The Man Who Never Was (1956)

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.

Director:

Ronald Neame

Writers:

Ewen Montagu (book) (as The Hon. Ewen Montagu C.B.E. D.L. Q.C.), Nigel Balchin (screenplay)

Stars:

Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

British Intelligence during World War II is trying to get the German High Command to shift its forces away from Italy prior to the invasion. To create the illusion that England is in fact planning to invade Greece, they plan to procure a dead body, plant secret papers on it, and arrange for the Spanish authorities to find it and send the papers on to the Germans. That's the plan, anyway. First they have to find a body that will look drowned, then create an identity for it that will pass German scrutiny. Based on a true story.

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Plot Keywords:

dead body | world war two | based on true story | europe | espionage | 

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Taglines:

Terrifyingly true! Unbelievably real!

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Genres:

War | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English German Spanish Latin

Release Date:

9 May 1956 (France)

Also Known As:

Der Mann, den es nie gab

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sumar Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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Goofs

When Lucy is stamping books at the library, the sound occurs just slightly before the stamp connects with each book.

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Quotes

Lieutenant George Acres: Monty, that parachute that didn't open... Suppose we were to drop a fellow out of a plane over enemy territory, with papers on him saying we were going to invade Greece, and his parachute didn't open. The Germans would find him dead, and the papers, and "Aha," they'd say, "Look at this. Officer with secret papers, parachute didn't open... they're going to invade Greece."
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: Do we tell the man who jumps that the parachute doesn't work, or is it a sort of practical joke that he finds out on the way ...
[...]

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Crazy Credits

Military security and respect for a solemn promise have made it necessary to disguise the identity of some of the characters in this film; but in all other essentials this is the true story of "Major William Martin"

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Connections

Referenced in Back to the Beach (1987)

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Soundtracks

Bless 'em All
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Godfrey (1917)
Revised lyrics by Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake (1940)
Additional lyrics by Al Stillman (1941)
Sung by the patrons of pub

User Reviews

Perfect Webb in near-perfect film

Gripping in its adherance to detail, this film casts every role perfectly. The always underrated Gloria Grahame lends the film an unexpected emotional pop, and all others are perfectly in character in executing a complex plan. This movie demands its audience's attention and plays to your intelligence. In other words, it would never be made today! Well worth seeing.