The Man Who Never Was [Blu-ray] [1956]

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

I agree with the previous reviewers. This is my favourite war movie. B.Chalmers' review mentions detachable collars: they are sold in the film by Richard Wattis (camping it up as usual). There is also a brief but very typically enjoyable appearance by Miles Malleson, and not least, the unlikely (and uncredited) Winston Churchill voice (heard through an open door) by, of all people, Peter Sellers.

The highlights of the book are here. However different people are get credit the different actions and thoughts than in the book.

The first half of the movie is about solving a problem of how to make the Germans think that the invasion will take place in Sicily. The solution is barbaric and unique. The second half of the movie is to keep the Germans from finding out the deception.

One of the most telling scenes is while there are preparing the deception and are in a bunker you hear the bombs and screams that remind you of the urgency and purpose of the movie.

Clifton Webb is Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu, the person that the movie evolves around. Gloria Grahame plays Lucy Sherwood, an alleged girlfriend. The reason she shines is that they put a lot of grease on her face and it shines in the dark.

If you saw Ben-Hur then you may recognize Messala (Steven Boyd) as the spy sent to be sure that Martin is genuine.

And if you are an Agatha Christie Miss Marple fan you will see that Joan Hickson is the apartment owner.

It is a great story and well told. It makes you want to find shirts with separate collars.