captive Heart at the BFI's Screenonline
• The Captive Heart at IMDb
• Review of film at Variety

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