''Charlie Grant's War'' is a Canadian television film, directed by Martin Lavut and broadcast by

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

in 1985.Donald Martin, "A Canadian hero finally gets his due". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', January 26, 1985. Set during World War II, the film stars

R. H. Thomson Robert Holmes Thomson (born 1947), known as R. H. Thomson, is a Canadian television, film, and stage actor. With a career spanning five decades he remains a regular presence on Canadian movie screens and television. He has received numerous ...

as Charlie Grant, a Canadian activist and humanitarian who was living in Austria at the time of the war, and helped to smuggle over 600 Jews out of the country for their safety. The film's cast also included Jean Archambault, Anthony Bekenn, Peter Boretski, Douglas Campbell, Marigold Charlesworth,

Peter Dvorsky Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a ...

, Jan Rubeš, Vlasta Vrána, Louis Negin,

Joan Orenstein Joan Orenstein (December 4, 1923 – October 10, 2009) was a British-born Canadian actress, primarily on stage, although she performed in other media. One of her best-known roles was in the 1997 film '' The Hanging Garden'' as the dotty old g ...

and John Friesen. The film had its television premiere on January 27, 1985.

Plot

Shocked and horrified by the rising tide of anti-Semitism in war-torn Vienna, Grant uses his position as a diamond broker to obtain illegal passports and safe passage for hundreds of Jews. He is discovered, arrested by the Gestapo, and imprisoned in some of the most notorious Nazi concentration camps in Europe.

Accolades and Awards

The film received several ACTRA Award nominations at the

15th ACTRA Awards The 15th ACTRA Awards were presented on April 2, 1986 to honour achievements in Canadian television production in 1985. They were the final ACTRA Awards presented before the responsibility for organizing and presenting Canadian television awards w ...

in 1986, including for Best TV Program, Best Actor (Thomson), Best Supporting Performance (Dvorsky, Rubeš) and Best Writing ( Anna Sandor). It won the awards for Best Program and Best Writing.Adele Freedman, "Charlie Grant's War is ACTRA's top show of the year: Nellie makes last stand brisk but chummy". ''

'', April 4, 1986.

References

External links

* 1985 films 1985 television films Canadian war drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Martin Lavut CBC Television original films World War II films based on actual events Canadian films based on actual events Canadian drama television films Canadian World War II films 1980s Canadian films {{Canada-drama-tv-prog-stub