What makes it different from others?

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I think it was Michael Palin who wanted to make a movie in which he ran over someone with a steamroller and Charles Crichton who wanted to make a movie in which the principals got away to South America home free. It doesn't apply to this movie, which is an Ealing movie, but not a comedy, yet shows the care and excellence that Michael Balcon applied to the movies he produced.It starts out at a spy training center in England, run by a seemingly amiable John Robertson Justice. The four top "students" with which this movie concerns itself are Robert Beatty, Simone Signoret, Jack Warner and Gordon Jackson. Beatty, a priest, is sent out earlier. When a rescue is needed, the others follow. However, things go wrong and matters become messy.All of the actors go about things as stoically as they can, but their characters' emotions keep leaking through. The movie keeps throwing up tense moments, some of which are solved heroically, some tragically and some comically. It's a first class movie in all departments, even if the subject has grown commonplace in the aftermath of the Cold War.

A group of uninteresting people are sent into Belgium to blow up a records office and rescue some bloke from prison. Can they succeed?Unfortunately, there is no-one in the cast that anyone can identify with who is in the film for long enough. Gordon Jackson is dreadfully annoying as "Johnny", the schoolboy explosives expert who is out of his depth. Paul Dupuis is the best of the cast as "Picquart", the undercover Gestapo officer who sticks his neck out to help the very annoying Gordon Jackson. Simone Signoret is OK as "Michele" the radio operator but this role could equally have been played by Gisele Preville who played "Julie".Indeed the film has 3 good sections that stick in the mind. One is the shot of "Julie" lying in the field after her parachute jump, staring at the sky and obviously very dead. It's the most shocking image from the film. The second is the scene where "Michele" discovers that her colleague is a traitor while they are sharing a quiet moment in their hideout. And the third is the scene where "Picquart" is trapped in his Nazi office and has to act quickly. That's it. Most of the rest of the film is dull and unengaging. It takes an hour or so before anything of interest happens.A mention goes to Jack Warner as "Max". How on earth did England win a war with lard buckets like him in the army. What a heffalump! And what is the romance between "Michele" and "Johnny" all about? A complete nonsense. There are a few interesting sections but the film disappoints overall.

Despite the usual budgetary restrictions, this manages to convey a sense of the danger and great sacrifice made by these brave people who fought for our freedom. Charles Crichton brings out the human story rather than the all-action tale of some movies. Scenes with John Slater visiting his wife seems slightly corny now, but then must have seemed so close to events (just 3 years after the end of WW2). And the outcome later makes it all the more poignant. I thought a movie like this would be good to show in schools, as a part of history lesson. I love all those character actors they were part of my childhood, and they were such real actors and people. (Take note Arnold, et al) And I still haven't got over Jack Warner's Max (our own Dixon of Dock green) who would have adam 'n' eved it!

In 1943 a miscellaneous group of women and men of several nationalities prepare in London to be parachuted into Belgium. They are to lead sabotage operations against the occupying German forces. A government office is destroyed, a traitor is discovered, one of their number is captured and rescued, several of them die, two fall in love.This is a classic British WWII adventure, exploiting the potential for romance of the Special Operations Executive, notwithstanding its marginal affect on the conduct of the war. The acting is good, with Simone Signoret very beautiful and suitably soulful, Gordon Jackson playing a characteristically shaky personality and Robert Beatty in a fine, solid role as the saboteur-priest. James Robertson-Justice, of course, plays himself, as always. The plot is a disappointment. The story line does not appear clearly until the second half of the film, after a series of scenes in which the members of the team are assembled and there is a series of half-hearted attempts to establish their backgrounds and motivation. The amateurishness reinforces a certain stereotype of the British people and the lamentable lack of security awareness makes one cringe. Despite the drawbacks, this film is well done and a pleasure to watch.