Anna Neagle is "Odette" in this story of a war heroine, based on the adventures of Odette Sansom. Her costars are Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, and Peter Ustinov.
Odette is drafted by the government into spy work after she hears on the radio that Admiralty are asking for photos taken during vacations and trips overseas for possible war use. Odette sends her info to the wrong office and before she knows it, she is drafted as a spy and sent to France to work with the resistance, her three daughters left in a convent school.
There, she meets Peter Churchill, code name Raoul, who is to be her supervisor. She is given the name Lise. Unfortunately a double agent reports them and both are captured and tortured by the Gestapo. Odette tells the Gestapo that she is married to Peter Churchill and that he is related to Winston Churchill (he isn't) in the hopes that the Nazis won't kill them.
I really loved this movie but what happens to Churchill and Odette is given away in the opening credits, so there are no surprises. There is, however, a lot of suspense, and there are wonderful performances by everyone involved. I didn't care for Marius Goring in "The Red Shoes" - he just wasn't leading man enough for me, but he always made a very effective villain. As a German officer, he does a great job here. Peter Ustinov, as a fellow agent of Lise's and Raoul's, is young and likable in his role, which, despite its seriousness, he tackles with a light touch. Trevor Howard is solid as Peter, and Anna Neagle is lovely and extremely effective as Odette.
The real Odette, as we know from those opening credits, does marry Peter Churchill, but they divorced in 1956 and she married a third time. (Her first husband actually died while she was imprisoned by the Nazis, though the film says they are separated.) She was given the legion d'honneur for her war work. Her life was very interesting - as a child she had polio and was blind and crippled for a year. She died in 1995 at the age of 82.
Before Odette died, her legion d'honneur Gold Cross was stolen. She made a public appeal and it was returned with the following note: "You, Madame, appear to be a dear old lady. God bless you and your children. I thank you for having faith in me. I am not all that bad - it's just circumstances. Your little dog really loves me. I gave him a nice pat and left him a piece of meat - out of fridge. Sincerely yours, A Bad Egg." Well worth checking out.
Odette is drafted by the government into spy work after she hears on the radio that Admiralty are asking for photos taken during vacations and trips overseas for possible war use. Odette sends her info to the wrong office and before she knows it, she is drafted as a spy and sent to France to work with the resistance, her three daughters left in a convent school.
There, she meets Peter Churchill, code name Raoul, who is to be her supervisor. She is given the name Lise. Unfortunately a double agent reports them and both are captured and tortured by the Gestapo. Odette tells the Gestapo that she is married to Peter Churchill and that he is related to Winston Churchill (he isn't) in the hopes that the Nazis won't kill them.
I really loved this movie but what happens to Churchill and Odette is given away in the opening credits, so there are no surprises. There is, however, a lot of suspense, and there are wonderful performances by everyone involved. I didn't care for Marius Goring in "The Red Shoes" - he just wasn't leading man enough for me, but he always made a very effective villain. As a German officer, he does a great job here. Peter Ustinov, as a fellow agent of Lise's and Raoul's, is young and likable in his role, which, despite its seriousness, he tackles with a light touch. Trevor Howard is solid as Peter, and Anna Neagle is lovely and extremely effective as Odette.
The real Odette, as we know from those opening credits, does marry Peter Churchill, but they divorced in 1956 and she married a third time. (Her first husband actually died while she was imprisoned by the Nazis, though the film says they are separated.) She was given the legion d'honneur for her war work. Her life was very interesting - as a child she had polio and was blind and crippled for a year. She died in 1995 at the age of 82.
Before Odette died, her legion d'honneur Gold Cross was stolen. She made a public appeal and it was returned with the following note: "You, Madame, appear to be a dear old lady. God bless you and your children. I thank you for having faith in me. I am not all that bad - it's just circumstances. Your little dog really loves me. I gave him a nice pat and left him a piece of meat - out of fridge. Sincerely yours, A Bad Egg." Well worth checking out.