Against the Wind (1948)British agents engage in hazardous duty behind German lines. Director:Charles Crichton |
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Against the Wind (1948)British agents engage in hazardous duty behind German lines. Director:Charles Crichton |
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Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Robert Beatty | ... | ||
Simone Signoret | ... |
Michèle
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Jack Warner | ... |
Cronk
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Gordon Jackson | ... |
Duncan
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Paul Dupuis | ... |
Picquart
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Gisèle Préville | ... |
Julie
(as Gisele Preville in opening credits)
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John Slater | ... |
Emile Meyer
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Peter Illing | ... |
Andrew
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James Robertson Justice | ... |
Ackerman
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Sybille Binder | ... |
Florence Malou
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Hélène Hansen | ... |
Marie Berlot
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Gilbert Davis | ... |
Commandant
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Andrew Blackett | ... |
Frankie
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Arthur Lawrence | ... |
Verreker
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Eugene Deckers | ... |
Marcel Van Hecke
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Philip Elliot, refugee Belgian priest, reports to a secret school in London for spies and saboteurs behind German lines. After training, he and two others parachute into Belgium to help destroy a records office. This mission leads to German capture of an important resistance leader; four more agents (Emile, Max, Scotty, and Michele) go in on a rescue mission. But one of them is a traitor; and other things go wrong... Written by Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
In 1943 a miscellaneous group of women and men of several nationalities prepare in London to be parachuted into Belgium. They are to lead sabotage operations against the occupying German forces. A government office is destroyed, a traitor is discovered, one of their number is captured and rescued, several of them die, two fall in love.
This is a classic British WWII adventure, exploiting the potential for romance of the Special Operations Executive, notwithstanding its marginal affect on the conduct of the war. The acting is good, with Simone Signoret very beautiful and suitably soulful, Gordon Jackson playing a characteristically shaky personality and Robert Beatty in a fine, solid role as the saboteur-priest. James Robertson-Justice, of course, plays himself, as always. The plot is a disappointment. The story line does not appear clearly until the second half of the film, after a series of scenes in which the members of the team are assembled and there is a series of half-hearted attempts to establish their backgrounds and motivation. The amateurishness reinforces a certain stereotype of the British people and the lamentable lack of security awareness makes one cringe. Despite the drawbacks, this film is well done and a pleasure to watch.