Highway to Battle
{{Short description|1961 British film by Ernest Morris}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Highway to Battle
| image = "Highway_to_Battle"_(1960).jpg
| caption = British theatrical poster
| director = Ernest Morris
| producer = {{ubl|Edward J. Danziger|Harry Lee Danziger}}
| writer = {{ubl|Brian Clemens|Eldon Howard|Joseph Pole (story)}}
| narrator =
| starring = {{ubl|Gerard Heinz|Margaret Tyzack|Ferdy Mayne|Vincent Ball}}
| music = Bill LeSage
| cinematography = Stephen Dade
| editing = Spencer Reeve
| studio = Danziger Productions
| distributor = Paramount British Pictures (UK)
| released = {{Film date|1961|5||UK}}
| runtime = 71 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
Highway to Battle is a 1961 British second feature ('B'){{Cite book |last=Chibnall |first=Steve |title=The British 'B' Film |last2=McFarlane |first2=Brian |publisher=BFI/Bloomsbury |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-8445-7319-6 |location=London |pages=90}} thriller film directed by Ernest Morris and starring Gerard Heinz and Margaret Tyzack.{{Cite web |title=Highway to Battle |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150035136 |access-date=20 July 2024 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}} It was written by Brian Clemens and Eldon Howard and produced by The Danzigers.
Plot
Before the Second World War, a Nazi party member starts to have misgivings about the Nazis' plans. He attempts to defect to England, but is chased by the Gestapo.
Cast
- Gerard Heinz as Constantin
- Margaret Tyzack as Hilda
- Ferdy Mayne as Zeigler
- Dawn Beret as Gerda
- Peter Reynolds as Jarvost
- Vincent Ball as Ransome
- George Mikell as Brauwitz
- John Gabriel as Carl
- Robert Bruce as editor
- Robert Crewdson as Newmens
- Hugh Cross as official
- Jill Hyem as stewardess
- Cavan Malone as Hoffman
- Bernadette Milnes as bar girl
- Richard Shaw as Franz
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A minor contribution to the current resurgence of films about the Nazi horror. But the plot, though completely superficial, is trimly tailored and does suggest a little of the pressure under which Germans of conscience laboured in the pre-war period. The climax, with Brauwitz's suicide and Gerda's volte-face, is hardly convincing. But Gerard Heinz and Margaret Tyzack do their best by the sketchily-written roles of Constantin and his wife. Nazi thuggery is kept down to a minimum and the direction has one or two telling moments."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1961 |title=Highway to Battle |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305822245/1659A1559EFA42B5PQ/1 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=28 |issue=324 |pages=81 |via=ProQuest}}
References
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