Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

clanciai Painstaking reconstruction of lost heroes of the war in an almost documentary character, in this case the French resistance organized from England with a quite ordinary woman as the main link and foundation of the operations, as she as an ordinary woman is best fit not to attract attention. When she is asked to volunteer she has no experience whatsoever, an ordinary woman with three children separated from her husband, whom we never hear a word of throughout the film. Instead there is Trevor Howard as a certain Peter Churchill as the other main link in the operations together with Peter Ustinov as the indispensable radio operator. He is caught and killed by the Gestapo, which you learn already in the beginning of the film, but you never see it happen. Instead you see the full torture sessions and ordeals of Trevor Howard and Anna Neagle.It certainly is one of her best performances, the direction by Herbert Wilcox is completely natural all the way, and Anthony Collins has provided the film with discreet but eloquent music perfectly suited to the action; but the perhaps most interesting performance is that of the dubious Marius Goring as the Abwehr man, who like Canaris is well aware of the fallacy of Hitler's regime and continuosly seeks a way out of the war dilemma but falls in with the tragedy and must take the consquences of being part of it. It's a gripping film of the unknown heroes of the war that never reached any public acknowledgement, while they were the ones who risked their lives more than most and often lost it. Still, this is also a film of survival against all odds by sheer obstinacy and refusal to cooperate with a dictatorship.

l_rawjalaurence One always feels a sense of.duty while watching an Anna Neagle film. She tackles important subjects, as well as doing musicals with Errol Flynn, but she always plays the same role - la Neagle. Here she is a Resistance heroine based on a real figure, but one can't help feeling that Virginia McKenna did the role far better in 1957's CARVE HER NAME WITH PRIDE. Nonetheless this film has its moments, and passes away a wet afternoon agreeably enough.

morphyesque Being a connoisseur of 1940/early 50s films with an extensive collection, I was surprised that I had never seen "Odette" before but have now done so courtesy of Youtube.The plot is similar to "Carve her name with pride"(1956) starring Virginia McKenna), that is a French woman living in the UK who volunteers to help the allies and Resistance in France during WW11.Anna Neagle showed her lack of linguistic ability speaking French & lapsing into English several times even when speaking to French Resistance workers.On the other hand the German speaking actors were quite authentic in their roles with the producers NOT providing English sub-titles in certain German only sequences where the action was clear.Still it did give Dame Anna a chance to do a spot of real acting and "suffer" for us on screen with Trevor Howard's nicely understated performance playing her husband, Peter Churchill.I do understand that film censorship in 1950 could not allow any special effects showing Anna Neagle's character having her toenails being pulled out by the Gestapo, even suggesting it was slightly shocking then.Marius Goring was often well cast in sinister yet intelligent roles as he plays here as an officer in the Deutsche Abwehr.Another role he played in the same year of 1950 was as a Balkan/Serbian police inspector with Margaret Lockwood in "Highly Dangerous".Good to see "M"(a youngish Bernard Lee) initially from "Dr.No (1962) learning his trade in military intelligence.I awarded this film 6/10.

blanche-2 Anna Neagle is "Odette" in this story of a war heroine, based on the adventures of Odette Sansom. Her costars are Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, and Peter Ustinov.Odette is drafted by the government into spy work after she hears on the radio that Admiralty are asking for photos taken during vacations and trips overseas for possible war use. Odette sends her info to the wrong office and before she knows it, she is drafted as a spy and sent to France to work with the resistance, her three daughters left in a convent school.There, she meets Peter Churchill, code name Raoul, who is to be her supervisor. She is given the name Lise. Unfortunately a double agent reports them and both are captured and tortured by the Gestapo. Odette tells the Gestapo that she is married to Peter Churchill and that he is related to Winston Churchill (he isn't) in the hopes that the Nazis won't kill them.I really loved this movie but what happens to Churchill and Odette is given away in the opening credits, so there are no surprises. There is, however, a lot of suspense, and there are wonderful performances by everyone involved. I didn't care for Marius Goring in "The Red Shoes" - he just wasn't leading man enough for me, but he always made a very effective villain. As a German officer, he does a great job here. Peter Ustinov, as a fellow agent of Lise's and Raoul's, is young and likable in his role, which, despite its seriousness, he tackles with a light touch. Trevor Howard is solid as Peter, and Anna Neagle is lovely and extremely effective as Odette.The real Odette, as we know from those opening credits, does marry Peter Churchill, but they divorced in 1956 and she married a third time. (Her first husband actually died while she was imprisoned by the Nazis, though the film says they are separated.) She was given the legion d'honneur for her war work. Her life was very interesting - as a child she had polio and was blind and crippled for a year. She died in 1995 at the age of 82.Before Odette died, her legion d'honneur Gold Cross was stolen. She made a public appeal and it was returned with the following note: "You, Madame, appear to be a dear old lady. God bless you and your children. I thank you for having faith in me. I am not all that bad - it's just circumstances. Your little dog really loves me. I gave him a nice pat and left him a piece of meat - out of fridge. Sincerely yours, A Bad Egg." Well worth checking out.