Desperate Moment – 1953 | 88 mins | Thriller, Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Prior to his popularity and stardom with the ‘Doctor’ series, handsome young Dirk Bogarde often portrayed a fugitive on the run in films such as The Blue Lamp (1950) and Hunted (1952). In this black-and-white post-war thriller, Bogarde is again a man on the run. Unfortunately, the ludicrous plot lacks tension and takes some believing too, and throughout many of the hero’s escapades seem contrived. Bogarde and Mai Zetterling make the most of their roles, but despite the urgency of the situation and authentic location phototgraphy, these aren’t characters you will care about.

Simon van Halder (Dirk Bogarde) is a Dutchman who worked for his country’s underground movement during the war. Believing his girlfriend Anna (Mai Zetterling) to be dead, and to shield a comrade, he falsely confesses that he killed a British soldier, and is imprisoned in a German fortress. When van Helder discovers Anna is alive, he makes a desperate bid for his freedom across post-war Hamburg and Berlin, whilst evading British troops and German police, to locate the man who alone can clear him of a false murder charge. The man who killed the British soldier was Paul Ravitch (Albert Lieven), who claimed to be stealing penicillin to treat Simon, but in fact stole a truckload to sell on the black market. Simon eventually tracks down his former comrades, but they are not overjoyed at making re-acquaintance.