WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 I want you to imagine, just for a moment, the 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:06.360 sheer power of a single movie. It's a big thing 00:00:06.360 --> 00:00:08.679 to ask, honestly. It is, right, because we usually 00:00:08.679 --> 00:00:11.880 think of films as an escape, you know? Just a 00:00:11.880 --> 00:00:13.960 way to pass a couple of hours in the dark. Maybe 00:00:13.960 --> 00:00:15.740 munching on some popcorn to forget about your 00:00:15.740 --> 00:00:18.859 own life for a bit. Exactly. But can a piece 00:00:18.859 --> 00:00:21.000 of entertainment actually change the course of 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:23.850 history? That's the real question. Can a script 00:00:23.850 --> 00:00:26.769 and a camera really be responsible for saving 00:00:26.769 --> 00:00:30.030 tens of thousands of human lives? It sounds impossible. 00:00:30.370 --> 00:00:33.429 It does. But today we're looking at an incredible 00:00:33.429 --> 00:00:36.130 historical phenomenon that suggests the answer 00:00:36.130 --> 00:00:39.950 is a resounding yes. A definitive yes. We are 00:00:39.950 --> 00:00:43.929 exploring a 1941 British thriller called Pimpernel 00:00:43.929 --> 00:00:46.850 Smith. Which was actually released in the U .S. 00:00:46.850 --> 00:00:49.869 under the title Mr. V. Mr. V, right. And to really 00:00:49.869 --> 00:00:51.729 grasp the weight of... this, you have to put 00:00:51.729 --> 00:00:54.229 yourself in the mindset of the era. Picture London. 00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:58.789 It's July 26, 1941. So we're talking barely 10 00:00:58.789 --> 00:01:01.009 weeks after the devastating blitz had finally 00:01:01.009 --> 00:01:03.689 ended. Ten weeks. The British public had spent 00:01:03.689 --> 00:01:06.569 months huddling in subway stations. Their cities 00:01:06.569 --> 00:01:09.250 had been bombed into rubble. Morale was basically 00:01:09.250 --> 00:01:11.599 hanging by a thread at that point. Utterly hanging 00:01:11.599 --> 00:01:13.959 by a thread. And this film wasn't just released 00:01:13.959 --> 00:01:16.780 into that environment. It was deliberately engineered 00:01:16.780 --> 00:01:19.500 to be a crucial piece of British propaganda, 00:01:19.819 --> 00:01:22.700 a literal weapon of morale. Which is a heavy 00:01:22.700 --> 00:01:24.799 burden for a spy thriller to carry. Absolutely. 00:01:24.859 --> 00:01:27.000 And the mission of our deep dive today is to 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:32.019 explore exactly how this specific film, which 00:01:32.019 --> 00:01:34.760 is essentially a modern fictional update of the 00:01:34.760 --> 00:01:37.060 classic novel, The Scarlet Pimpernel, how it 00:01:37.060 --> 00:01:39.239 pulled it off. Because it really did. It did. 00:01:40.200 --> 00:01:43.620 Look at how it became a massive box office hit, 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:46.099 how it caught the attention of Winston Churchill 00:01:46.099 --> 00:01:48.560 during one of the most perilous moments of the 00:01:48.560 --> 00:01:50.719 war. A great story in itself. Oh, definitely. 00:01:50.760 --> 00:01:53.200 And most importantly, how it served as the direct. 00:01:53.959 --> 00:01:56.500 tangible blueprint for one of those miraculous 00:01:56.500 --> 00:02:00.040 real world rescue operations of the entire Second 00:02:00.040 --> 00:02:02.859 World War. It is a stunning example of how art 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:05.560 doesn't just reflect our reality. It can actively 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.300 shape it. OK, let's unpack this because the story 00:02:08.300 --> 00:02:11.620 of this film is packed with espionage, Hollywood 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:15.180 style daring and this profound real world impact. 00:02:15.479 --> 00:02:17.639 Let's start with the plot. Which sets a brilliant 00:02:17.639 --> 00:02:21.180 stage. It really does. The film takes place in 00:02:21.180 --> 00:02:24.860 the spring of 1939. So just months before the 00:02:24.860 --> 00:02:26.979 actual outbreak of the war. Right. And we are 00:02:26.979 --> 00:02:30.479 introduced to our hero, Horatio Smith. Now, he 00:02:30.479 --> 00:02:34.000 is decidedly not your typical muscle bound action 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:37.060 star. Far from it. He is this eccentric, slightly 00:02:37.060 --> 00:02:40.219 absent minded Cambridge archaeologist. And during 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:42.599 the university summer break, he takes a group 00:02:42.599 --> 00:02:44.719 of British and American archaeology students 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:47.520 over to Nazi Germany. And his cover story for 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.340 this trip is an absolute stroke of genius. It's 00:02:50.340 --> 00:02:54.020 so clever. He claims to be excavating and researching 00:02:54.020 --> 00:02:56.979 the Aryan origins of German civilization. Because 00:02:56.979 --> 00:02:59.379 he's supposedly looking for this mythical proof 00:02:59.379 --> 00:03:02.740 of their own ideology, the Nazis just roll out 00:03:02.740 --> 00:03:04.219 the red carpet for him. They give him everything. 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:07.199 It is the ultimate Trojan horse. He's weaponizing 00:03:07.199 --> 00:03:09.759 their own ideological obsession against them 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:12.060 to gain completely unrestricted access to the 00:03:12.060 --> 00:03:14.439 country. And they are so flattered by this supposed 00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:17.060 academic pursuit that they just don't look closely 00:03:17.060 --> 00:03:19.379 at what he's actually doing which is smuggling 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:22.620 people out right under their noses exactly his 00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:24.960 true agenda is freeing prisoners from the regime 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:27.159 including inmates from the concentration camps 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:29.840 and the film shows him pulling off these absolutely 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:33.500 wild almost farcical exploits like the scarecrow 00:03:33.500 --> 00:03:36.259 scene yes the scarecrow scene there is this one 00:03:36.259 --> 00:03:39.300 incredibly tense but honestly kind of hilarious 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:42.780 sequence where he disguises himself as a scarecrow 00:03:42.780 --> 00:03:45.750 in a field where prisoners are doing forced labor. 00:03:45.930 --> 00:03:47.789 Just hanging there. Just hanging there in plain 00:03:47.789 --> 00:03:52.090 sight. Suddenly, this bored German soldier decides 00:03:52.090 --> 00:03:54.990 to use the scarecrow for target practice just 00:03:54.990 --> 00:03:57.229 to frighten the prisoners. And Smith gets hit. 00:03:57.409 --> 00:04:00.069 He completely inadvertently gets shot in the 00:04:00.069 --> 00:04:03.550 arm. But he doesn't break character. Despite 00:04:03.550 --> 00:04:05.729 bleeding from a gunshot wound, he manages to 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:07.969 pull off the mission and frees a celebrated pianist 00:04:07.969 --> 00:04:10.689 from the work gang. And that gunshot wound actually 00:04:10.689 --> 00:04:12.689 drives the rest of the narrative forward. How 00:04:12.689 --> 00:04:15.199 so? Well, up until that point, his students just 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:17.759 thought he was a quirky, harmless academic. But 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:19.959 then they notice his injured arm. Right. The 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:22.959 timing lines up perfectly. Exactly. Around the 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:25.860 same time, they read a newspaper story about 00:04:25.860 --> 00:04:28.560 the daring exploits of a modern -day Scarlett 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:30.720 Pimpernel who's been rescuing people from the 00:04:30.720 --> 00:04:32.879 regime. And they put two and two together. They 00:04:32.879 --> 00:04:35.199 do. Once they realize their doddering professor 00:04:35.199 --> 00:04:38.839 is actually this shadowy, daring hero, they eagerly 00:04:38.839 --> 00:04:42.019 volunteer to become his sidekicks. What's fascinating 00:04:42.019 --> 00:04:45.339 here is how the film chooses to portray Smith 00:04:45.339 --> 00:04:48.019 cinematically. Yeah, talk about that. He is kept 00:04:48.019 --> 00:04:50.199 as a shadowy figure throughout the movie, both 00:04:50.199 --> 00:04:53.519 literally and figuratively. As a viewer, you 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:56.000 often see his face partially obscured by stacks 00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:59.040 of books, or it's hidden by incredibly moody, 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:01.660 low -key lighting. It adds so much atmosphere. 00:05:02.019 --> 00:05:04.699 It does. And surprisingly, the audience rarely 00:05:04.699 --> 00:05:07.319 even sees how he pulls off these miraculous escapes. 00:05:07.660 --> 00:05:09.600 The movie really leans into the myth -making 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.519 of it all. It almost treats him like a ghost. 00:05:11.860 --> 00:05:14.699 Precisely. We are never explicitly shown how 00:05:14.699 --> 00:05:17.240 he managed to extract himself from that scarecrow 00:05:17.240 --> 00:05:19.040 disguise while bleeding. In the closet scene. 00:05:19.579 --> 00:05:22.600 Yes. In another scene, he and a character named 00:05:22.600 --> 00:05:25.560 Lyudmila Kozlowski are sprinting down a fire 00:05:25.560 --> 00:05:28.100 escape, desperately trying to evade the Nazis. 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:30.620 They duck into a closet, the camera stays outside. 00:05:30.839 --> 00:05:33.040 Which is such a great choice. Right. And then 00:05:33.040 --> 00:05:36.480 suddenly, they just emerge entirely safe. Smith 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:39.180 just brushes it off to her, saying he's almost 00:05:39.180 --> 00:05:41.319 ashamed to use that old trick, but it nearly 00:05:41.319 --> 00:05:44.949 always works. It's so casual. Very casual. The 00:05:44.949 --> 00:05:47.230 film implies through these subtle, meaningful 00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:49.610 glances from background characters like a local 00:05:49.610 --> 00:05:52.529 innkeeper or a guy running a tour group that 00:05:52.529 --> 00:05:55.910 he has this vast, invisible network of helpers 00:05:55.910 --> 00:05:58.449 everywhere. It leaves so much to the imagination. 00:05:58.709 --> 00:06:02.730 Put yourself in that 1941 cinema. Seeing an Englishman 00:06:02.730 --> 00:06:05.290 operate with that kind of omnipotent, calm control 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:07.910 must have made him feel invincible to an audience 00:06:07.910 --> 00:06:10.250 that felt very vulnerable. Absolutely. It was 00:06:10.250 --> 00:06:12.350 exactly what they needed to see. But every great 00:06:12.350 --> 00:06:14.750 mythic hero needs an equally formidable villain. 00:06:14.930 --> 00:06:17.629 And for Smith, that is Gestapo General von Graum. 00:06:17.750 --> 00:06:20.569 And von Graum is absolutely obsessed with uncovering 00:06:20.569 --> 00:06:22.529 the identity of this Pimpernel and destroying 00:06:22.529 --> 00:06:26.029 him. Obsessed is the word. To get leverage... 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:29.120 Von Graum forces Lyudmila, the woman from the 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.800 closet, escape to help him by holding her father 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:35.079 hostage. Her father happens to be a leading Polish 00:06:35.079 --> 00:06:38.019 Democrat locked up by the Nazis. Which is a terrible 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:40.680 position for her to be in. Right. So when Smith 00:06:40.680 --> 00:06:43.259 finds out she's being blackmailed, he promises 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:46.199 he will free her father himself. Which leads 00:06:46.199 --> 00:06:49.560 to an incredibly elaborate, high -stakes heist 00:06:49.560 --> 00:06:53.019 sequence. It relies entirely on bluffing and 00:06:53.019 --> 00:06:55.519 psychological manipulation. It's straight out 00:06:55.519 --> 00:06:57.350 of... of Ocean's Eleven, but set in the Third 00:06:57.350 --> 00:07:00.069 Reich. Smith masquerades as a highly connected 00:07:00.069 --> 00:07:02.629 official who is supposedly responsible for creating 00:07:02.629 --> 00:07:05.149 the German -American Bund. And for a little context, 00:07:05.329 --> 00:07:07.990 the German -American Bund was a very real, very 00:07:07.990 --> 00:07:11.069 dangerous pro -Nazi organization operating in 00:07:11.069 --> 00:07:13.189 the United States in the 1930s. Yeah, that's 00:07:13.189 --> 00:07:15.850 a great point. So Smith is pretending to be a 00:07:15.850 --> 00:07:17.889 major player in their international propaganda 00:07:17.889 --> 00:07:21.029 machine. His students tag along pretending to 00:07:21.029 --> 00:07:23.290 be American journalists. It's such a bold play. 00:07:23.769 --> 00:07:25.769 They waltz right into the heavily guarded camp 00:07:25.769 --> 00:07:28.949 where Ludmilla's father is being held. They manage 00:07:28.949 --> 00:07:31.689 to knock out their armed escort, strip the guards 00:07:31.689 --> 00:07:34.430 of their uniforms, and steal their clothes. Classic 00:07:34.430 --> 00:07:37.269 spy trope, but executed perfectly. Totally. The 00:07:37.269 --> 00:07:40.149 father and four other prisoners put on the uniforms 00:07:40.149 --> 00:07:42.949 and simply walk out the front gate with Smith. 00:07:43.189 --> 00:07:47.550 The audacity of it is what makes it work. Meanwhile, 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:49.850 the students pretend to be unconscious when they 00:07:49.850 --> 00:07:51.550 are finally discovered by the camp commander. 00:07:51.709 --> 00:07:53.550 And then they just turn the tables. Completely. 00:07:53.930 --> 00:07:56.810 When they wake up, they boldly threaten the camp 00:07:56.810 --> 00:07:59.069 authorities with horrible publicity in the American 00:07:59.069 --> 00:08:02.889 press. They weaponize the regime's fear of bad 00:08:02.889 --> 00:08:05.350 international PR, at least. The fear they had 00:08:05.350 --> 00:08:08.889 at that specific point in 1939 to walk away scot 00:08:08.889 --> 00:08:11.470 -free. And it all builds to this incredible climax 00:08:11.470 --> 00:08:13.970 at the border. By this point, Von Grom knows 00:08:13.970 --> 00:08:16.649 Smith is the pimpernel. He stops a train that 00:08:16.649 --> 00:08:18.370 Smith and the students are supposedly taking 00:08:18.370 --> 00:08:20.610 out of the country. A train loaded with crates 00:08:20.610 --> 00:08:23.850 of his archaeological finds. Supposedly. But 00:08:23.850 --> 00:08:26.990 Smith is gone. The crates only hold actual ancient 00:08:26.990 --> 00:08:30.310 pottery. The students manage to slip across the 00:08:30.310 --> 00:08:32.649 border by blending into a cook's tour group. 00:08:32.789 --> 00:08:35.549 Basically hiding in plain sight among a flock 00:08:35.549 --> 00:08:38.549 of completely clueless British tourists on vacation. 00:08:38.889 --> 00:08:41.649 Which is brilliant. Smith actually stays behind 00:08:41.649 --> 00:08:43.629 to go back for Ludmilla, but they get caught 00:08:43.629 --> 00:08:45.909 at a border crossing by von Graum's men, and 00:08:45.909 --> 00:08:48.570 the timing here is absolutely critical. It really 00:08:48.570 --> 00:08:51.230 is. The film is very deliberate with its historical 00:08:51.230 --> 00:08:53.929 timeline. This final confrontation at the border 00:08:53.929 --> 00:08:56.850 takes place on the night of August 31st, 1939. 00:08:57.450 --> 00:09:00.350 The eve of the war. Yes, that is the very eve 00:09:00.350 --> 00:09:02.789 of the joint attack on the Republic of Poland. 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:05.539 It is literally the night before the Second World 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:07.899 War officially begins. The tension is at its 00:09:07.899 --> 00:09:11.360 absolute peak. It's foggy. It's dark. Von Grom 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:13.960 gloats to Smith that the invasion of Poland has 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:16.519 already begun. He sends Ludmilla back to the 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:18.820 train and he orders his armed guards to step 00:09:18.820 --> 00:09:21.679 away, leaving him and Smith completely alone 00:09:21.679 --> 00:09:24.100 by the border gate. And Von Grom's plan here 00:09:24.100 --> 00:09:26.519 is obvious. He wants to bait Smith into running 00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:28.639 so he can shoot him in the back and legally claim 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.149 he was trying to escape. But Smith just stands 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:34.690 there. He doesn't run. Instead, he calmly draws 00:09:34.690 --> 00:09:37.129 Von Grom's attention to one of the ancient artifacts 00:09:37.129 --> 00:09:40.429 left on the train platform. Smith tells the general 00:09:40.429 --> 00:09:43.190 that this specific artifact definitively proves 00:09:43.190 --> 00:09:45.370 there never was any early Aryan civilization. 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:48.929 It's all a myth. Right. And Von Grom is so infuriated 00:09:48.929 --> 00:09:51.409 by this intellectual insult that he draws his 00:09:51.409 --> 00:09:53.730 gun and smashes the artifact to pieces on the 00:09:53.730 --> 00:09:56.230 ground. And that noise is a distraction. Yes. 00:09:56.309 --> 00:09:59.029 The gunshot -like noise brings the guards running 00:09:59.029 --> 00:10:01.850 back. While Von Grom turns around to yell at 00:10:01.850 --> 00:10:04.850 them to stay back, Smith just vanishes into the 00:10:04.850 --> 00:10:08.129 thick fog. Like a ghost. Von Grom is left shouting 00:10:08.129 --> 00:10:11.110 into the mist for him to come back. And Smith's 00:10:11.110 --> 00:10:13.529 iconic final line echoes out of the darkness. 00:10:13.710 --> 00:10:16.309 Don't worry. I shall be back. We shall all be 00:10:16.309 --> 00:10:19.870 back. It is a masterful piece of cinema. It blends 00:10:19.870 --> 00:10:22.690 this intense, intimate character rivalry with 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:24.769 the massive geopolitical reality of the time. 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:27.509 But to really appreciate how this film resonated 00:10:27.509 --> 00:10:29.789 so deeply, we have to look behind the camera. 00:10:29.990 --> 00:10:32.029 Because the man playing Horatio Smith, Leslie 00:10:32.029 --> 00:10:34.490 Howard, wasn't just an actor showing up to read 00:10:34.490 --> 00:10:36.990 lines. This was a massive personal undertaking 00:10:36.990 --> 00:10:39.980 for him. He was heavily invested. He was a true 00:10:39.980 --> 00:10:42.779 triple threat on this project. He starred in 00:10:42.779 --> 00:10:45.139 it. He co -produced it. And it was actually his 00:10:45.139 --> 00:10:48.440 directorial debut. He was deeply aware of the 00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:50.659 Nazi threat in Europe and had been developing 00:10:50.659 --> 00:10:53.080 a film treatment about rescuing an Austrian anti 00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:56.899 -Nazi leader since as early as 1938. And he didn't 00:10:56.899 --> 00:10:59.340 even want to star in it initially. Right. He 00:10:59.340 --> 00:11:01.480 tried to get David Niven to play the lead role. 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:05.200 But producer Sam Goldwyn refused to release Niven 00:11:05.200 --> 00:11:07.539 from his contract, so Howard stepped into the 00:11:07.539 --> 00:11:10.139 lead role himself. He surrounded himself with 00:11:10.139 --> 00:11:12.899 a very interesting cast and crew, too. This was 00:11:12.899 --> 00:11:15.360 actually the screen debut of David Tomlinson, 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:17.639 who played one of the archaeology students. And 00:11:17.639 --> 00:11:19.519 there was some pretty spectacular off -screen 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:21.639 friction during production as well. I think definitely. 00:11:21.820 --> 00:11:24.360 Tomlinson later revealed that Leslie Howard actively 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.379 tried to seduce his co -star, Mary Morris, who 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:31.049 played Ludmilla. The catch? Morris was gay. And 00:11:31.049 --> 00:11:33.269 Howard apparently viewed this as a personal challenge 00:11:33.269 --> 00:11:36.350 to be overcome. Which, unsurprisingly, she completely 00:11:36.350 --> 00:11:39.470 and firmly shut down. It paints a very complex 00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:42.029 picture of the production dynamics and Howard's 00:11:42.029 --> 00:11:45.970 ego. But creatively, he had an incredibly specific, 00:11:46.190 --> 00:11:50.070 controlling vision for the project. How so? The 00:11:50.070 --> 00:11:52.610 film's editor, Sidney Cole, observes something 00:11:52.610 --> 00:11:55.320 really unique about the process. He noted that 00:11:55.320 --> 00:11:57.860 Howard's acting style directly dictated how the 00:11:57.860 --> 00:12:00.220 film had to be directed and edited. That makes 00:12:00.220 --> 00:12:02.899 sense. Howard kept Cole right there on the studio 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:05.759 floor during all the shooting to act as a sounding 00:12:05.759 --> 00:12:08.200 board. He wanted to ensure that the internal 00:12:08.200 --> 00:12:10.679 rhythm of his performance translated perfectly 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:13.429 to the rhythm of the cinematic edits. Here's 00:12:13.429 --> 00:12:15.389 where it gets really interesting, because beneath 00:12:15.389 --> 00:12:18.490 all the witty banter, the egos and the spy thrills, 00:12:18.490 --> 00:12:21.450 there is a deep layer of hidden trauma in this 00:12:21.450 --> 00:12:24.330 film. Yes, there is. There's a brilliant, subtle 00:12:24.330 --> 00:12:26.669 scene right around the 43 minute mark that completely 00:12:26.669 --> 00:12:29.710 changes how you view Horatio Smith. He is at 00:12:29.710 --> 00:12:31.789 an embassy reception and he is wearing these 00:12:31.789 --> 00:12:35.149 somewhat battered old evening clothes. On his 00:12:35.149 --> 00:12:38.429 lapel, he has three military medals. Very subtle, 00:12:38.490 --> 00:12:40.830 but important. He needs a light for a cigarette, 00:12:40.950 --> 00:12:43.110 so he deliberately tears the corners off some 00:12:43.110 --> 00:12:45.250 fancy invitation cards to get the attention of 00:12:45.250 --> 00:12:47.990 an embassy worker. While the worker gets a match, 00:12:48.210 --> 00:12:50.870 Smith notices the worker is also wearing medals 00:12:50.870 --> 00:12:53.850 on his uniform. And what does he do? Smith just 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:56.250 looks at him, completely dropping his eccentric 00:12:56.250 --> 00:12:59.870 professor act, and quietly says, old soldiers. 00:13:00.149 --> 00:13:02.850 That moment changes everything. You have to remember 00:13:02.850 --> 00:13:05.970 the context of the audience in 1941. That scene 00:13:05.970 --> 00:13:10.049 grounds this entertaining, swashbuckling spy 00:13:10.049 --> 00:13:13.850 thriller in the very real, very raw shared trauma 00:13:13.850 --> 00:13:17.490 of the Great War. World War I. It recontextualizes 00:13:17.490 --> 00:13:20.350 him completely. It instantly crystallizes Smith's 00:13:20.350 --> 00:13:22.809 deeper motivations. He isn't just a bored academic 00:13:22.809 --> 00:13:25.090 looking for an adrenaline rush. He's a man who 00:13:25.090 --> 00:13:27.110 has already witnessed the unimaginable horrors 00:13:27.110 --> 00:13:29.590 of a global conflict. And now, seeing the dark 00:13:29.590 --> 00:13:31.970 clouds gathering over Europe again, he is morally 00:13:31.970 --> 00:13:34.009 compelled to act. The film drives this point 00:13:34.009 --> 00:13:36.769 home near the end, too. As Smith is finally writing 00:13:36.769 --> 00:13:39.669 toward freedom, he quotes a 1912 poem by Rupert 00:13:39.669 --> 00:13:41.929 Brooke called The Old Vicarage, Grantchester. 00:13:42.269 --> 00:13:44.570 And Rupert Brooke was one of the defining poets 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:46.629 who became a symbol. of the lost generation of 00:13:46.629 --> 00:13:50.470 World War I. Exactly. Having Smith quote him 00:13:50.470 --> 00:13:54.190 emphasizes this profound loss of innocence. It 00:13:54.190 --> 00:13:56.529 highlights the tragedy of a generation that survived 00:13:56.529 --> 00:13:59.710 one global nightmare only to find themselves 00:13:59.710 --> 00:14:02.289 staring down the barrel of a brand new one. It 00:14:02.289 --> 00:14:04.990 gives the character a moral weight that completely 00:14:04.990 --> 00:14:08.379 transcends standard wartime propaganda. It's 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:10.700 not just about cheering for the clever good guy 00:14:10.700 --> 00:14:13.120 outsmarting the bad guy. Oh, it's deeper. It's 00:14:13.120 --> 00:14:15.299 about understanding the incredibly heavy burden 00:14:15.299 --> 00:14:17.740 of standing up against tyranny when you already 00:14:17.740 --> 00:14:20.360 intimately know the cost of war. And audiences 00:14:20.360 --> 00:14:23.519 felt that deeply. The film was an absolute smash 00:14:23.519 --> 00:14:26.299 hit. It became the third most popular film in 00:14:26.299 --> 00:14:29.940 Britain in 1941. It was sitting only behind 49th 00:14:29.940 --> 00:14:32.259 Parallel and Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. 00:14:32.419 --> 00:14:34.240 Which is an incredible company to be in. It was 00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:37.279 so phenomenally successful that it secured a... 00:14:37.289 --> 00:14:39.549 record -breaking distribution deal with United 00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:42.570 Artists over in the U .S. Industry papers at 00:14:42.570 --> 00:14:44.490 the time described it as the most satisfactory 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:46.929 deal ever recorded for British films trying to 00:14:46.929 --> 00:14:49.230 break into the transatlantic market. Its reach 00:14:49.230 --> 00:14:51.409 went far beyond the general cinema going public 00:14:51.409 --> 00:14:54.250 though. it penetrated the highest levels of global 00:14:54.250 --> 00:14:57.029 power. Yes, it did. Winston Churchill, who was 00:14:57.029 --> 00:14:58.870 prime minister during this existential crisis 00:14:58.870 --> 00:15:01.649 for Britain, believed that cinema was a vital 00:15:01.649 --> 00:15:04.889 psychological escape. He relied heavily on films 00:15:04.889 --> 00:15:07.649 to take his mind off the immense, crushing pressures 00:15:07.649 --> 00:15:10.360 of directing the war effort. I just love the 00:15:10.360 --> 00:15:12.440 visual of this next part. Picture this. It's 00:15:12.440 --> 00:15:16.220 August 9th, 1941. Churchill is traveling secretly 00:15:16.220 --> 00:15:18.820 across the Atlantic Ocean on the battleship HMS 00:15:18.820 --> 00:15:21.240 Prince of Wales. This is a treacherous journey. 00:15:21.620 --> 00:15:24.240 Incredibly treacherous. The Atlantic is swarming 00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:26.620 with German U -boats, and he is on his way to 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:29.080 meet U .S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt at 00:15:29.080 --> 00:15:32.440 Argentia in Newfoundland for a highly classified... 00:15:32.919 --> 00:15:35.059 world -altering conference. And what does he 00:15:35.059 --> 00:15:37.899 do to unwind? He specifically requests Pimpernel 00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:40.000 Smith to be screened for the ship's officers 00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:42.080 in the wardroom. It speaks volumes about the 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:44.480 specific kind of escapism Churchill needed at 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:47.039 that moment. Here is the leader of the British 00:15:47.039 --> 00:15:49.120 war effort traveling through hostile waters to 00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:51.179 secure an alliance that will literally shape 00:15:51.179 --> 00:15:53.860 the fate of the free world. And he chooses to 00:15:53.860 --> 00:15:56.820 watch a movie about a lone Englishman using nothing 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:59.759 but his wits and audacity to outsmart the Gestapo. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.120 It must have been incredibly validating for him. 00:16:02.480 --> 00:16:05.360 So what does this all mean? We have a hit movie, 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:08.840 a masterful blend of tension and trauma, and 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:11.879 a powerful fan in Winston Churchill. But how 00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.779 does a movie actually translate to saving real 00:16:14.779 --> 00:16:17.700 human lives? This is the turning point. This 00:16:17.700 --> 00:16:20.000 is where the story shifts from a fascinating 00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:22.759 piece of film history into one of the most staggering 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:26.139 events of the 20th century. Fast forward to November 00:16:26.139 --> 00:16:30.200 1943. The film arrives in Sweden. But Sweden 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:32.899 is officially neutral in the war. Right. Their 00:16:32.899 --> 00:16:35.159 film censorship board takes one look at this 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:38.320 highly critical, mocking portrayal of Nazi Germany 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:41.340 and decides to ban it from public viewing. They 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:43.679 were terrified it would provoke Germany and jeopardize 00:16:43.679 --> 00:16:45.940 their fragile neutrality. The ban held for the 00:16:45.940 --> 00:16:48.120 public, but the film still found its way to a 00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:51.240 very select, influential audience. A private 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:52.879 screening was arranged at the British Embassy 00:16:52.879 --> 00:16:55.210 in Stockholm. And who was there? Sitting in the 00:16:55.210 --> 00:16:56.950 audience at that screening was a young Swedish 00:16:56.950 --> 00:16:59.690 diplomat named Raoul Wallenberg. He attended 00:16:59.690 --> 00:17:02.629 with his half -sister, Nina Lagergren. This is 00:17:02.629 --> 00:17:05.130 the spark. This is the moment the fiction breaches 00:17:05.130 --> 00:17:08.089 reality. On the way home from that private screening, 00:17:08.349 --> 00:17:11.880 Wallenberg turns to his sister. He is deeply 00:17:11.880 --> 00:17:14.859 moved by what he just saw on the screen. This 00:17:14.859 --> 00:17:17.579 story of an unassuming man using fake authority. 00:17:17.799 --> 00:17:20.779 Exactly. Fake authority, diplomatic ruses, and 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:23.960 sheer unwavering nerve to pull people out of 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:26.660 the fire. He tells her, flat out, that this was 00:17:26.660 --> 00:17:28.680 the kind of thing he would like to do. If we 00:17:28.680 --> 00:17:30.779 connect this to the bigger picture, Wallenberg's 00:17:30.779 --> 00:17:33.119 translation of that film from the screen to reality 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:35.759 is almost unbelievable. It's a one -to -one adaptation. 00:17:36.240 --> 00:17:40.380 Pretty much. By August 1944, following the massive 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:43.519 horrifying deportations of Jews in Europe, Wallenberg 00:17:43.519 --> 00:17:45.579 was sent to Budapest under a secret agreement 00:17:45.579 --> 00:17:48.140 between the U .S. and Swedish governments. And 00:17:48.140 --> 00:17:50.700 his explicit assignment was to organize a rescue 00:17:50.700 --> 00:17:53.440 program. Yes. And he didn't rely on traditional 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:55.779 military tactics or standard diplomatic protests. 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:58.460 He weaponized the very concept of bureaucratic 00:17:58.460 --> 00:18:01.000 audacity. He looked at Horatio Smith and realized 00:18:01.000 --> 00:18:04.059 the blueprint was right there. If the Nazis respected 00:18:04.059 --> 00:18:06.539 paperwork and authority above all else, he would 00:18:06.539 --> 00:18:08.700 simply drown them in it. It's brilliant. He started 00:18:08.700 --> 00:18:12.259 issuing fake Swedish protective passports. These 00:18:12.259 --> 00:18:15.059 were just pieces of paper entirely made up, but 00:18:15.059 --> 00:18:17.539 he backed them with the sheer force of his diplomatic 00:18:17.539 --> 00:18:19.799 bluffing. Just like Smith pretending to be the 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.900 Bund official. Precisely. He acted with such 00:18:22.900 --> 00:18:25.440 absolute confidence that the regime accepted 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:28.420 these papers as proof the bearers were Swedish 00:18:28.420 --> 00:18:31.099 subjects, protecting them from deportation. He 00:18:31.099 --> 00:18:33.779 didn't just borrow Smith's tactics. He scaled 00:18:33.779 --> 00:18:36.880 them up to an industrial level. Wallenberg went 00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:39.960 so far as to rent 32 different buildings in Budapest. 00:18:40.019 --> 00:18:43.200 32 buildings? Yes. He slapped Swedish flags on 00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:45.539 them and simply declared them to be sovereign 00:18:45.539 --> 00:18:48.920 Swedish territory. He essentially built a massive 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:51.299 real -world version of the invisible network 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:53.819 we saw in the film. Just staggering. By using 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:55.900 these exact psychological blind spots of the 00:18:55.900 --> 00:18:58.500 regime, Wallenberg eventually sheltered nearly 00:18:58.500 --> 00:19:01.539 10 ,000 people in those buildings. Through his 00:19:01.539 --> 00:19:03.839 relentless, audacious efforts, he is credited 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:06.160 with saving tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:08.480 from the German death camps in the final months 00:19:08.480 --> 00:19:11.839 of the war. A real -life Horatio Smith. It is 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:13.980 staggering to think about the courage that took. 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:17.180 And by the way, the Swedish censors finally lifted 00:19:17.180 --> 00:19:19.660 their ban and the film was released freely in 00:19:19.660 --> 00:19:23.619 Sweden in May 1945, right as the war in Europe 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:26.460 ended. A fitting end to the ban. But the tragedy 00:19:26.460 --> 00:19:29.680 of this story is that the man who brought Horatio 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:32.680 Smith to life, who planted that seed in Wallenberg's 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:35.779 mind, never got to see the ultimate impact of 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:38.200 his work. The story of Leslie Howard has a very 00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:41.279 somber, mysterious conclusion. It does. The aftermath 00:19:41.279 --> 00:19:43.799 of this film carries a heavy historical shadow. 00:19:44.220 --> 00:19:47.440 On June 1st, 1943, Leslie Howard was traveling 00:19:47.440 --> 00:19:50.900 on BOAC Flight 777. Which was a regular commercial 00:19:50.900 --> 00:19:53.380 airliner flying from Portugal to London. Right. 00:19:53.859 --> 00:19:55.579 Tragically, the flight was intercepted and shot 00:19:55.579 --> 00:19:57.940 down by the German Luftwaffe over the Bay of 00:19:57.940 --> 00:20:00.480 Biscay. Howard, along with all the other passengers 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:02.960 and crew on board, was killed. It's a mysterious 00:20:02.960 --> 00:20:05.259 end that has fueled fierce debate among historians 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:07.980 for decades. It's wild to think they would authorize 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:09.940 a military strike to shoot down a civilian commercial 00:20:09.940 --> 00:20:12.400 flight just to eliminate a filmmaker. But then 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:14.660 again, if the propaganda was damaging enough. 00:20:14.859 --> 00:20:17.920 That is exactly the crux of the debate. There 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:20.480 are two main schools of thought. The first theory 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:23.299 suggests that the plane was targeted specifically 00:20:23.299 --> 00:20:26.359 because of Leslie Howard. Because of his propaganda 00:20:26.359 --> 00:20:29.660 work. Exactly. He was a highly visible, highly 00:20:29.660 --> 00:20:33.619 effective creator of powerful anti -Nazi propaganda. 00:20:34.579 --> 00:20:37.640 Films exactly like Pimpernel Smith. The theory 00:20:37.640 --> 00:20:39.799 argues that the regime recognized the psychological 00:20:39.799 --> 00:20:42.680 damage he was inflicting on their image and wanted 00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:45.180 to silence him permanently. And the second theory, 00:20:45.339 --> 00:20:47.240 which honestly sounds like something out of a 00:20:47.240 --> 00:20:49.460 spy movie itself. The second theory is that it 00:20:49.460 --> 00:20:51.380 was a catastrophic case of mistaken identity. 00:20:52.220 --> 00:20:54.660 Howard was traveling with his theatrical agent, 00:20:54.839 --> 00:20:57.559 a man named Arthur Chenhal. And what's the connection 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:00.740 there? Well, German intelligence agents in Portugal 00:21:00.740 --> 00:21:03.619 may have observed them boarding and believe that 00:21:03.619 --> 00:21:05.680 Howard and Chenhal were actually Winston Churchill 00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.720 and his bodyguard. Oh, wow. Chenhal apparently 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:11.200 bore a physical resemblance to Churchill, and 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:13.640 they smoked similar cigars. The German military 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:15.819 might have authorized the strike, assuming they 00:21:15.819 --> 00:21:17.819 were dealing a decapitating blow to the British 00:21:17.819 --> 00:21:20.130 leadership. We may never know for sure which 00:21:20.130 --> 00:21:23.470 theory is the absolute truth, but the loss of 00:21:23.470 --> 00:21:25.910 Leslie Howard is a stark reminder of the very 00:21:25.910 --> 00:21:29.569 real mortal danger that surrounded the creation 00:21:29.569 --> 00:21:31.970 and dissemination of this kind of art during 00:21:31.970 --> 00:21:34.329 the war. It was life and death. It really was. 00:21:34.509 --> 00:21:37.309 So let's pull all of this together. We started 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:40.180 by looking at a piece of fiction. A black and 00:21:40.180 --> 00:21:42.799 white movie born out of a desperate desire to 00:21:42.799 --> 00:21:46.299 boost British morale and update a classic novel. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:49.000 A simple spy thriller on the surface. But through 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:51.779 the incredible alchemy of storytelling, historical 00:21:51.779 --> 00:21:54.519 timing, and one fateful private screening in 00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:57.880 Stockholm, that fiction managed to directly inspire 00:21:57.880 --> 00:22:00.880 a man who went on to save tens of thousands of 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:03.319 real human lives. It is a profound testament 00:22:03.319 --> 00:22:05.740 to why we shouldn't just passively consume media 00:22:05.740 --> 00:22:08.059 and dismiss it as just entertainment. Right. 00:22:08.680 --> 00:22:10.279 It absorbs so many stories every single day, 00:22:10.339 --> 00:22:12.119 and it's easy to view them as sleeting distractions. 00:22:12.559 --> 00:22:14.859 But the deeply intertwined story of Pipernell 00:22:14.859 --> 00:22:17.779 Smith and Raoul Wallenberg proves that art, and 00:22:17.779 --> 00:22:19.900 the specific stories we choose to tell, have 00:22:19.900 --> 00:22:22.160 the tangible power to provide moral clarity. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.259 They can cut through the noise. They can bypass 00:22:24.259 --> 00:22:27.920 our cynicism and inspire genuine, world -altering 00:22:27.920 --> 00:22:31.420 courage when it is needed most. Think about how 00:22:31.420 --> 00:22:33.599 you consume media today. It really makes you 00:22:33.599 --> 00:22:35.500 look at your own movie queue differently, doesn't 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:37.490 it? Which leaves you with something to ponder 00:22:37.490 --> 00:22:40.990 as we wrap up this deep dive. If a quirky black 00:22:40.990 --> 00:22:43.509 and white thriller from 1941 could plant the 00:22:43.509 --> 00:22:45.630 seed for one of the greatest humanitarian rescue 00:22:45.630 --> 00:22:48.710 operations in history, what piece of pop culture, 00:22:48.869 --> 00:22:50.990 what movie, or what media that you've consumed 00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:53.650 recently might secretly be wiring someone somewhere 00:22:53.650 --> 00:22:55.089 to change the world tomorrow?