The Man Who Never Was
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Movie Reviews of The Man Who Never Was
Movie Review: Operation Mincemeat: A Retelling Of A True WWII Gambit
Summary: 4 Stars
In 1942 Allied powers greatly desired to invade Sicily--a fact of which Axis powers were well aware and against which the island was greatly fortified. In an effort to trick the Nazi military, British intelligence agents Flight Lt. Charles Cholmondeley and Lt. Commander Ewen Montagu came up with a clever plan: a body, bearing papers indicating that the major Allied attack would come elsewhere, was floated in to Spanish waters. Although technically neutral, Spain was sympathetic to the Nazis, and with any luck the papers would be thought genuine and reach German hands.
Although top secret even after the war, a good story is hard to keep down, and after numerous leaks Montagu himself was allowed to write an account of the deception. Titled THE MAN WHO NEVER WAS, the book was an overnight bestseller and the 1956 film version proved very popular as well. In retelling the story on the screen, writer Nigel Balchin took a number of liberties with the story, most particularly in the creation of "Lucy Sherwood" (Gloria Graham), a character who exists largely in order to provide a touch of love and pathos; even so, the film is very accurate in terms of the operation itself and how it was carried out.
Clifton Webb is perhaps best recalled for his waspish roles in such celebrated films as LAURA, but he sets aside his mannerisms for the role of Montagu and drives the action of the film in a remarkably capable manner, well supported by Robert Flemyng as assistant Lt. George Acres (based on Charles Cholmondeley) and Josephine Griffin as Pam, his secretary. Stephen Boyd does well in the Irish-accented role of Nazi agent Patrick O'Reilly, a semi-fictional character, and Gloria Graham, always a memorable performer, scores heavily in the role of Lucy Sherwood.
he film is essentially about process--finding the right body, planting the papers, arranging for the body to be transported, and so on--and as such it moves a fast clip, with director Ronald Neame (an Oscar-winning screenwriter perhaps best now known as director of such films as I COULD GO ON SINGING, THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE, and THE POSEIDON AVENTURE) keeping everything moving at a good clip. The DVD offers excellent picture and sound, as well as the choice between wide screen and full screen. If you know nothing about Operation Mincemeat, you'll find it fascinating stuff--and if you do know about Operation Mincemeat you'll still find the film entertaining on its own. Recommended.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Movie Review: A Taut, Clever, Well Made WWII Thriller
Summary: 4 Stars
In the Fifties Britain produced a number of well made WWII movies that recaptured the valor and victories of British arms. The war was past and the civilian deprivations that had lasted well after the war were going away. It was time to celebrate what Britain had accomplished. The Man Who Never Was is among these movies. It tells the true story of Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montague (Clifton Webb), a barrister who now is in Naval Intelligence, who has been charged to come up with a scheme that will convince the Germans that the Allies will not mount a major effort to invade Sicily. His solution is named Operation Mincemeat, and involves using a body as a decoy. I won't go into the details because the fun is in seeing just how Montague and his small staff, an aide and a secretary, go about it. But having accomplished their assignment, they are faced with the likelihood that the Germans will try hard to verify what they are being led to believe. The second half of the movie is a tight little drama where Montague has to outwit an Irishman who has become a German agent.
Webb is quite effective playing Montague. There's almost none of the prissiness he brought to most of his roles. He's quiet, determined and smarter than many around him. He has a sharp tongue but seldom shows impatience. It's a nice job. Gloria Grahame plays a young woman who provides an important piece of evidence establishing the body's history, and then unknowingly faces the Irish agent.
In my view, this is a very watchable film that keeps moving at a good pace. Ronald Neame was an experienced, effective director who knew what he was doing. Two of his best films and well worth watching are The Horse's Mouth and Tunes of Glory.
And for those who appreciate a stiff upper lip and immaculate British manners, here are some of those Fifties WWII movies to track down: The Colditz Story, Ice Cold in Alex, The Battle of the River Platte, Ill Met by Moonlight, I Was Monty's Double, Above Us the Waves, The Cruel Sea. I like them all.
There are no extras to speak of. The DVD picture looks very good
Movie Review: Guile and Cunning...
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Man Who Never Was" is a nicely-done movie dramatization derived from the book of the same name by former British Intelligence Officer Ewan Montagu. Montagu (played in the movie by Clifton Webb) was tasked in 1943 to divert German forces from the defense of Sicily, the next Allied objective. Montagu and his team came up with the disturbing but unique idea of planting false papers on a dead body disguised as an Allied officer, then allowing the body to wash ashore in Fascist Spain in the hopes that the information would be passed to the Germans.
The first two thirds of the movie follows the efforts of Montagu's team to find a suitable body and prepare its legend as one Major William Martin, Royal Marines, carrying letters to high officers in the Mediterranean Theater. Amid the disruptions of blitz-torn London, the team deals with details such as procuring a special canister in which the body can be placed, packed in dry ice, for movement by submarine to the Spanish coast. The team invents a girlfriend for the young officer; a roommate (played by Gloria Grahame) of Montagu's secretary obligingly writes the love letters that the dead Martin will carry with him.
This operation, codenamed MINCEMEAT, was a high-risk venture in that there was no assurance that the body would wash ashore, that the materials would be passed to the Germans, or that the Germans would consider the documents credible. In the actual event, the success of the deception was not truly apparent until after the war. The last third of the movie fills this dramatic gap by having a fictional Irishman spying for the Germans (played by Stephen Boyd) check on Martin's bonafides in London. The team finds out about the spy late in the game and must persuade British Internal Security not to arrest him. An emotionally-charged meeting with the roommate, grieving over the loss of her real boyfriend, turns out to be the key to the spy's mission.
This movie is highly recommended as an entertaining and dramatic tale of wartime guile and cunning, based for the most part on a real life event.
Movie Review: CLASSIC WW II ESPIONAGE THRILLER -- AND IT'S TRUE
Summary: 4 Stars
MAN WHO NEVER WAS (Fox) begins with a wide view of a deserted Spanish beach. It's 1943. As a body is washed into view, a clipped British voice intones:
"Last Night I dreamed a deadly dream
Beyond the Isle of Skye.
I saw a dead man win the fight
And I think that man was I."
So begins a classic World War II espionage thriller that tells the audacious but true story of "Major William Martin." The name's made up, his true identity a secret, but even in death "Major Martin" pulled off a daring deception that misled the Nazi's into diverting their defenses, convinced the Allies would invade Greece or perhaps Sardinia instead of Sicily.
Clifton Webb stars as Lt. Commander Montagu, creator of the plan to send a carefully picked dead body, tricked out as a drowned English officer complete with personal artifacts and actual but untrue letters from and to top military leaders, to wash up on a specific Spanish coast where it was likely to fall into german hands.
But when the Germans do get hold of the body, everything about it seems too good to be true and they send an Irish agent, a young and menacing Stephen Boyd, to England to authenticate the identity of "William Martin."
The race is on with British intelligence scrambling to stay ahead of the game with the Nazi agent who has targeted the "fiance" of "Martin."
Even though this film was made 50 years ago, period detail is impeccable. The Cinemascope, ultra widescreen (aspect ration 2.55:1) composition is striking and there are no wasted scenes as the already taut, true story ratchets the tension in the last act.
Movie Review: A true story brought to life in classic British war movie
Summary: 4 Stars
In what was one of the most successful and infamous deceptions of World War II British intelligence fooled the entire Nazi war machine - and all with the help of a man who never existed.
The deceptions that British intelligence pulled off prior to the D-Day landings are now well-known and well documented - from Gen. Patton being in charge of a fake army to the use of double agents. The allies were able to keep vital German panzer tanks and troops away from the Normandy beaches as Hitler kept his attention on the Calais region.
Yet even before this British intelligence scored another coup by diverting German attention away from the imminent invasion of Sicily by making the Germans believe that Greece and perhaps Sardinia were the actual targets.
They did this by creating the man who never was. Taking the body of a man whose condition could be interpreted as having died from drowning, dressing him in clothes with accompanying documentation and casting him off from a submarine just off the coast of Spain. All with the goal that the body and the vital top secrets it carried being intercepted by the Nazi's.
It was an inspired scheme and this movie, in much the same vein as the similar true-life deception movie I WAS MONTY'S DOUBLE really shines. It's thoroughly entertaining and well acted throughout. For fans of classic British war movies this is a must for your collection and I'm very happy to see it land on DVD.