Man Who Never Was
by Ronald Neame
List Price:
Our Price: $16.40
You Save: $3.58 (18%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.44 (click here)
Category: VHS Video
See more movie releases
Buy this VHS video movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Product details
Actor: Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Josephine Griffin, Robert Flemyng, Stephen BoydDirector: Ronald Neame
Edition: VHS Tape
Audio: English (Original Language), Analog; German (Original Language); Latin (Original Language); Spanish (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
Running Time: 103 minutes
Release Date: 1998-01-01
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Studio: 20th Century Fox
VHS Movie Reviews of Man Who Never Was
Movie Review: "Being All Washed-Up" In a Good Way
Summary: 5 Stars
This is such a great movie, and if I had never seen it, I would not have known of this ingenious ploy created to out-fox the Germans in WWII. It involves planting false information on a body that is then allowed to wash up upon a critical shore. The Germans recover the body, analyze the false information and papers on the body, consider them geunine, and make battle plans accordingly, thinking they have a real "find." Instead they fall into a well-planned trap. Clifton Webb is excellent in his part, as is the "body."Movie Review: One of Clftons great ones
Summary: 4 Stars
I love all of Clifton Webb films, this one really extracts his serious side of acting. great film of the era, he is truly the one of the best actors of his time.Movie Review: The Man Who Never Was
Summary: 5 Stars
A world war 2 story with a very unusual twist. It held my interest throughout the movie. The acting was so good, I beleived all the events to be true. I would recommend it to all. Movie buff-AnnMovie Review: The Man Who Never Was
Summary: 5 Stars
A true war time adventure.Clifton Web did a great performance.A clever plan to fool the Germans.Movie Review: Tales of British wartime Derring-Do!
Summary: 4 Stars
It IS a true tale and a lot of the detail is correct - till about half way through when an "Irish spy" arrives in the UK on behalf of the Germans. Not needed in the real world story - the twist is needed to add some tension at the end of the film.
Clifton Webb acts like Clifton Webb - that is to say like a plank of wood! However for the period it is well done.
Spot the pennant number on a Castle Class frigate in the background of one scene and then go and watch "The Cruel Sea". Guess the Admiralty "lent" the British cinema the same ship in more than one movie!
Topical (early 2008) because as of late the identiy of the "body" used in the real war has become subject of fresh debate.
Summary of Man Who Never Was
Clifton Webb stars in this fascinating account of a daring intelligence operation designed to mislead the Nazis prior to the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily. In an effort to convince the Germans to redeploy their defenses, Lt. Commander Montagu (Webb) creates a false English officer and fabricates letters that indicate the British intend to land in Greece. Montagu than plants these documents on a dead man and orchestrates the "discovery" of this "officer" on the coast of Spain, Knowing the papers will fall into German hands. What follows is a taut cat-and mouse game as British Intelligence waits for Berlin to respond, then races to stay one step ahead of the Nazi agent dispatched to determine if the dead man is genuine. This true story of ingenious deception is a riveting tale of wartime espionage.A real beauty of a true story provides the basis for The Man Who Never Was, a gripping World War II picture that has no combat scenes, no great vistas of troops. The time is 1943, as the Allies prepare the invasion of Sicily and desperately need a diversionary ploy to make the Germans suspect another invasion target. The solution is simple but ingenious: a dead man's body will be left in the sea to float ashore on the coast of Spain; made to look like a British pilot, he will be carrying papers suggesting an Allied attack on Greece. When the papers fall to the Nazis, they'll swallow the bogus story.or will they? The film's final third tracks an Irish spy for the Axis (Steven Boyd, in one of his first roles) as he travels to London to investigate loose ends.
Clifton Webb gives a crisp, disciplined performance as Ewen Montagu, the officer in charge of the scheme. The film errs only in some melodrama involving Gloria Grahame, the histrionic roommate of an Intelligence worker. Other than that, director Ronald Neame brings his steady, classy approach to bear on a good yarn, and saves special grace for the treatment of the unfortunate dead man who unwittingly loaned his body to a stunt that saved hundreds, if not thousands, of lives. The film's final haunting shots capture the ethereal shiver of its title. --Robert Horton
Espionage Video
Video Genres
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Espionage Video
CondormanStarz / Anchor Bay; Release date: 1999-02-23; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $39.95
The Ipcress FileStarz / Anchor Bay; Release date: 1999-10-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $14.99
Tomorrow Never DiesMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1999-10-19; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops:
Bond: ThunderballMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1999-10-19; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $0.95
Price in other shops:
DishonoredUniversal Studios; Release date: 1998-01-01; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $49.99
Bond: MoonrakerUnited Artists; Release date: 2000-05-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $1.19
Price in other shops:
The SoldierMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 1999-04-06; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $19.99
Bond: On Her Majesty's Secret ServiceMGM (Video & DVD); Release date: 2000-05-16; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $3.98
Price in other shops:
North By NorthwestMGM; Release date: 1996-11-12; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $6.22
Price in other shops:
Little Drummer GirlWarner Home Video; Release date: 1994-01-14; VHS Tape; VHS Video
Best price: $34.50
Similar Video, DVDs, Audio CDs
Sailor of the KingTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2007-04-24; DVD
Best price: $7.27
Price in other shops:
The Odessa FileSony; Release date: 2000-01-11; DVD
Best price: $7.64
Price in other shops:
Three Days of the CondorParamount; Release date: 1999-08-17; DVD
Best price: $4.06
Price in other shops:
The TrainTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 1999-02-23; DVD
Best price: $5.87
Price in other shops:
The Dam BustersSTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2006-10-17; DVD
Best price: $3.85
Price in other shops:
Eye of the NeedleTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2000-01-18; DVD
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
The Day of the JackalUniversal; Release date: 1998-04-29; DVD
Best price: $4.06
Price in other shops:
The Spy Who Came in from the ColdParamount; Release date: 2004-07-13; DVD
Best price: $4.42
Price in other shops:
Operation AmsterdamTWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT; Release date: 2003-05-20; DVD
Best price: $3.33
Price in other shops:
The Counterfeit TraitorParamount; Release date: 2004-07-13; DVD
Best price: $7.62
Price in other shops: