Escape from Germany is a 2024 American historical drama film written and directed by T. C. Christensen.

Escape from Germany
Promotional poster
Directed byT. C. Christensen
Written byT. C. Christensen
Based onMine Angels Round About
by Terry Bohle Montague (2000)
Produced by
  • T. C. Christensen
  • Eric S. Johnston
Starring
  • Paul Wuthrich
  • David McConnell
Production
company
Remember Films
Distributed bySusan Tuckett Media
Release date
  • 11 April 2024 (2024-04-11) (United States)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budgetunder $1 million[1]
Box office$2,610,405[2][3]

Escape from Germany was released in the United States on 11 April 2024.[2]

Premise

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In August 1939, 85 American Mormon missionaries get stranded inside Nazi Germany on the eve of outbreak of WWII and must escape to neighboring countries while Hitler’s army is closing German borders.

Cast

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  • Paul Wuthrich as Elder Norman Seibold (1915-2003) who was tasked with locating the scattered missionaries and evacuating them from Germany
  • David McConnell as (West German Mission) President M. Douglas Wood
  • Whitney Palmer as Evelyn Wood, mission president's wife
  • Scarlett Hazen as Carol Wood, daughter
  • Sebastian Barr as Elder Anderson, missionary
  • Landon Henneman as Elder Barnes, missionary
  • Deveney Reber as Sister Erma Rosenhan, missionary
  • Henning Fischer as Gestapo officer

Production

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According to the film's closing credits and as stated in the magazine LDS Living, most of the extras in Escape from Germany were actual descendants of the real-life escaping missionaries.[1]

With the film's budget being under $1 million, some of the funding needed for its making came from a private investor in Dallas who was also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[1]

Principal photography took place in Utah and Budapest.[1]

Release

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The film was released in select cinemas in the United States on 11 April 2024 by Susan Tuckett Media.[2]

Reception

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Box office

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Escape from Germany grossed $168,100 during its opening weekend in the United States.[2] As of 4 September 2024, it made the total of $2.6 million.[3]

Critical response

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Christie Cronan wrote in her positive review for Common Sense Media: "While Escape from Germany could easily be labeled as propaganda for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, with its heavy-handed faith-based dialogue and missionary characters, it's also a WWII film without brutal war violence."[4]

Sean P. Means of The Movie Cricket criticised the film: "Christensen’s habit of turning every plot turn into a Sunday school lesson is on display here — with every twist of fate or fortunate coincidence taken as a sign of God’s hand. Miracles are good for sermons, but they make for unsubtle screenwriting."[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Read 3 miracles behind the film about missionaries' daring WWII escape". LDS Living. Deseret Book Company. 9 April 2024. Archived from the original on 21 May 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Escape From Germany (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Escape from Germany (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  4. ^ "Parents' Guide to Escape from Germany". Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  5. ^ "Review: 'Escape From Germany' finds faith-supporting lessons in a story of Latter-day Saint missionaries far from home at the brink of war". 11 April 2024. Archived from the original on 4 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.    
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