Although clearly made on a low budget (there was a war on, you know), this movie still has the power to shock, albeit mildly.
At the time of its release in 1942, Britain still stood alone. In fact, the immediate threat of invasion had, by now, abated. German attempts to gain air superiority over British skies as a prelude to conquest had already failed during the summer of 1940, in the 'Battle of Britain'. The Luftwaffe got such a drubbing that Hitler's proposed 'Operation Sea-lion' had to be deferred indefinitely. In the meantime, his own appetite for slaughter remained undiminished. So, in 1941, he launched 'Operation Barbarossa' against the East, and effectively sealed his and Germany's doom. By 1942, there were simply insufficient resources available to invade Britain as well.
Nevertheless, it was evidently deemed needful that the public be reminded of its possibility, and this faded little propaganda piece does things very well.
The credits roll with a drive down one of England's 'country lanes' (of which we are later reminded in song during a radio broadcast) as a reaffirmation of the homely way of life that stands in peril. And this leads us to the quiet rural hamlet of 'Bramley End'.
A company of German paratroopers turn up disguised as British soldiers on manoeuvres. That scenario itself seems plausible enough. Indeed, the idea was reprised in a later movie 'The Eagle Has Landed'. But what is highly unlikely is the matter of their arrival in British vehicles. Where, pray, could these have come from? Parachuted in as well? Or did the Germans just wander into the nearest army camp and requisition them, using all of the right forms, all of the appropriate authority, and knowing just who to address? And were the vehicles likewise handed over without a check on their validity? This is a gaping hole in the plot.
But it's the only one there is, and if you can get your head around it, what follows is a drama of progressively spiralling intensity.
Movie censorship in Britain was pretty strict right up until the 1970's, and as I say: there was a war on. Yet there are some surprisingly barbaric events following plot discovery in which - it has to be said - the English women are depicted as the most drastic. Not the least of which is a member of the fairer sex of this 'sceptered isle' burying a hatchet in the back of a Teutonic head, whilst another coldbloodedly guns-down a quisling with whom she had a love interest. Hell hath no fury. This is definitely an item to motivate the ladies, and must have had a powerful effect when it was shown at the height of WW2.
Everyone mucks in (as you were expected to do). A schoolboy hero is shot in the leg whilst running for help, and all the men engage in a running battle that sees no German prisoners taken. There's little or no 'gentlemanly' conduct; it's kill or be killed and our civilians are depicted as no less ferocious than enemy soldiers. That must have sailed pretty close to the wind in its day, especially as, at other times, the krauts were invariably (and correctly) depicted as the most cruel. If anything, the moral of the story seemed to be that if they got across here it was freedom or slavery, and you did whatever you had to do. I know of no other movie in which Germans are offered no quarter.
The relationships and acting are sometimes just a little stagy at times, but still mostly quite believable. There are some nice lighting effects too; I particularly liked the 'morning mist' events, when the citizens of Bramley End begin to turn the tables.
I mentioned above that the British trucks were the only plausibility glitch, but that's not quite true. Most of the English-speaking Germans don't just speak English; they speak the mother-tongue, with a fluency that could only have been derived from being British. There's not so much as a hint of Guttural Teutonic expression. Also, there's no explanation as to how the traitor came to be, what his motives were, and so on.
My DVD is a little faded now. There's some slight vignetting and the sound isn't quite up to snuff in parts. Yet this is a movie that can still entertain well. Definitely one for the daughters of Boudicca.
At the time of its release in 1942, Britain still stood alone. In fact, the immediate threat of invasion had, by now, abated. German attempts to gain air superiority over British skies as a prelude to conquest had already failed during the summer of 1940, in the 'Battle of Britain'. The Luftwaffe got such a drubbing that Hitler's proposed 'Operation Sea-lion' had to be deferred indefinitely. In the meantime, his own appetite for slaughter remained undiminished. So, in 1941, he launched 'Operation Barbarossa' against the East, and effectively sealed his and Germany's doom. By 1942, there were simply insufficient resources available to invade Britain as well.
Nevertheless, it was evidently deemed needful that the public be reminded of its possibility, and this faded little propaganda piece does things very well.
The credits roll with a drive down one of England's 'country lanes' (of which we are later reminded in song during a radio broadcast) as a reaffirmation of the homely way of life that stands in peril. And this leads us to the quiet rural hamlet of 'Bramley End'.
A company of German paratroopers turn up disguised as British soldiers on manoeuvres. That scenario itself seems plausible enough. Indeed, the idea was reprised in a later movie 'The Eagle Has Landed'. But what is highly unlikely is the matter of their arrival in British vehicles. Where, pray, could these have come from? Parachuted in as well? Or did the Germans just wander into the nearest army camp and requisition them, using all of the right forms, all of the appropriate authority, and knowing just who to address? And were the vehicles likewise handed over without a check on their validity? This is a gaping hole in the plot.
But it's the only one there is, and if you can get your head around it, what follows is a drama of progressively spiralling intensity.
Movie censorship in Britain was pretty strict right up until the 1970's, and as I say: there was a war on. Yet there are some surprisingly barbaric events following plot discovery in which - it has to be said - the English women are depicted as the most drastic. Not the least of which is a member of the fairer sex of this 'sceptered isle' burying a hatchet in the back of a Teutonic head, whilst another coldbloodedly guns-down a quisling with whom she had a love interest. Hell hath no fury. This is definitely an item to motivate the ladies, and must have had a powerful effect when it was shown at the height of WW2.
Everyone mucks in (as you were expected to do). A schoolboy hero is shot in the leg whilst running for help, and all the men engage in a running battle that sees no German prisoners taken. There's little or no 'gentlemanly' conduct; it's kill or be killed and our civilians are depicted as no less ferocious than enemy soldiers. That must have sailed pretty close to the wind in its day, especially as, at other times, the krauts were invariably (and correctly) depicted as the most cruel. If anything, the moral of the story seemed to be that if they got across here it was freedom or slavery, and you did whatever you had to do. I know of no other movie in which Germans are offered no quarter.
The relationships and acting are sometimes just a little stagy at times, but still mostly quite believable. There are some nice lighting effects too; I particularly liked the 'morning mist' events, when the citizens of Bramley End begin to turn the tables.
I mentioned above that the British trucks were the only plausibility glitch, but that's not quite true. Most of the English-speaking Germans don't just speak English; they speak the mother-tongue, with a fluency that could only have been derived from being British. There's not so much as a hint of Guttural Teutonic expression. Also, there's no explanation as to how the traitor came to be, what his motives were, and so on.
My DVD is a little faded now. There's some slight vignetting and the sound isn't quite up to snuff in parts. Yet this is a movie that can still entertain well. Definitely one for the daughters of Boudicca.