The Captive Heart

The Captive Heart

Would you forge love letters to save your life?

1946 · 104 min · ★ 6.4 · Drama, War

A series of stories about the lives and loves of men in a Prisoner of War camp over five years. The main story is of Hasek (Redgrave) a Czech soldier who needs to keep his identity a secret from the Nazis. To do this, he poses as a dead English Officer and corresponds with the man's wife. Other inmates’ stories are also revealed. Location shooting in the British occupied part of Germany adds believability.

Directed by Basil Dearden · Written by Patrick Kirwan

Your Rating

Cast

Michael Redgrave Capt. Karel Hasek
Rachel Kempson Celia Mitchell
Frederick Leister Mr. Mowbray
Mervyn Johns Pte. Evans
Rachel Thomas Mrs. Evans
Jack Warner Cpl. Ted Horsfall
Gladys Henson Mrs. Horsfall
James Harcourt Doctor
Gordon Jackson Lt. David Lennox
Elliott Mason Mrs. Lennox
Margot Fitzsimons Elspeth McDougall
David Keir Mr. McDougall

Make it a double feature

3h 27m together

The Captive Heart

Dead of Night

Both from Basil Dearden.

More from Basil DeardenSee all →

The Persuaders!

The Persuaders! · 1973

The Persuaders!

MovieAdventureComedy

Two episodes of the TV series "The Persuaders" joined into a movie. Two playboys, Brett Sinclair and Danny Wilde, investigate crimes along the French Riviera.

The Persuaders!

The Persuaders! · 1971

The Persuaders!

SeriesComedyAction & Adventure

An English aristocrat and an American millionaire come together to tackle crime.

Victim

MovieDramaCrime

A web of blackmail and murder attracts the attention of a barrister with a seemingly idyllic life, threatening to derail his career on the path of success.

Dead of Night

Dead of Night · 1945

MovieHorrorThriller

An architect, visiting an English country house, realizes the other guests are familiar from his recurring nightmare. When they share their tales of the supernatural, he is filled with a growing dread.

Only When I Larf

Only When I Larf · 1968

Only When I Larf

MovieCrimeComedy

A master conman leads a pair of British accomplices on an international adventure of highly profitable dirty tricks.

The League of Gentlemen

The League of Gentlemen · 1960

The League of Gentlemen

MovieComedyCrime

Involuntarily-retired Colonel Hyde recruits seven other dissatisfied ex-servicemen for a special project. Each of the men has a skeleton in the cupboard, is short of money, and is a service-trained expert in his field. The job is a bank robbery, and military discipline and planning are imposed by Hyde and second-in-command Race on the team, although civilian irritations do start getting in the way.

The Green Man

The Green Man · 1956

MovieComedyCrime

Unknown to everyone but his shady Middle Eastern bosses, watchmaker Hawkins is actually a professional hired assassin with a predilection for killing his targets with bombs. After disposing of a dictator and millionaire, Hawkins is assigned to kill a politician who is heading to a remote hotel, The Green Man, for a secret tryst with his secretary. There, however, Hawkins' plot is discovered by vacuum salesman William Blake, who determines to stop him.

Sapphire

Sapphire · 1959

MovieMysteryCrime

Two Scotland Yard detectives investigate the murder of a young woman of mixed race who had been passing for white. As they interview a spate of suspects -- including the girl's white boyfriend and his disapproving parents -- the detectives wade through a stubbornly entrenched sludge of racism and bigotry.

The Rainbow Jacket

The Rainbow Jacket · 1954

The Rainbow Jacket

A champion jockey is banned from racing so spends his time helping a young lad to become the next champion.

All Night Long

All Night Long · 1962

MovieDramaMusic

Over the course of one eventful evening, the anniversary celebration of the musical and romantic partners Aurelius Rex and Delia Lane, a jealous, ambitious drummer, Johnny Cousin, attempts to tear the interracial couple apart.

The Smallest Show on Earth

The Smallest Show on Earth · 1957

The Smallest Show on Earth

Jean and Bill are a married couple trying to scrape a living. Out of the blue they receive a telegram informing them Bill's long-lost uncle has died and left them his business—a cinema in the town of Sloughborough. Unfortunately they can't sell it for the fortune they hoped as they discover it is falling down and almost worthless.

The Assassination Bureau

The Assassination Bureau · 1969

The Assassination Bureau

MovieActionAdventure

In 1908 London, a women's rights campaigner discovers the Assassination Bureau Limited, an organization that kills for justice. When its motives are called into question, she commissions the assassination of its chairman. Knowing that his colleagues have recently become more motivated by greed than morality, he turns the situation into a challenge for his board members: kill him or be killed.

Cage of Gold

Cage of Gold · 1950

MovieDramaThriller

The love that Judy, a young painter, feels for Alan, a promising doctor to whom she is engaged, falters when Bill, an old friend, suddenly appears.

The Blue Lamp

The Blue Lamp · 1950

MovieCrimeThriller

P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.

Saraband for Dead Lovers

Saraband for Dead Lovers · 1948

Saraband for Dead Lovers

MovieRomanceHistory

Sophie Dorothea is a young woman forced into a loveless marriage with Prince George Louis of Hanover. George Louis is later crowned King George I of England. Despairing of ever experiencing true love, the depressed queen finds life at court no solace. Sophie then falls for a dashing Swedish soldier of fortune, Count Konigsmark.

Pool of London

Pool of London · 1951

MovieCrimeDrama

Jewel thieves, murder, and a manhunt swirl around a sailor off a cargo ship in post-war London.

More Like This

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

Why We Fight: Prelude to War · 1942

Why We Fight: Prelude to War

MovieDocumentaryWar

Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.

To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not · 1945

To Have and Have Not

MovieAdventureRomance

A Martinique charter boat skipper gets mixed up with the underground French resistance operatives during WWII.

Destination Tokyo

Destination Tokyo · 1943

Destination Tokyo

During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.

The Fighting Seabees

The Fighting Seabees · 1944

The Fighting Seabees

MovieDramaAction

Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.

To Be or Not to Be

To Be or Not to Be · 1983

To Be or Not to Be

A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young Polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape.

In Which We Serve

In Which We Serve · 1942

In Which We Serve

The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter