Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Rio Hayward All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Suman Roberson It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

JohnHowardReid A Wessex Film Production, made at London Film Studios, Shepperton, England, and on locations in Germany and Denmark. Filmed with the co-operation of the British War Office and Air Ministry. Print under review is presented by J. Arthur Rank with release through Rank's General Film Distributors. However, the film was originally presented by Alexander Korda's London Films and released through British Lion. Copyright in the U.K. and Australia by Wessex Productions. Not copyrighted in the U.S.A. New York opening at the 72nd Street Trans- Lux: 28 August 1951. U.S. release through Snader Productions: 28 August 1951. U.K. release through British Lion: 16 October 1950. Australian release through Universal-International: 8 June 1951. 9,225 feet. 102 minutes. SYNOPSIS: A meticulously accurate transcription of a thrilling and highly ingenious escape from a German POW camp, telling of the sweat and toil spent to enable three R.A.F. men to reach Britain in safety.NOTES: Number four at the British box-office for 1950, following The Blue Lamp, The Happiest Days of Your Life, and Annie Get Your Gun. Number seven at the Australian box-office for 1951, following Samson and Delilah, Show Boat, Harvey, The Happiest Days of Your Life, A Place in the Sun, and The Great Caruso. Number four in the Daily Mail's annual poll of 1,379,849 British picture-goers, following Odette, The Blue Lamp and Morning Departure. Winner of a Picturegoer Seal of Merit.COMMENT: Comparisons with the later Stalag 17 and The Great Escape are now inevitable. This POW camp is very clean and tidy — with sheets on the beds yet — which gives it quite a different atmosphere to the grimy Hollywood Stalag 17. Nonetheless within its different confines, The Wooden Horse is equally realistic. As might be expected with Eric Williams himself penning the screenplay, this film emerges as a very faithful transcription of the novel. Even the opening narration by Leo Genn is lifted direct from the book. The events are true. They are here re-staged with scrupulous accuracy which extends not only to the naturalistic acting and totally unobtrusive direction, but to the meticulously realistic sets and costumes. There is of course no female interest. This is both a plus — in that it contributes to condensing the plot and making it more immediate — and a minus — in that it lessens the movie's overall appeal. Genn, Steel, Tomlinson and the others like Anthony Dawson, Bill Travers and Peter Finch (in a small role as a hospital patient) play very smoothly, but one can't help hankering for some real star power. Aside from the scenes in the tunnel where the cramped and confined nature of the excavation is very effectively conveyed (I suppose by shooting through glass into a tank), the direction, as said, remains uninteresting and routine. Like the acting, it's smoothly capable but lacks vigor. It says much for the slackness of Lee's directorial rein that the film's most exciting and suspenseful episodes take place outside the POW camp where extensive location shooting in Denmark and Germany widen its impact. Here also the photographer really comes into his own, his charismatic skill making seemingly light work of difficult location assignments such as the night scenes at the dock. My only disappointment with the location sequences is that the action outside the camp does not follow Tomlinson's adventures. A bit of cross-cutting between the escapees would have brought more force to the climax. In fact, "The Wooden Horse" is too soberly realistic in writing, direction and playing for its own good. It's not exciting enough. But that's just my opinion. The movie achieved an enormous public and critical success.

Sarah Peter, John, and Phil, (played by Leo Genn, Anthony Steel, and David Tomlinson respectively) are POWs with a plan to escape : make a vaulting horse that can carry a man inside, and while the other chaps are busy jumping, have that man work on a tunnel and when done, cover up the hole and get carried back in the horse-all right under the German's noses. This approach takes far less time, but is much more dangerous, as even a small cave-in could instantly bring the 'goons' down on the heroes. After months of of digging, vaulting, and planning, the three men escape. But now comes the really tricky part : getting out of Germany to a neutral country. Peter and John travel together, with John doing all the talking because Peter can't speak German or French. Several times, it looks like they've had it, as German police inspect their hotel, a French contact seems to rather do them more harm than good, and a mysterious man follows them through the streets. So yes, they may have escaped from the POW camp, but can they escape from Germany? The story is told in true British fashion : no-nonsense, crisp dialogue, and cutting-edge tension throughout the film. Not one moment in this film can be described as boring, and every scene flows. Some other reviewers have said that its 'shelf-life has expired', but for anyone who appreciates a good story, script, and acting over senseless compilations of scenes, scripts that are thrown together simply to make money, and more explosions and car chases than actual dialogue and acting, this movie is a gem. It really captures (pardon the pun) the spirit of a British POW : determined, calm in every situation, and bloody clever. Leo Genn, as Peter, delivers an impeccable, sincere performance which he deserves much credit for. Genn was, in my opinion, one of Britian's best actors, and his talents are more than evident here. His line delivery would make any speech teacher jealous, and his movements and reactions are always followed through. He steals the show from the beginning and never lets go. An excellent performance from one of the greats. Anthony Steel, as John, also gives a good performance. Younger than Genn's Peter, Steel is the one who comes up with the wooden horse idea, and is constantly pushing to get out. He's the young bull who says 'lets dash down!' while Peter is the old bull who says 'lets stroll down'. He and Genn have great chemistry, and their friendship seems quite genuine. Steel is believable, eager, and great to watch. David Tomlinson, as Phil, though not given much screen time, still manages to put in a solid performance. He is funny and charming, just like later on in 'Mary Poppins'. Not the brightest chap in the camp, or the bravest, but he shows his teethe when needed. A delight to watch, and you can't help but love the guy. In summary, this is a marvelous film of a true story. All involved clearly put their heart into this production. The acting is superb, the script excellent, and the art of suspense is mastered to a "T". It will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, and you'll also have a few good laughs in the process. They don't make them like this anymore, which is a real shame. "The Wooden Horse" will be a favorite of mine for the rest of my life.

ianlouisiana Said my father sagely as we strode out of the Plaza Arcade and across the High Street into the teatime darkness,I hoping to get a glimpse of the day - old chicks in "Sainsbury's" window,he hoping to get a cup of tea and a hot apple pie in "Lyon's" before they closed. To be fair to staff at Stalag Luft 111,that was his default position for any perceived failure by those in authority. The Polio epidemic wouldn't have occurred if Rommel had been in charge of the Health Service and those contemporary fear - figures the Cosh Boys(later to be followed by Teddy Boys,Mods and Rockers and,ultimately Punks)could never have flourished in a justice system with Rommel at the helm. Having fought the German Field Marshal in North Africa(not hand to hand you understand,although he often distilled the "Last bit of unpleasantness with the hun" as he termed it,down to Desert Rat (him) Vs Desert Fox (Rommel)for whom he felt a most un - British reverence. Certainly the Germans guarding Messrs Genn,Steele,Tomlinson et al seemed to be sleeping on the job as our heroes casually dumped the soil excavated from their escape tunnel from their trouser pockets and literally kicked over the traces. "The Wooden Horse" was the first of a seemingly endless series of films showing British officers kicking scruffy footballs about like demented 9 year - olds,dressing up as women to entertain their chums and digging holes in the ground. In retrospect the POW genre veered from the sublime - "Bridge on the River Kwai" to the bizarre - "Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" via the frankly camp(sorry) "The password is courage" to the overblown and noisy "The Great Escape". But it's gestation came with the true story of an ingenious escape engineered by some necessarily athletic officers that required them to engage in hearty gymnastics whilst tunnelling a jolly long way under the perimeter fence. 65 years have added a piquancy to this cheaply - made workmanlike effort by a journeyman director. The actors are fondly - remembered - except for Mr A.Steele who appears to have been unfairly forgotten after an Icarus - like career. There followed a deluge of books telling of more and more unlikely escapes from the clutches of the Master Race that made one wonder how they contrived to make the war in Europe last six years (well,four if you're a Yank). This film should be shown to Angela Merkel to remind her that her Vaterland didn't always have things all its own way. as we walked down a poorly - lit Swan Lane father kept an eye open for lurking Cosh Boys and I envisioned day - old chicks tunnelling their way out of our chicken run at home. No,nobody could make a film out of that - could they?

bkoganbing Upon seeing a film entitled The Wooden Horse, one including myself might think it was about some fake object like the famous Trojan wooden horse that was used to smuggle in people or objects like weapons. The horse we're talking about in this film is the kind used in every gymnasium in the world.But this one aids indirectly in the smuggling out of prisoners from a German POW camp called Stalag 3. It's quite simple, it's too long a dig from the prisoner barracks to outside the camp for a tunnel. So the horse is placed over a midway point and diggers are smuggled in and out. It also serves as a place where fresh air can come into the men working in the tunnel. It's quite an ingenious scheme and Leo Genn, Anthony Steel, and David Tomlinson are the three that escape. The rest of the film plays a lot like The Great Escape as the three escaped prisoners try to make it to the neutral country of Sweden.Though The Wooden Horse doesn't have the budget that The Great Escape did it tells its story in a fast moving and compact fashion with no frills. Location shooting in Denmark and Germany make it quite authentic. The British occupation zone was in the northern part of the new Federal Republic of Germany and many extras were hired among the locals. And the film holds up well after sixty years.I'll bet Kurt Thomas never thought of a gym horse being used this way.