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New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 155, 12 June 1942, Page 16

Sir-A word through you to that tender-hearted Britisher, "G.M." As a family we have enjoyed his reviews of the films-mainly because his praise or condemnation usually coincided with our own, With what lively anticipation we awaited his review of Quiet Weddingwe had seen the film three times before his paragraph appeared. But reading this week’s pages on 49th Parallél we should like to remind him that however much one may admire the strength, staying power, and cunning of a cornered rat, or a lunatic, they are nevertheless loathsome, a menace, and dangerous to humanity. One has to quench that feeling of pity and compassion-exterminate them, or at least put them where they will be harmless, We thank "G.M." for his warning however. We shall go to 49th Parallel fully armed-ready to resist that " poor devil" feeling, for a Nazi is a Nazi, however tenacious and brave, and it is for us to overpower them and render

them harmless.

LONDONER

(Well-

ington).

["G.M." replies: If anyone cares to read or re-read my review, it will be found that I did stress that there are some very good individual pieces of propaganda in 49th Parallel, and I mentioned particularly Anton Walbrook’s speech and the Hutterite episode. But I still stick to my main point that as a propagandist effort the film back-fired, and the very fact that this might not "occur to nine people out of ten’? only makes the fault more insidious, since they would probably be sub(Continued on next page)

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consciously affected. If I did give the film a "good slating’’ as propaganda (which is putting it too strongly), it was because I believe that stupidity, inefficiency-and the waste of public money here involved-is to be deplored wherever it occurs. Apart from this, what did happen to the theme of the "undefended frontier" implied by the title and stressed in the publicity? Was it because the title of 49th Parallel was so irrelevant that in America they have called the film The Invaders? Concerning The Little Foxes, mentioned by "Mrs. R.S.," a "B" grading in The Listener simply means, in general, that a film is just one grade off the top of its class. As for "Londoner," can she deny that she felt any compassion for that "cornered rat’? of a Nazi who wanted to join the Hutterites and was shot as a result? Not that I think she should be ashamed of herself if she did. In both cases, however, I should like to say that I appreciate the correspondents’ interest.]