It's easy to see where this film went wrong because it happens right at the start. The way Lieutenant Graham (Dirk Bogarde) walks into that dreary hotel set and tells Lieutenant Poole (William Russell) about the upcoming secret mission, making sure the girl in the tight dress at the bar isn't listening in, robs the plan of any real gravitas. The prologue of the film with narration over documentary footage was probably added because the opening was so weak.
The real raid was an amazing achievement. A small group of British SBS and Greek operatives paddled ashore on Rhodes and blew up 34 German and Italian aircraft along with a fuel dump. You simply don't get the sense of awesomeness of the achievement in this film's plodding script.
The opening should have seen Dirk in the briefing room with the door locked behind him after being summoned by the commanding general. After crisp salutes all around, the General, played by someone like Laurence Naismith or Geoffrey Keen, would explain the mission as they studied a large wall map; pointer stick optional. Then this mission could have kicked off in proper style.
As well as the lacklustre opening, the Greeks were played in an exaggerated, Gilbert and Sullivan manner; Eric Pohlmann as the sub captain was particularly annoying.
Director Lewis Milestone is probably to blame for this and the forced humour. However the film does contain a sequence or two that shows his distinctive touch. Milestone was good with troops seen in the tracking shots of the Germans and Italians advancing over the tough terrain.
The attacks on the airfields were well enough staged, however the way most of the team were captured seemed less dramatic than in fictional films like "The Guns of Navarone" where, in reality, the worst wounds one could expect were from the sharp tongue of the director.
As a baby boomer in Sydney I saw nearly all those British war movies of the 50s at the local cinema. However even in my pre-teens I could distinguish the great ones from the not so great. At that stage of my film analysis it came down to the boredom factor. Unfortunately "They Who Dare" registered higher on that scale than I would have liked.
The real raid was an amazing achievement. A small group of British SBS and Greek operatives paddled ashore on Rhodes and blew up 34 German and Italian aircraft along with a fuel dump. You simply don't get the sense of awesomeness of the achievement in this film's plodding script.
The opening should have seen Dirk in the briefing room with the door locked behind him after being summoned by the commanding general. After crisp salutes all around, the General, played by someone like Laurence Naismith or Geoffrey Keen, would explain the mission as they studied a large wall map; pointer stick optional. Then this mission could have kicked off in proper style.
As well as the lacklustre opening, the Greeks were played in an exaggerated, Gilbert and Sullivan manner; Eric Pohlmann as the sub captain was particularly annoying.
Director Lewis Milestone is probably to blame for this and the forced humour. However the film does contain a sequence or two that shows his distinctive touch. Milestone was good with troops seen in the tracking shots of the Germans and Italians advancing over the tough terrain.
The attacks on the airfields were well enough staged, however the way most of the team were captured seemed less dramatic than in fictional films like "The Guns of Navarone" where, in reality, the worst wounds one could expect were from the sharp tongue of the director.
As a baby boomer in Sydney I saw nearly all those British war movies of the 50s at the local cinema. However even in my pre-teens I could distinguish the great ones from the not so great. At that stage of my film analysis it came down to the boredom factor. Unfortunately "They Who Dare" registered higher on that scale than I would have liked.