Rent Albert R.N. (1953)

POW Drama. - Albert R.N. review by Steve

Minor POW escape picture based on a true story, which is unfortunately diminished by never actually leading to a successful getaway... Yet the usual formula is so robust that the flimsy setup is still exciting and interesting, bolstered by a decent (all male) ensemble cast of British character actors. And a couple of Americans

So Jack Warner, Anthony Steel, Robert Beatty et al are bottled up in the barracks, under the sadistic supervision of Anton Diffring as the enthusiastic Nazi guard. They develop a plan to facilitate an escape while outside the perimeter fence, using a homemade dummy they call Albert. The stand-in appears in the lineup while heads are counted.

Well, apparently it worked once, though the fugitive was subsequently found... Presumably as the writers are aware this is a slender premise from which to hang a whole feature film, much of the running time is taken up with psychological issues, like the antagonism between prisoners... and between them and the Nazi screws.

And usually, their homesickness. There is zero budget, but that hardly matters. It feels like the least viable idea for a POW film ever... Yet it is engaging as this genre always is- mainly because the circumstances are fascinating, and the actors make these unlucky officers an absorbing group to be around for 90 minutes.