CinemaSerf

With his homeland under a Nazi yoke, displaced priest “Fr. Philip” (Robert Beatty) is part of a group of courageous men and women who are training to become underground fighters. With their target a records office, a small team are parachuted into a Brussels packed full of soldiers and so their perilous project begins. We know that they have an ally working within the army ranks but what they don’t know is that there is an enemy fifth columnist working within their own. Things soon come to an head when “Emile” (John Slater) is captured and so “Michelle” (Simone Signoret) and the out-of-his-depth “Duncan” (Gordon Jackson) have to come up with a rescue plan before the Gestapo close in. Though the latter elements of this story deliver the more predictable elements of jeopardy, it’s really the earlier stages that are more interesting. We learn just what motivated this priest, “Michelle”, “Cronk” (Jack Warner) and of the difficulties faced by their stoic handler “Ackerman” (James Robertson Justice) who has to evaluate the credibility of these volunteers to make sure they are not just liabilities to a cause that is dangerous and unforgiving. We also take a look at just what motivated their betrayer too, and in many ways that’s quite a potent illustrator of the dilemma faced by many people with families still lived in the hornet’s nest. Signoret is on great , pensive, form - as is Jackson who somehow epitomises the haplessness of so many people whose bravery couldn’t compensate for their anxiety and youthful inexperience when faced with an authoritarian brutality. There is also room for a little light-heartedness here too as there are plenty of gadgets and gizmos to cause mischief for their enemies. Odd how when it comes to killing each other, we can be remarkably ingenious!