Product: The Man Who Never Was (2005)
Rating: 4.0
CLASSIC WW II ESPIONAGE THRILLER -- AND IT'S TRUE
MAN WHO NEVER WAS (Fox) begins with a wide view of a deserted Spanish beach. It's 1943. As a body is washed into view, a clipped British voice intones:"Last Night I dreamed a deadly dreamBeyond the Isle of Skye.I saw a dead man win the fightAnd I think that man was I."So begins a classic World War II espionage thriller that tells the audacious but true story of "Major William Martin." The name's made up, his true identity a secret, but even in death "Major Martin" pulled off a daring deception that misled the Nazi's into diverting their defenses, convinced the Allies would invade Greece or perhaps Sardinia instead of Sicily.Clifton Webb stars as Lt. Commander Montagu, creator of the plan to send a carefully picked dead body, tricked out as a drowned English officer complete with personal artifacts and actual but untrue letters from and to top military leaders, to wash up on a specific Spanish coast where it was likely to fall into german hands.But when the Germans do get hold of the body, everything about it seems too good to be true and they send an Irish agent, a young and menacing Stephen Boyd, to England to authenticate the identity of "William Martin."The race is on with British intelligence scrambling to stay ahead of the game with the Nazi agent who has targeted the "fiance" of "Martin."Even though this film was made 50 years ago, period detail is impeccable. The Cinemascope, ultra widescreen (aspect ration 2.55:1) composition is striking and there are no wasted scenes as the already taut, true story ratchets the tension in the last act.