The prisoner-of-war film was something of an established sub-genre of the war film in Britain during the years following the end of World War II. The Captive Heart, made only a year after the end of the conflict, was possibly the earliest of these: it was to lead to the likes of "The Wooden Horse", "The Colditz Story" and "Danger Within". The Americans also got in on the act with "Stalag 17", and in my view all the best films in this genre- "Bridge on the River Kwai", "King Rat" and "The Great Escape"- were made by American studios about British POWs.
This film is set in a German POW camp between 1940 and 1945. Unlike many later POW dramas, this one is not strongly focused on the theme of escape. Early in the film some of the British prisoners start digging a tunnel, but their plan is foiled when it is discovered by the Germans, and after that we hear little about escaping. There are a number of sub-plots: one concerns a Scottish officer coming to terms with his blindness, another about a Welsh soldier whose wife dies giving birth to their daughter, and one about a young officer whose relationship with his sweetheart is damaged when he receives a poison-pen letter from aa jealous ex-girlfriend saying she has been seen with another man.
The main plot, however, deals with Karel Hasek, a Czech who escapes from a German concentration camp and who assumes the identity of a dead British officer, Geoffrey Mitchell. He is captured by the Germans who, believing that he really is a British soldier, send him to the camp. Some of the prisoners are suspicious of him, so he tells the senator British officer his story. To avoid arousing the suspicions of the Germans, he begins writing letters to Celia, the wife of the real Captain Mitchell.
Unknown to Karel, the relationship between Captain Mitchell and his wife was an unhappy one; they were separated and on the verge of divorce. When Celia begins receiving letters from the prison camp supposedly written by her husband, however, their poetic style and the tender concern expressed in them mean that she falls in love with him all over again, never suspecting that her husband is dead and that the letters are being written by another man. The Germans begin to suspect Karel's true identity, and the other prisoners hatch a scheme to ensure his repatriation to Britain. But what will happen when he has to meet Celia and admit the truth to her?
I found the Karel/Celia plot both interesting and touching; the actors playing them, Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, were husband and wife in real life. I wished, in fact, that the scriptwriters had concentrated on this particular story. The various subplots are never well developed enough to become interesting in their own right, but take up enough time to detract from the main story. "The Captive Heart" is not a bad film, but it could have been a better one with fewer competing storylines. 6/10.
This film is set in a German POW camp between 1940 and 1945. Unlike many later POW dramas, this one is not strongly focused on the theme of escape. Early in the film some of the British prisoners start digging a tunnel, but their plan is foiled when it is discovered by the Germans, and after that we hear little about escaping. There are a number of sub-plots: one concerns a Scottish officer coming to terms with his blindness, another about a Welsh soldier whose wife dies giving birth to their daughter, and one about a young officer whose relationship with his sweetheart is damaged when he receives a poison-pen letter from aa jealous ex-girlfriend saying she has been seen with another man.
The main plot, however, deals with Karel Hasek, a Czech who escapes from a German concentration camp and who assumes the identity of a dead British officer, Geoffrey Mitchell. He is captured by the Germans who, believing that he really is a British soldier, send him to the camp. Some of the prisoners are suspicious of him, so he tells the senator British officer his story. To avoid arousing the suspicions of the Germans, he begins writing letters to Celia, the wife of the real Captain Mitchell.
Unknown to Karel, the relationship between Captain Mitchell and his wife was an unhappy one; they were separated and on the verge of divorce. When Celia begins receiving letters from the prison camp supposedly written by her husband, however, their poetic style and the tender concern expressed in them mean that she falls in love with him all over again, never suspecting that her husband is dead and that the letters are being written by another man. The Germans begin to suspect Karel's true identity, and the other prisoners hatch a scheme to ensure his repatriation to Britain. But what will happen when he has to meet Celia and admit the truth to her?
I found the Karel/Celia plot both interesting and touching; the actors playing them, Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, were husband and wife in real life. I wished, in fact, that the scriptwriters had concentrated on this particular story. The various subplots are never well developed enough to become interesting in their own right, but take up enough time to detract from the main story. "The Captive Heart" is not a bad film, but it could have been a better one with fewer competing storylines. 6/10.