Sadly Over-hyped

People are voting emotionally.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A Strange Concoction that never seems to find its Place or knows what it wants to be. A Contrast of Genres Unintentionally makes for some Bizarre Entertainment that is an Easy Watch.Never Fully Attaining a Thriller Mode it does have a few Scenes that are Worthy of its Espionage Element. There is a Realistic Forest Fire Diversion, a rather Disturbing Interrogation with Drugging and Hot Lights, and a Murder that Starts Things Going. It also Throws a Twist of Mind Control Side Effects that is a bit Corny but Engaging. Once things get Underway the Tone Shifts Uneasily between Farce and Fanciful Nonsense.The Biological Warfare Premise is Key but Never as Threatening as it should be and Ending it all is a Comedy Routine with Over Talking and is Something out of a Sit-Com. Worth a View for a few Good Things but Ultimately its Downfall Remains its Inconsistent and Wavering Tone.

As my Father, Antony Darnborough produced this film and my uncle Muir Mathieson conducted the music, I might be slightly biased although I still feel that biological warfare was virtually unknown to the general public at the time and therefore this film was useful on many levels.Perhaps it can in some way highlight the efforts made by the hundreds of brave and talented civilians during the cold war, many of course had little or no idea what they were letting themselves in for and no training in interogation techniques.Classic line: "A few moths ago some people were shot in the woods - accidentally. Tourists"James Darnborough

Although I agree with most of the criticisms in the negative review already posted - I have just watched this movie on TV over lunch and really quite enjoyed it, which is why I came to this site to be reminded of the cast. I was surprised to see Anthony Newly's name - didn't recognise him. Margaret Lockwood looks much prettier than in many of her other films - her mouth is less prominent and her hair better groomed. Although I don't think it is worth seeing more than once - I do think it is pleasurable enough to watch once. Plenty of films are made of which that is not so. So if you haven't seen it - you won't hate it. It's just not absolutely terrific.

Frances Gray is a quiet and unassuming woman who also happens to be one of the top entomologists in the country. It is this that brings her to the attention of the Government, who are looking for some way of spying on a country in Eastern Europe and ascertaining rumours about a plot to wage germ warfare using insects as the carriers. Gray reluctantly accepts the task as a way of adding excitement to her life and soon finds herself in a country where she doesn't speak the language, sticks out like a sore thumb and isn't sure what she is doing.After the first few minutes I had managed to stop snickering at the idea of Margaret Lockwood being the top entomologist in the UK and tried to get into the plot. Sadly the casting makes about the same amount of sense as the actual plot does and it never really flows or engages – when the action starts, it only comes as a result of a contrived twist about radio thrillers and some sort of hypnosis. It says something that this twist actually improves the film, but it is still only serviceable and never got to the point where I was really into it. The plot doesn't make a great deal of sense and it comes across as Highly Dull as opposed to Highly Dangerous.The cast is strange. Lockwood is stiff but quite alluring but she overdoes the "innocent abroad" way too much and she doesn't develop much smarts along the way. If you think she is unconvincing as an entomologist then wait to see how unconvincing a spy she makes! Dane Clark is OK but feels like he is a marketing tool more than a smart bit of casting. He is likable and a better lead than Lockwood but he doesn't have much to do in terms of the actual plot. Goring is OK hamming it up behind a big mustache and cigar but he has too little screen time; support is good from reliables Hyde-White and Wayne.Overall this is a very thin affair that will just about do if you are looking for something to laze in front of on a Saturday afternoon but god help you if you need more than that. The plot is uninspiring and doesn't make a lot of sense or ever really engaged me, relying on a silly twist to make things happen. The cast are OK but Lockwood is helpless in a flat role that is hard to get behind and the whole film is all a bit dull and certainly not as exciting as the title or subject matter suggest it could have been.