The Man Who Never Was (1956)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Ewen Montagu (book)
Nigel Balchin (screenplay)

Release Date:

9 May 1956 (France)

Genre:

War | Drama

Tagline:

The most fiendish plot ever conceived! The most amazing "human being" ever created! The most diabolical phantom--

Plot:

True story of a British attempt to trick the enemy into weakening Sicily's defenses before the 1943 attack, using a dead man with faked papers.

Plot Keywords:

Dead Body | Spain | False Identity | Air Raid | Europe

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 nominations

Cast

Clifton Webb	...	Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu
Gloria Grahame	...	Lucy Sherwood
Robert Flemyng	...	Lt. George Acres
Josephine Griffin	...	Pam
Stephen Boyd	...	Patrick O'Reilly
Laurence Naismith	...	Adm. Cross
Geoffrey Keen	...	Gen. Nye
Moultrie Kelsall	...	The Father
Cyril Cusack	...	Taxi driver
André Morell	...	Sir Bernard Spilsbury
Michael Hordern	...	Gen. Coburn
Allan Cuthbertson	...	Vice-Admiral
Joan Hickson	...	Landlady
Terence Longdon	...	Larry (as Terence Longden)
Gibb McLaughlin	...	Club porter

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

German | Latin | English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Sound Mix:

4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (magnetic prints) | Mono (optical prints)

Certification:

West Germany:12 | UK:U | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved

Company:

Sumar Productions

Trivia:

Ewen Montagu, the officer who was in charge of Operation Mincemeat, has a small cameo role as an air marshal.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The scene is where William Martin's father is saying good-bye to his body in the hospital and talking with Ewen Montagu. As the father leaves the room, the shadow of the mike is well in shot on the wall behind him.

Quotes:

[The military needs a dead body for counterintelligence.]
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: I can assure you that this is an opportunity for your son to do a great thing for England.
The Father: My son, sir, was a Scotsman. Very proud of it.
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: I beg your pardon?
The Father: Never mind. We're used to that. You English always talk about England when you mean Britain.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Back to the Beach (1987)

Soundtrack:

Bless 'em All

Rock-Solid Spy Thriller

The name Ronald Neame does not mean anything to most people, but looking at this director's filmography, I'm surprised to find out that I like most of his films (Neame's "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" and "Tunes of Glory" are two movies I admire). "The Man Who Never Was" is one of Neame's less known films, but I think it is one of his most enticing productions. This fact-based story is about a fascinating British plot to divert the Nazis' attention during World War II. The film is exceptionally well-constructed, very old-fashioned, but also very, very suspenseful. It is one of those intense movies that keep viewers glued to the TV screen. Clifton Webb is the officer in charge of carrying out the complicated mission, Stephen Boyd is an Irishman working as a spy for the Germans, and Gloria Grahame is the woman who (unknowingly) becomes part of the charade to fool the evil Nazis. They are all excellent. Oswald Morris' color cinematography looks great on DVD. I don't want to sound like Sally Field but, "I liked it, I liked it, I really liked it". Highly recommended, especially if you have access to the DVD.