Director Watch Podcast Ep. 141 – ’49th Parallel aka The Invaders’ (Powell and Pressburger, 1942)
On episode 141 of the Director Watch Podcast, co-hosts Ryan McQuade and Jay Ledbetter discuss the first film in their Powell and Pressburger series, 49th Parallel aka The Invaders (1942).
Welcome back to Director Watch! On this AwardsWatch podcast, the boys attempt to break down, analyze, and ultimately, get inside the mind of some of cinema’s greatest auteurs. In doing so, they will look at their filmographies, explore what drives them artistically and what makes their decision making process so fascinating. Add in a few silly tangents and a fun game at the end of the episode and you’ve got yourself a podcast we truly hope you love.
Known as the most influential director duo of all time, and the greatest British filmmakers not named Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were a powerhouse team in their era, creating some of the richest films of their time that have aged impeccably. But you don’t have to tell the Director Watch hosts this because they’ve covered these filmmakers before on a previous series, on their old show. That was during the pandemic, and now they have had time to settle on their motion pictures, and seen them multiple times, and thought it would be a wonderful chance to go back and review these films under a now familiar lens. In the first entry into their series, they take a look at their 1941 war picture (released in 1942 in the U.S.), where the duo subverts the expectations of the audience, and force us to examine a group of “protagonists” that were rather unconventional at the time; a group of Nazis on the run, attempting to cross into the then-neutral United States. Ryan and Jay breakdown their thoughts on the film, their vast respect for Powell and Pressburger, their use of the Germans as the main characters, the propaganda within films during the war, and the amazing talents of Leslie Howard, Laurence Olivier, Anton Walbrook; the latter who will be mentioned much more throughout this series.
You can listen to the Director Watch Podcast wherever you stream podcasts, from iTunes, iHeartRadio, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Spotify, Audible, Amazon Music and more. You can also listen on the AW YouTube page. Links in bio.
This podcast runs 1h54m. The guys will be back next week to begin their series on the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger with a review of their next film, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. You can rent it via iTunes and Amazon Prime rental in preparation for the next episode of Director Watch. Till then, let’s get into it.
Music: MUSICALIFE, from Pond5 (intro) and “B-3” from BoxCat Games Nameless: The Hackers RPG Soundtrack (outro).
Engrossed with all things Oscars, he hosts the AwardsWatch Podcast, alongside members of the AwardsWatch Team. He is also the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Jay Ledbetter, covering director movie series of cinemas’ greatest auteurs.
Ryan covers multiple film festivals a year including Sundance, SXSW, Telluride, Toronto, New York, Middleburg, and AFI where he reviews films and interviews top talent.
When he’s not watching movies, he’s rooting on all his favorite sports teams, including his beloved Texas Longhorns. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (LEJA) and the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS).
Jay Ledbetter is a finance manager by day, film critic by night living in Atlanta, Georgia. He began writing about film in 2013 and is not afraid to confront people of all ages if they are too loud in the theater.
As well as his reviews, Jay is the co-host of the Director Watch podcast with Ryan McQuade, our director movie series covering cinemas’ greatest auteurs. In addition to his work at AwardsWatch, Jay has written and hosted podcasts for Film Inquiry and InSession Film. He is an auteur obsessive, regularly diving deep into the filmographies of celebrated filmmakers.
Jay is a proud member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle and the Georgia Film Critics Association.
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 143 – ‘I Know Where I’m Going’ (Powell and Pressburger, 1945) - March 15, 2026
- Director Watch Ep. 142 ‘The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp’ (Powell and Pressburger, 1943) with Special Guest Bilge Ebiri - March 5, 2026
- Director Watch Podcast Ep. 141 – ’49th Parallel aka The Invaders’ (Powell and Pressburger, 1942) - February 27, 2026
SXSW 2026 Reviews: ‘Wishful Thinking,’ ‘The Sun Never Sets,’ ‘Obsession’ 
‘Pretty Lethal’ Review: Vicky Jewson’s Bloody, Ballistic Ballet is Never Quite On Pointe [C] SXSW 
Frameline Announces 2026 Completion Fund Grantees Ahead of 50th LGBTQ+ Festival 
SXSW 2026 Reviews: ‘Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,’ ‘Over Your Dead Body,’ ‘Power Ballad’