World War 2 Spy Romance Drama with some light hearted moments
British Army Major Peter Garnett (Hugh Williams) assembles a team consisting of Captain ‘Red’ Gowan (Roland Culver), Private ‘Nobby’ Clark (Michael Wilding), and Raoul de Carnot (James Mason), a member of the Free French forces, during the Second World War. Their mission is to collect intelligence on German military strength in the coastal area of occupied France. Sub-Lieutenant Jackson watches as their dinghy across the English Channel.
Nobby knows the target area well: He used to live in Saint Antoine, where he ran a café with his French wife, Lulu. After killing a sentry once ashore, they set a time and place for a rendezvous in two days with the code for bringing the aircraft. They split up, Gowan and Nobby to the village, Raoul and Garnett to the chateau that is Raoul's ancestral home where.
Raoul and Garnett are welcomed, more or less, by Raoul's sister Michele. Their brother is a prisoner. She wants Raoul to stay and help to manage the land. She is resigned to cooperating with the occupiers, and is too frightened to assist in the mission.
They contact a local businessman, M. Fayolle, now hated by most of the townspeople for his open collaboration with the occupying forces, but in fact secretly working with the French Resistance. He and his daughter Estelle have helped 100 Allied servicemen to escape. He provides them with special papers.
At German headquarters, Garnett and Gowan masquerade as champagne salesmen, aided by a personal letter from von Ribbentrop and champagne supplied by Nobby. Having thus established their bona fides, they do deals with German officers for supplying their messes. They are able to photograph a map showing troop disposition, and also extract a great deal of information from the unwary Nazis, who suspect them of being either Gestapo or counter espionage. Annoyed, General von Reichman puts in a call to Berlin.
The agents locate a secret aerodrome, built into a cliffside so that it cannot be bombed. A patrol hears them in the woods, fires into the trees, and Raoul is shot. He dies at home, with Michele and the priest beside him. Angry and heartbroken, Michele tells them to leave,
Raoul died without showing them the important rendezvous point, an ancient tree where he and Michele played as children. They must return to ask Michele where it is. She refuses to help. M. Fayolle and his daughter, Estelle, arrive to speak to Raoul, revealing their role in the Resistance to Michele, risking their lives. They are distressed to learn of Raoul's death; they are here to warn the others that the woods will be heavily patrolled. Reichman has learned that von Ribbentrop never heard of them and has launched a manhunt. Michele goes to warn them and show them the tree, but a patrol captures them. At the tree, Private Clark shows up in the armored propaganda truck (nicknamed the “Music Box”) which he has just hijacked. Garnett and Clark change into Nazi uniforms and head to Nazi headquarters, where he gives the Medical Officer instructions to release a prisoner, Captain MacKenzie, to them. He does so, but becomes suspicious.
At 10 past three a.m., at first light, they signal a squadron of planes carrying paratroopers, who land and overrun the factory and blow it up.
They all rendezvous at the beach. Michele and Garnett have fallen in love. As the others embark by boat to return to England, Michele refuses his offer to take her with them and promises to start working with the Resistance. She gives him the little cross she wears around her neck and they kiss. “Goodbye Michele.” “Au revoir, Peter.” She turns and walks away, slowly at first, then with confidence and purpose.
