The One that got away

United Kingdom, 1957

Film
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This is the dramatic true story of the only German prisoner of war taken in Britain who escaped from captivity and successfully returned to Germany; Luftwaffe pilot Lieutenant Franz Von Werra (Hardy Kruger). Von Werra was captured during the Battle of Britain when his Messerschmitt was shot down in the English countryside. The film is significant in that it was made during the period after World War 2 when the majority of British films paid homage to the heroism of British troops. Von Werra’s meticulous and determined bid for freedom took him across England, Canada, the United States, until he finally reached home. Screenplay by Howard Clewes from the book by Kendal Burt and James Leasor. Cast includes Hardy Kruger, Colin Gordon, Michael Goodliffe and Terence Alexander.

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Collection

In ACMI's collection

Credits

director

Roy Baker

producer

Julian Wintle

production company

Rank Organisation Film Productions

Duration

01:51:00:00

Production places
United Kingdom
Production dates
1957

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

309667

Language

English

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Black and White

Holdings

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

Wikidata

Q224926

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

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If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/87651--the-one-that-got-away/ |title=The One that got away |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=27 December 2024 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}