SECRET MISSION
1942

Made during the war after a particularly bad year for the Allies, this was intended to lift people's spirits back home. When viewed in this context what we get is a morale boosting story of daring British (and French) heroes, battling against the odds to help defeat what, at the time, seemed to be an unstoppable enemy.

Of course, it's very easy to look back at old films such as this with a very critical eye and point out all the absurdities today. But at the time, this would have been viewd in a very different context.

In this low budget (for obvious reasons) suspense thriller we get to see James Mason and Michael Wilding before they became Hollywood film stars. Its focus is on the personal effects of war. We can sympathize with the tough moral choices faced by the occupied French population, while we still have time for a laugh and a languid kiss before getting on with the serious business of outwitting the Nazis.

PLOT:
In this World War II suspense thriller, three British spies and a French resistance fighter sneak into occupied France to gather information about the German forces for a planned invasion.

CAST:
Hugh Williams ... Major Peter Garnett
Carla Lehmann ... Michèle de Carnot
Roland Culver ... Captain Red Gowan
Michael Wilding ... Private Nobby Clark
James Mason ... Raoul de Carnot
Nancy Price ... Violette - Michèle's housekeeper
Karel Stepanek ... Major Lang
Fritz Wendhausen ... General von Reichman
Betty Warren ... Lulu Clark
Percy Walsh ... Monsieur Fayolle
Anita Gombault ... Estelle Fayolle
Nicholas Stuart ... Captain Mackenzie
John Salew ... Hauptmann Grune
Yvonne Andre ... Martine - the money collector
David Page ... René de Carnot- the little boy
Brefni O'Rorke ... Village Priest
Beatrice Varley ... Mrs. Donkin - the British Cook
Stewart Granger ... Sub-Lieutenant Jackson

Directed by Harold French

Running time: 94 minutes

"Secret Mission" from 1942 was the inspiration for a British comedy, "Allo, Allo."
The central characters are two British chaps in trench coats wandering around in and out of the woods. Always in their trench coats. There's the cafe run by a Cockney in a beret always at odds with his wife. For fans of the TV series this is a must not miss.