Operation Amsterdam (1959)

During WW II, British commandos visit occupied Holland to keep a fortune in diamonds out of Nazi hands. Tense action follows as Anna, Jan and their colleagues play cat and mouse with the ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael McCarthy

Writers:

John Eldridge (screenplay), Michael McCarthy (screenplay),

Stars:

Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, Tony Britton

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Finch	...	Jan Smit
Eva Bartok	...	Anna
Tony Britton	...	Major Dillon
Alexander Knox	...	Walter Keyser
Malcolm Keen	...	Johan Smit
Christopher Rhodes	...	Alex
Alfred Burke	...	Dealer
Tim Turner	...	Dutch lieutenant
Carl Jaffe	...	Diamond merchant (as Carl Jaffé)
John Horsley	...	Commander Bowerman
Keith Pyott	...	Diamond merchant
Melvyn Hayes	...	Willem Lubka
Oscar Quitak	...	Diamond merchant
George Pravda	...	Portmaster
Arnold Marlé	...	(as Arnold Marle)

Storyline

During WW II, British commandos visit occupied Holland to keep a fortune in diamonds out of Nazi hands. Tense action follows as Anna, Jan and their colleagues play cat and mouse with the Dutch army, knowing that one of their number may be a traitor.

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | jewel heist | diamond theft | jewel theft | caper | 

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Taglines:

THE BEST KEPT SECRET OF THE WAR... a fortune in diamonds wrested from Hitler's invading armies.

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 May 1959 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

14 timers frist

Filming Locations:

Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands

Company Credits

Production Co:

Maurice Cowan Productions, Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film opens with the Nazi invasion of Holland on Friday 10th May 1940, Churchill's rise to British Prime Minister the following day, and then the launch of Operation Amsterdam itself on Sunday 12th May.

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Goofs

When Major Dillon is being chased and shot at by the soldier, the shadow lengths are inconsistent. The chase takes place shortly after the meeting with the diamond merchants (12 noon), yet the shadows cast by the sun are sometimes short (correctly so), and sometimes long (as would be consistent with early morning or late evening).

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Crazy Credits

The producers are most grateful for the valuable co-operation of the Royal Netherlands navy and the civic authorities of Amsterdam and Ymuiden.

User Reviews

A Day Trip into Anarchy

The movie makes the best out of a fairly unique story that is probably based on true historical facts. It is about a one day expedition to Amsterdam in May 1940, shortly before the arrival of the invading German troops. In a race against time exiled Dutch jewelers try to get all the industrial diamonds out of the country and bring them to Britain before the Germans can take them. It is a quick in and out operation organised by the British government that has to be accomplished in one day - and no easy task as the jewelers have to be convinced by sheer argument it is the right and sensible thing to do (hard to decide in the Netherlands in May 1940, I am certain).

In a strange way this movie is surrealistic and realistic at the same time. There is a lot of good location shooting, the sun drenched streets of Amsterdam are virtually deserted, the atmosphere is ghostly. At times there is gunfire in the distance. There are some disoriented Dutch soldiers hanging around, or shall I say loitering? The effect is strangely threatening. At one time two groups of soldiers start shooting at each other. In another scene, one of the day trippers steps into a pub in a totally empty square. And there they are, the Dutch! Sitting peacefully behind their pints and discussing the latest news from the front. The transition really took me completely by surprise, it was incongruous but strangely effective and somehow totally believable.

There are harrowing scenes. When the day trippers disembark, the harbour is in chaos and full of refugees – a strong contrast to the mentioned deserted streets in the town center. When they finally succeed in organising a meeting with all of Amsterdam's important jewelers, their Jewish colleagues express the opinion that for them it might be wiser not to make the Germans angry by giving away the jewels. They can be convinced to agree to the evacuation of the stones that are invaluable to the armament industry, although it is made perfectly clear that the day trippers can take no refugees with them. All these issues are treated in a rational and unemotional way which actually strengthens the impact of the tragic situation.

In addition the movie also has some action scenes, a car chase and, as the culmination of the absurd general situation, the heist of a jewel depository by partisans who help the day trippers, with an ensuing fierce shootout with a detachment of Dutch troops. The acting is good, Peter Finch (Network) is cool as usual and gives a convincing performance as the son of an eminent Amsterdam jeweler and leader of the expedition. Eva Bartok is stylishly beautiful and enigmatic as a Dutch woman with uncertain alignments who joins the day trippers after they saved her from a suicide attempt (driving her car over the pier in the harbor, a car, incidentally, that comes in mighty handy). So, a hell of a lot goes on in Operation Amsterdam.