Directed by:
Ronald NeameScreenplay:
Nigel BalchinComposer:
Alan RawsthorneCast:
Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng, Stephen Boyd, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Keen, Joan Hickson, Terence Longdon, Cyril Cusack, André Morell (more)Plots(1)
Clifton Webb stars in this fascinating account of a daring intelligence operation designed to mislead the Nazis prior to the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. In an effort to convince the Germans to redeploy their defenses, Lt. Commander Montagu (Webb) creates a false English officer and fabricates letters that indicate the British intend to land in Greece. Montagu than plants these documents on a dead man and orchestrates the "discovery" of this "officer" on the coast of Spain, Knowing the papers will fall into German hands. What follows is a taut cat-and mouse game as British Intelligence waits for Berlin to respond, then races to stay one step ahead of the Nazi agent dispatched to determine if the dead man is genuine. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (2)
Last night I dreamed a deadly dream, beyond the Isle of Sky, I saw a dead man win a fight, and I think that man was I. One of the most infamous deception plans of the second world war, involving false papers carried by an officer who never was, which was meant to convince the Germans that the invasion would definitely not take place in the most suitable and strategically important (and well-protected) site of Sicily, but in Greece and Sardinia. This operation paid off for the Allies twofold. Firstly, that it worked at all, and secondly that afterward the Germans on principle no longer trusted any documents they found; which turned out to be a great advantage mainly during Operation Market Garden. And this movie is a dramatization of those events. With heavy emphasis on the word dramatization. And while the first part of the operation from the point of view of British intelligence, if you turn a blind eye, is more or less according to fact, the closing third and the backstory with the German spy verifying the existence of William Martin is a tall story through and through. So if you are looking for a reconstruction of “what went on back then", head for the world of documentaries, several of which present the story of Operation Mincemeat excellently. But if “just" an above-standard genre movie is enough for you, don’t hesitate to watch this. ()
A war film about how the Germans were being set up. It's a film that is quite suspenseful, but it couldn't hold my attention the whole time. But the film is definitely well-directed, and it is also characterized by its excellent depiction of the era and atmosphere. It reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's spy films but without his oppressive power. ()
Gallery (12)
Photo © Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
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