Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)

Violette Bushell is the daughter of an English father and a French mother, living in London in the early years of World War 2. She meets a handsome young French soldier in the park and ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

R.J. Minney (book), Vernon Harris (screenplay),

Stars:

Virginia McKenna, Paul Scofield, Jack Warner

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Virginia McKenna	...	Violette Szabo
Paul Scofield	...	Capt. Tony Fraser
Jack Warner	...	Mr. Charles Bushell
Denise Grey	...	Mrs. Bushell
Alain Saury	...	Etienne Szabo
Maurice Ronet	...	Jacques
Anne Leon	...	Lillian Rolfe
Sydney Tafler	...	Potter
Avice Landone	...	Vera Atkins
Nicole Stéphane	...	Denise Bloch (as Nicole Stephane)
Noel Willman	...	Interrogator
Bill Owen	...	N.C.O. Instructor
Billie Whitelaw	...	Winnie
William Mervyn	...	Colonel Buckmaster
Michael Goodliffe	...	Coding Expert

Storyline

Violette Bushell is the daughter of an English father and a French mother, living in London in the early years of World War 2. She meets a handsome young French soldier in the park and takes him back for the family Bastille day celebrations. They fall in love, marry and have a baby girl when Violette Szabo receives the dreaded telegram informing her of his death in North Africa. Shortly afterwards, Violette is approached to join the SOE (Special Operations Executive). Should she stay and look after her baby or "do her duty" ?

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Plot Keywords:

special operations executive | female spy | spy | first aid nursing yeomanry | world war two | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French German

Release Date:

8 September 1958 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Aftoi pou nikisan ton thanato

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Angel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The London Transport, double-decker bus was borrowed from the London Transport museum and fitted with "anti-blast" netting on the windows and "blackout" covers on the headlamps. It was driven by John Kirkup who worked as a fitter for London Transport.

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Goofs

Violette's mother opens the door twice.

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Connections

Referenced in Pointless: Episode #3.7 (2010)

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Soundtracks

"The Very Thought Of You"
(uncredited)
Written by Ray Noble

User Reviews

The Valiant Lady

The story of Mrs Violette Szabo as portrayed by Virginia McKenna is poignantly brought to the screen. The exploits of an ordinary woman who proved to be - "The most fearless of all women SOE operatives" - as described by none other than another famous SOE operative Mrs Odette Churchill who survived the war undergoing almost similar experiences is a must. The film in almost three compartments re-traces the life of Violette from the time she meets her husband on Bastille Day in 1940 and their whirlwind romance, flashes to 1942 when her child is celebrating her 2nd birthday when she receives news of her husbands death at El-Alamein. It then fast forwards six months when she is recruited by the SOE as she had perfect qualifications for the post which included being a crack shot with the rifle (which however is contradicted by SOE records which state that she spoke French with an English accent...). The next part of the film features her training where she excels but sprains her ankle and has to sit out the first assignment by her team. During her convalescence she has to confront her father who feels she is not doing enough for the war effort,brush aside her guilt in abandoning her daughter etc.( Virginia McKenna handles these emotive scenes with remarkable talent) Her first assignment passes off quite well but the undertones of the danger of such attempts by agents are underplayed by the director. Her second assignment just after D-Day puts her a prisoner with the Gestapo after she has valiantly stood upto to a single-handed encounter with a German patrol - the torture she suffers and her ultimate death facing a firing squad at Ravensbruck Concentration Camp is leaves the viewer with no doubts on the methods used by her captors without depicting violence per se. The third part of the film is largely based on reports given by the French Resistance & Nazi records & reports by fellow prisoners of Ravensbruck all poignantly brought to the screen. The finale where we see her 5 year old daughter being received by King George to honour her mother posthumously with the George Cross brings a lump to the throat. Incidentally the episode of her shopping in Paris for her daughter while on assignment is corroborated by others hence not fictionalised for the film. In all a wonderful film that makes one wonder-struck with the exemplary courage of ordinary people who became legends in their time.