Product: The Man Who Never Was (2005)
Rating: 5.0
Solid, entertaining WW2 film based on real events
Handsome movie, made in the 1950s, about Operation Mincemeat, the successful deception plan concocted by the British during World War II to send a corpse to the Mediterranean with false invasion plans. The Germans swallowed it whole, and left Sicilia (where the invasion finally took place) relatively unguarded.Made by Hollywood with relatively unknown actors, this film is very entertaining, even if some of the things here turned out not to be true, though this was probably not the fault of the filmmakers. For instance, the corpse that was used in the operation belonged to a Welshman instead of a Scot (an alcoholic tramp, in actuality), and his family was not notified. And the last half hour deals with the story of an Irish spy in London working for the Germans that, while entertaining, is pure invention.More a spy film than a war film, it can be compared, as some of the commenters have noted, to some of the best movies by Alfred Hitchcock, in the way the film builds suspense over the operation. The beautiful color photography is an enormous plus; since this was filmed just a decade after the conflict ended, this allows you to have a very good idea of what London must have looked like during the war in full colors. Some might find the patriotism in the film a bit old fashioned, but I found it refreshing in comparison with the constant cynicism and weariness of contemporary movies.