Trevor Howard and Anna Nagle give sterling performances in this WW2 Biopic of Odette Churchill, the wife of a relative of Winston Churchill. Every scene has the feeling of that authenticity that only films during or shortly after WW2 have. This film has understated British sensibilities, not overblown Hollywood production values. In many ways, it is similar to the one of best films of WW2, Brief Encounter. Howard was in that film as well. These were the best two films of his career; and this film is the best performance in Anna Neagle's career as well. Peter Ustinov gives a pleasing performance, and will become the owner of Spartacus in ten years or so. The only criticism of the film is the survival rate of leaders in the French Resistance. A documentary I have seen recently mentioned that the fatality rate of leaders in the French Resistance approached 75%. Hollywood (and Britain for that matter) likes to portray the Germans as stupid and incompetent when policing the French Resistance. Nothing could be further from the truth. The semi documentary I saw (Army of Shadows 1969) showed a highly efficient German surveillance of French Underground activity and the elimination of the vast majority of those brave participants. See these films for the best about the French Resistance.
Review of Odette
