Bon Voyage (1944)

A young Scottish R.A.F. gunner is debriefed by French officials about his escape from occupied territory, and in particular one person who may or may not have been a German Agent.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Stars:

John Blythe, Janique Joelle

Cast

Credited cast:
John Blythe	...	RAF Sgt. John Dougall
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Janique Joelle	...	Jeanne

Storyline

A young Scottish R.A.F. gunner is debriefed by French officials about his escape from occupied territory, and in particular one person who may or may not have been a German Agent.

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Plot Keywords:

betrayal by a friend | raf | gunner | german agent | escape | 

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Genres:

Short | War

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Apart from John Blythe, all of the other actors in this short movie were French, and were simply credited as "The Molière Players" in order to protect their families from the Nazis.

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Quotes

RAF Sgt. John Dougall: Au revoir, Mademoiselle. Thanks for everything. I very much hope we'll meet again.
Jeanne: Adieu, RAF, Bon Voyage.

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Connections

Referenced in Alfred Hitchcock: Master of Suspense (2013)

User Reviews

Far superior to Aventure Malgache, if not classic Hitchcock

Coming from someone who considers Alfred Hitchcock her all-time favourite director, both Aventure Malgache and Bon Voyage are interesting curiosities but neither see Hitchcock at his best. While I didn't think much of Aventure Malgache, Bon Voyage was very well-done and you can see why Hitchcock himself was fond of it. The script is lacking in tautness and has a tendency to plod and a couple of the flashbacks flow a little too stiffly, even with those there is much to recommend. While Bon Voyage doesn't quite have Hitchcock all over it or see him show what he was most good at, there is more evidence of his directing style than in Aventure Malgache, the suspense levels are not exactly strong but Bon Voyage is not dull either and has some fun to it. The camera work is clever and meticulously composed and the crisp black and white also impresses. The score is a good mix of haunting and playful, while the story is simpler, much less confused and has some nice twists and turns. Unlike Aventure Malgache, Bon Voyage thankfully is not too dialogue heavy, the French are portrayed more sensitively and the propaganda elements, while also on the dated side, more subtly handled. John Blythe is decent in the lead role. To conclude, not a classic but it is not bad at all and of Hitchcock two French shorts he made in the 40s this is the far superior of the two. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

French English

Release Date:

June 1944 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Gute Reise

Filming Locations:

Welwyn Studios, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ministry of Information, Phoenix

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1