In order to fool the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily will take place elsewhere, British Military Intelligence comes up with a cunning ruse.In order to fool the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily will take place elsewhere, British Military Intelligence comes up with a cunning ruse.In order to fool the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily will take place elsewhere, British Military Intelligence comes up with a cunning ruse.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 4 nominations total
- Larry
- (as Terence Longden)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn this movie, Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) selects a man who had died of pneumonia, because the corpse would need to have similarly damaged lungs if it had really drowned. There is also a very emotional scene where the man's father is persuaded to allow his son to be used for the deception. In fact, a Welsh vagrant, both of whose parents were dead, was used, and his death was due to his committing suicide by ingesting rat poison. It was judged to make it almost impossible to tell that this, rather than drowning, was the real cause of death. The identity of "the man who never was" was a closely guarded secret until 1998, when it was discovered that he was called Glyndwr Michael. His grave in Huelva, Spain (near the beach at Punta Umbria) now uniquely carries both his fictional and real names.
- GoofsWhen the body is delivered to the submarine the naval party on the dock is called to attention by "Shun!" In the Royal Navy this is "Ho!"
- Quotes
[the military needs a dead body for counterintelligence]
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: I can assure you that this is an opportunity for your son to do a great thing for England.
The Father: My son, sir, was a Scotsman. Very proud of it.
Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu: I beg your pardon.
The Father: Never mind. We're used to that. You English always talk about England when you mean Britain.
- Crazy creditsMilitary 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."
- ConnectionsFeatured in Ripley's Believe It or Not!: Episode #1.16 (1983)
- SoundtracksBless '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
But there were policy differences because Americans wanted a cross channel invasion back then as the quickest way to defeat Hitler. So the Germans did in fact have to be vigilant on all fronts.
The Man Who Never Was is a true story on a particular intelligence gambit that was tried. A dead body was washed up in neutral, but Axis led Spain. A body selected for the occasion and dropped deliberately by the British showing alternate plans to the Axis.
Not being complete dummies the Germans naturally think to check it out and they send an agent in, a Nazi sympathizer from Ireland played by Stephen Boyd.
The whole idea was cooked up by Admiral Ewen Montagu played here by Clifton Webb who drops his usual acerbic manner and delivers a very good performance against type. Boyd's no fool and it becomes a battle of wits when the Allies learn of his presence in London.
In fact a certain sad, but serendipitous event in the life of Gloria Grahame who is Webb's secretary's roommate plays a key role in the proceedings.
The Man Who Never Was is a very good wartime espionage drama that still holds up very well for today's audience.
- bkoganbing
- Oct 20, 2007
- How long is The Man Who Never Was?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Mann, den es nie gab
- Filming locations
- Huelva, Andalucía, Spain(Spanish town and cementery scenes)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 43 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.55 : 1