Rent The Man Who Never Was (1956)

3.6 of 5 from 79 ratings
1h 39min
Rent The Man Who Never Was Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
In 1943, two intelligence officers from the Royal Navy (Clifton Webb, Robert Flemyng) attempt to pull off the most daring espionage mission of the Second World War. The Allies are about to invade Sicily - but the Germans must be convinced that their real target is Greece. A briefcase containing plans for the fake invasion is attached to a body dressed as a British major and given an elaborate false identity. The 'man who never was' is then left at sea for the Germans to find. However, Nazi intelligence believes that the find may be just too good to be true - and a desperate cat-and-mouse game begins in the heart of war torn London...
Actors:
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Directors:
Producers:
André Hakim
Voiced By:
Peter Sellers
Writers:
Ewen Montagu, Nigel Balchin
Studio:
Odeon
Genres:
Classics, Drama, Thrillers
Collections:
10 Films to Watch if You Like: Operation Mincemeat, Cinema Paradiso's 2024 Centenary Club: Part 3, Drama Films & TV, Films to Watch If You Like..., inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, The Instant Expert's Guide to Powell and Pressburger, WWII Films: Beaches, Oceans and Camps
Awards:

1957 BAFTA Best Screen Play

BBFC:
Release Date:
12/11/2012
Run Time:
99 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital Stereo
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • New High-Definition Digital Restoration in original aspect ratio
  • Restored Original Stereo Soundtrack
  • Stills Gallery
  • Collector's Booklet
  • Theatrical Trailer
BBFC:
Release Date:
12/11/2012
Run Time:
103 minutes
Languages:
English LPCM Stereo
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 2.35:1
Colour:
Colour
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Stills Gallery
  • Theatrical Trailer

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Reviews (3) of The Man Who Never Was

Very watchable - The Man Who Never Was review by CP Customer

Spoiler Alert
20/10/2020

An interesting watch based on real-life events. Very 1950s RP accents. Loved Gloria Grahame. However the plot is pretty much covered in the blurb, and the fact that the Germans didn't win the war kind of gives away the ending. Still enjoyed though - it was a very rainy Sunday afternoon type of film.

2 out of 3 members found this review helpful.

Classic 1956 British film about the true story of Operation Mincemeat - The Man Who Never Was review by PV

Spoiler Alert
30/06/2022

A wonderful film from 1956. Back when they could make great film with no preachy woke agenda.

Loosely based on facts. However, stretched. Why they claim the body of a man was Scottish I do not know, In reality he was Welsh, a tramp who had a life of abuse and depression, and poverty - a TV doc on this a few years ago:

The body was identified in 1996 as that of Glyndwr Michael, a Welsh homeless man, and recognised as such by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Some great actors here BUT not Peter Sellers as the DVD sleeve claims - I thought that was odd. Fake news!

Michel Hordern already looking 70 in 1956, a look he had until the 1980s I think!

Loved the story - the British really were brilliant at this sort of thing. British war films from 1950s and 40s and 60s and often 70s were and are wonderful!

I am so glad I watched this before the new movie OPERATION MINCEMEAT - I hope they get the facts of who the dead man was in that, and I sincerely hope they do not woke it up. One reason old films are so great is they bare free of all that.

No subtitles but these were the days when actors actually spoke proper English clearly, did not mumble behind overloud 'background' music. Sigh...

4.5 stars rounded up.

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Strange Operations. - The Man Who Never Was review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
29/07/2023

One of the more unusual WWII special operations films, loosely drawn from the memoirs of Ewen Montague, who ran the enterprise. A British naval officer (Clifton Webb) leaves a corpse in uniform off the coast of Spain with misleading documents about a plan by the Allies to invade Greece. The idea is to divert defences from Sicily where the actual landing will take place.

The first part of the story is about the creation of a personality for the dead man which will survive Nazi scrutiny. The body is the lead character. These real events are presented respectfully and leisurely. But the film comes to life in the second half as an Irish spy for the Germans (Stephen Boyd) arrives in London to investigate.

This counterespionage subplot was entirely invented by the screenwriter (Nigel Balchin) and there is an impression of a slender premise padded out to feature length. But there's a realistic and an eye-catching production, shot in Technicolor and CinemaScope, with handsome sets of the gentlemen's clubs and offices of ministry.

Clifton Webb is too antiseptic and peevish to be a likeable lead. The film is stolen by the other imported star, Gloria Grahame, who is all emotion as a wife to be of an RAF pilot. The scene where she narrates a love letter for the fake identity of the corpse is a heartbreaker. And the best part of an uneven but interesting war story.

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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