GamerTab That was an excellent one.

BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Hayleigh Joseph This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

tomsview Of all the war movies I remember seeing back in the 50's, this one had a haunting quality - it still does.This is as classy a piece of filmmaking to come from the 1950's and was head-and-shoulders over many of the war films made at the time. The story tells how at a critical time in WW2, British Naval officer, Ewan Montagu (Clifton Webb), developed a plan to fool the Nazis into believing the Allies were about to attack Greece instead of Sicily. It entailed allowing a dead body dressed as an officer carrying false papers to drift ashore in Spain, which although neutral was full of Nazi spies.The basic story is true, but the movie threw in fictional elements including a romantic subplot involving Gloria Grahame, and another with Stephen Boyd as an Irish spy sent to check the identity of the body. The extra scenarios helped give the film depth and tension.Overriding everything however, is the ominous mood that starts with the opening scene as the body washes ashore, and the resonant voice of a narrator speaks lines from a 500-year-old ballad "The Battle of Otterburn":"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."Alan Rawsthorne's haunting score heightens the eeriness of that opening scene. His music was used judiciously throughout the film, but it would have been a different movie without it.There are a number of memorable scenes in the film: dressing the body during the bombing raid; the submariners reading a service before releasing the body; Montagu visiting the grave at the end; but the most telling of all is when Montagu asks a father if he may use his son's body for a purpose that is so secret that he can't tell him why.A powerful theme running through the film is that the identity of the dead man was never to be revealed, and that the body is to be treated with as much respect as possible.50 years later, documents were uncovered that revealed his identity and his name - in many ways an even sadder story than in the film; he was homeless, abandoned and unclaimed.Clifton Webb gave a brilliant performance as a very precise Englishman - with little of his trademark snobbishness, but Stephen Boyd just about steals the show as a handsome, charming Irishman who has no qualms about helping the Nazis, if it means damaging the British hold on Ireland.As I sat as a 9-year old in my suburban cinema seat in 1956 watching all that calm stoicism, superior ingenuity, perfect discipline and belief in a just cause unfold on the screen, I knew why our side had won the war."The Man Who Never Was" is a fascinating movie on many levels.

SimonJack With the opening credits of this film, 20th Century Fox shows a script prologue that sets the stage for a fantastic story of cunning and deceit during World War II. The prologue reads, "Military security and respect for a solemn promise have made it necessary to disguise the identify of some of the characters in this film; but in all other essentials it is the true story of 'Major William Martin'"The film is based on a book by the Hon. Ewen Montagu, a British intelligence officer, writer and judge. It is about Operation Mincemeat, an elaborate and highly successful "misinformation" plan. The plan was devised and carried out to weaken German defenses against the Allied invasion of Europe. After the 1943 Allied defeat of Germany in Africa, Sicily was the likely place of the next Allied strike. But the British came up with a great plan to convince the Germans that the assault would take place in Greece. The scheme worked so well that Adolf Hitler moved numerous combat units out of Sicily to points east and west of there. Montagu's book about Operation Mincemeat was published in 1953, and this film was made in 1956. Montagu was himself the instigator of the operation along with M15, the British Security Service (civilian). The plan was part of the Double-Cross System (XX System), which was the anti-espionage program of the British Security Service. The movie makes the point that the success of the deception would save thousands of Allied lives in the assault on southern Europe. There can be no doubt that it was effective. The Allies were able to route the Germans from Sicily in less than six weeks (July 9-Aug. 17, 1943). Winston Churchill is quoted in the film as saying that "Everyone but a bloody fool would know that it's Sicily," referring to the Allies' next point of assault. So, to make the Germans think otherwise, would be a tremendous dupe that would have to be carried out to perfection. The movie tells and shows how it was done, and it has some intriguing aspects when the Germans take steps to try to verify what they have discovered. The cast are superb in their roles, and the direction and the film quality are excellent. Clifton Webb portrays Lt. Commander Montagu. As an interesting aside, Montagu himself appears in the film as the uncredited Air Marshal. This is an interesting non-combat war story about WW II. It's an interesting piece of little-known history about the war. It belongs in any serious collection of WW II films. I have only one "gripe" about the script. When Pam goes into her apartment toward the end of the film, she doesn't close the door behind her. Instead, she leaves it open and walks into her apartment to set her package down and check on her roommate. In those days and that time and that place, people didn't just walk into their apartments and not close the door immediately behind them. I don't know what the director was thinking. The audience knows what to expect, so it's not a real fright. She is startled by Patrick O'Reilly (played by Stephen Boyd) who has walked into the room. The movie makers more realistically could have had Pam close the door, and then have O'Reilly knock on the door.

dbdumonteil William Wyler was so impressed by Stephen Boyd's performance that he cast him as Messala in his own "Ben Hur",a part which was very subtle in the first sequences.But you have got to be patient because he makes himself wait:however when he is on the screen,he makes the movie his,except in the scene with the two women in which Gloria Grahame matches him.This is an excellent spy thriller,with a first part verging on documentary;the second part looks like a poker game:at a time we think that Grahame lets the cat out of the bag but it is not so ;and the last picture is really moving ,worthy of Frank Borzage and masterpieces such as "three comrades ":the father got his wish,not only his dear son got a decent burial but he also helped to fight against the Nazis beyond death.

thinker1691 During World War II, some of the most incredible stories were never revealed to the public at large. Their are a number of reasons why, secrecy, classified or often very personal to living relatives. This movie stems from one such individual. The book from which this remarkable story arises was penned by Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu. Clifton Webb plays Cmdr. Montagu, a British, special Operations naval Officer who is given an order to design a secret plan to deceive the German War machine. In essence, the plan has to convince the Germans, the Allies are not going to use Italy's island of Sardinia as a staging area to invade Europe. Robert Flemyng plays Lt. George Acres, who conceives the incredible idea of using a dead man (Glyndwr Michael) to fool the enemy. The plan is not readily acceptable to the High Brass who believe it contains too many flaws. The team must secure a dead body, make it look like a drown officer who is carrying Top Secrets in his briefcase. Further difficulties include fooling a top secret Irish agent (Stephen Boyd) into believing the dead man was a real British Army Major stationed in London. The top notch cast includes Laurence Naismith, Michael Hordern, Josephine Griffin, Wolf Frees and the voice of Peter Sellers. Based on a real life incident, this movie offers a subtle but very dark drama and Clifton Webb is at his very best. Offered to anyone seeking a quiet attempt to thank those who also " Stand and Wait." ****