Fooling Hitler (2004) (TV)

Director:

Philip Smith

Writer:

Philip Smith (writer)

Release Date:

24 October 2004 (UK)

Genre:

History | War

Tagline:

The true story of the greatest deception of world War Two

Plot:

The true story of the greatest deception of WW2: one which helped change the course of the war itself.

Plot Keywords:

Deception | Decoy | Hoax | Battle Of Britain | WWII

Cast

Jason Durr	...	Lt. Col. Strangeways
Howard Attfield	...	Col. Turner
Grant Burgin	...	Sergeant Granger
Dorian Healy	...	Major Barkus
Coral Beed	...	Lady Elizabeth Clemens
Peter Pacey	...	Dennis Wheatley
Nigel Williams	...	Brigadier Boyson
Roger Barclay	...	Major T.A. Robertson
Peter Wickham	...	General Mansfield
Matt Canavan	...	Private Williams
Kieron Jecchinis	...	Vicar (as Kieron Jecchins)
Jeff Harding	...	General Stimson
Richard Lintern	...	Col. Bevan
Richard Wills-Cotton	...	Douglas Fairbanks Junior
Daniel Hart	...	Corporal Collins

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Tiger Aspect Productions

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Towards the end of the film one of the dummy camps is overflown by a computer generated JU87 Stuka. This clearly has no undercarriage whereas all marks of Stuka had permanently fixed down landing gear. Nor would such a slow vulnerable a/c be used for low level reconnaissance.

Ambitious and pretty much delivers on all fronts

When I saw this film I wasn't quite sure what to expect. There have been so many films made about the Second World War that it seemed there was little else to add. I'm pleased to say I was surprised and that I found myself both rooting for the characters and learning about a vital and overlooked aspect of the war.

The cast, especially Jason Durr and Richard Lintern seemed to manage that tricky balancing act of combining humour and seriousness with particular aplomb.

The film also had a definite visual style. I'm sure that there were stiff budget contraints to get such an epic tale on television but as the action mounts they are not visible. Recommended.