Popular reviews

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  Review by Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 ★★★ 4

  Following on from yesterday's rewatch of Carve Her Name With Pride which depicted the exploits of Violette Szabo during WWII, the 1950 film Odette which I've watched today concerns itself with Szabo's fellow Allied Intelligence officer, Odette Hallowes who was the first woman to be awarded the George Cross for her brave service.

  I feel terrible to say that Herbert Wilcox's film was a rather hollow experience for me. I do not wish to take anything from the awe-inspiring courage and staggering achievements of Odette and her colleagues but Wilcox's film, whilst seemingly on a bigger budget than '58's Carve Her Name With Pride, fall short of the same investment I feel with that. It's all just a touch too…

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  Review by Sophie Farrell ★★★½

  I've said before that I find films about little known figures from history really interesting. Therefore, I was interesting in watching this film. I didn't really know anything about Odette Sansom but after watching this film, I want to know more about her. She seems like such an interesting person. Its just a shame that this film feels quite hollow.

  The film follows Odette, a French woman who escaped to Britain after the Nazis invaded France, as she is selected for a mission by the Special Operations Executive. They want French people to go back to their homeland as espionage agents. She completes her training in September 1942 and is sent off to France. When she arrives in France, she…

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  Review by barnabytucker ★★★★★

  Slightly dull even if it’s meaningful so it’s still a good watch for a Sunday and it’s not the point but every outfit Marius Goring wore was great and if he’s by a piano you know he’s gonna be playing a tune

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  Review by Adriana Scarpin ★★★★

  Odette estreava há 70 anos nas Inglaterra.
  Adoro esses filmes sobre as fodonas espiãs britânicas ou membros da resistência francesa na segunda guerra e a presença do Marius Goring dá um toque powellpressburguiano à coisa, aqui ainda mais preocupado com música do que com a guerra. Mas preparem os lencinhos, esse é de fazer chorar, inclusive achei que a Neagle seria muito velha para o papel de uma moça de 29, mas como ela passaria por um campo de concentração e envelheceria mil anos, então até isso faz sentido. BlurayRip RARBG.

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  Review by Fint ★★★ 2

  Sober, solid tale of wartime resistance. The style is understated and ungimmicky, and the impression is of the script being as close to the documented facts as possible. For instance, quite a portion of the dialogue is in French or German, a brave decision commercially.

  Due to the documentary feel, a certain tension has dissipated from the film - for example, in the opening minute we are informed that the Peter Ustinov character will be captured and shot. A more involving film would have kept this information from us and shown us the events. So, while we are observing the bravery of Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard, we don't feel it and have no genuine sensation of what it must…

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  Review by Niall Urquhart ★★★

  This was predictably stiff and reserved but remained an enjoyable watch. Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard were good in the main roles but it was Marius Goring and a fresh faced Peter Ustinov who were the standouts. There was nothing out of the ordinary with the narrative but this was made soon after the war so it's easy to see why they went for a straightforward approach.

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  Review by Bob Hovey ★★★½

  Thrilling fact-based war tale of Odette Sansom, the French resistance hero captured by the Nazis. If you don't know the story, I won't reveal it here, suffice to say that it is tense and exciting. Produced post-war in 1950, it's missing a lot of the patriotic flag-waving seen in wartime films, and there are some good performances from Anna Neagle and Trevor Howard. A bit of authenticity is added by several SOE agents playing themselves, and there's also a nice early appearance from Peter Ustinov. While it is never easy to distinguish historical fact from cinematic embellishment in these sorts of stories, it should have no problem holding your interest.

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  Review by Zoë 🐛 ★★½

  After I finished Odette I felt bad for not liking it more. Odette was a hero who risked her life to defeat the Nazis and I wish the film about her was better. It's definitely an interesting experience to watch (and Marius Goring is really great in it) but I also found it difficult to follow with many different characters and not a lot of explanation of the spy work, which I'm sure was no problem to a 1950 British audience but 70 years after the release I needed a bit more context to really grasp onto the plot line. I also was uncomfortable with how this film portrayed concentration camps, it felt sanitized. I don't know how intentional that…

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  Review by 🎞️Chris' neverending watchlist 🎞️ ★★★

  British WW2 drama. The fourth most popular film at the British box office in 1950. Well-acted but at just shy of two hours could have been shorter. Odette Samsun bravely took part in the resistance movement, depicted on the poster, despite having children at home in the UK.

  The devastating “I have nothing to say” interrogation packs a punch, not because the screen violence is graphic, but due to the fact based elements and chilling remarks by the German soldiers. Today, a quick web search would likely clear up the Churchill deception in a matter of minutes. Back in the 1940s, you didn’t have the information at your fingertips.

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  Review by jamawive ★★★★

  This not only checks all my own idiosyncratic boxes; it is in itself a very good film. Locations all over France are used to wonderful effect, the story (a true one) is powerful, and Trevor Howard leads an ace cast.

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  Review by poppy🎞️ ★★★★½ 1

  Beautifully shot but incredibly harrowing. Anna Neagle absolutely SUPERB as was Marius Goring and a teeny tiny Peter Ustinov. I wholeheartedly believe you can add any Rachmaninoff piece to any Trevor Howard film.

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  Review by Luke Thorne ★★★

  Herbert Wilcox directs this fact-based British war drama in which a woman returns to her occupied homeland to spy for the Special Operations Executive.

  Odette Sansom (Anna Neagle) is a spy appointed by the Special Operations Executive in England to journey undercover to France and help the French Resistance. She reaches the area carefully but, despite the support of another secret agent, Captain Peter Churchill (Trevor Howard), soon falls into a plan set by German operative Colonel Henri (Marius Goring). Odette is sent to prison and treated horribly, but as a result does not give up any information to the Gestapo and is ultimately sent to an attentiveness camp.

  Anna Neagle gives a good performance in her role as the…