The Last Chance

by Leopold Lindtberg

Italy, 1943. Among escaped prisoners, an Englishman and an American try to reach Switzerland. Aided in their efforts by an English pilot, they help a group of refugees from ten different nations to reach the country. One man's sacrifice will enable the whole group of survivors to reach freedom.

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DATA SHEET

Orginal title:

Die Letzte Chance

Year:

1945

Length (min.):

113min'

Original language:

svizzero tedesco, tedesco, inglese, italiano, francese, yiddish

Subtitles:

Tedesco, italiano, francese

International Title:

The Last Chance

Production:

Praesens Film AG

Prizes
(selection):

Golden Globe 1947- Best Film Promoting International Understanding
Festival de Cannes 1946 - Grand Prix
National Board of Review, USA - Top Ten Film of 1945

Festivals
(selection):

Berlin International Film Festival 1990
Locarno International Film Festival 1984

Restoration / digitization:

Cinémathèque Suisse

CONTACT

Presens-Film

https://www.praesens.com

SYNOPSIS

Northern Italy, September 1943. Two allied prisoners of war, an Englishman and an American, escape when the train transporting them to Germany is bombed. Taken in by a village priest who smuggles into Switzerland everyone trying to escape the Germans, the two prisoners become smugglers in turn, leading a group of Jewish refugees of all ages and ten different nationalities. With the Nazis in pursuit, they try to reach Switzerland over the mountains... Coming a year after Marie-Louise, it marks a new oeuvre for Leopold Lindtberg: a deeply humanist film on the theme of war refugees in Switzerland. Winner of a Grand Prix at the Festival de Cannes in 1946, Die letzte Chance was a success around the world and established the importance of the Swiss director internationally. “In its dignity, this film transcends mere realistic testimony to become an allegory: that of seeking refuge, a homeland. If only for that, Die letzte Chance deserves its place as a classic among prominent postwar films” (Hervé Dumont, Histoire du cinéma suisse, 1987).

LOCATION

Locarno, Ascona and surroundings

Lugano and surroundings

COLLECTIONS

Cinémathèque suisse

Locarno Film Festival

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CAST & CREW

Direction:

Leopold Lindtberg

Film script:

Richard Schweizer

Cast:

Ewart G. Morrison, John Hoy, Ray Reagan, Luisa Rossi, Romano Calò, Therese Giehse, Robert Schwarz, Germaine Tournier

Director of photography:

Emil Berna

Makeup:

Adolf Meidert

Sound:

Bruno Müller, Fritz Obitsch

Editing:

Hermann Haller

Music:

Robert Blum

Producers:

Lazar Wechsler

HIGHLIGHTS

Filmed at the height of the war and rather in opposition to the Swiss government's stance towards refugees, especially Jews, Die Letzte Chance is perhaps one of the few Swiss-German films during that era that give a less touristy and more truthful image of Ticino. Even though there is no mention of Ticino. In fact, Ticino is used as a backdrop to represent Northern Italy, which, as we see in the film, directly borders the Alps and German-speaking Switzerland. The image the film gives of these landscapes of lakes and mountains is very evocative.

Frédéric Maire, Director Cinémathèque suisse

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