Rating: C
Dir: Terence Young
Star: Christopher Plummer, Romy Schneider, Trevor Howard, Gert Fröbe
This is based on a true story from World War II. Eddie Chapman (Plummer) is a thief who was in jail on Jersey when the Nazis invade. To get out of prison, he agrees to become a spy for them and be parachuted back into Britain. But on landing, he turns himself in and becomes a double-agent, feeding false information back to Germany. It’s a story ripe with potential for tension, a hero playing both sides, and at risk of a rapid, unpleasant fate if his true intentions are discovered. This movie isn’t really that story, only intermittently delivering the necessary sense of danger. It seems more interested in rolling out stars of all nations.
By most accounts, the real Eddie Chapman was shadier than the gentleman thief portrayed by Plummer. For instance, he wasn’t allowed to act as an advisor to the film on set in France, because of an alleged involvement in a plot to kidnap the Sultan of Morocco. In the early stages, you do get the sense Chapman is in business entirely for himself. But that quietly slides to one side, becoming a conventional (and, therefore, less interesting) wartime spy story. It is more successful when there’s uncertainty, such as when Chapman has to convince German handler, Colonel Steinhäger (Fröbe, who sadly never says, “No, Mr. Chapman – I expect you to die!”) of his bona fides. To that end, Steinhäger sends the Countess (Schneider) as a honey trap.
Naturally, she falls for her target, Young perhaps intent on bringing over certain tropes from the two James Bond films he directed, Dr. No and Thunderball. [Fun fact: Young knew the real Chapman before the war] There are times when it does feel like it’s trying to be a period version of an 007 movie. Nor least, the soundtrack, culminating in Tony Allen crooning over the end credits. Plummer would have made a good James Bond, I think. Though given his most famous role, it’s kinda weird watching him hanging out with Nazis, even as a double-agent. The movie seems to run out of steam after Chapman returns to Germany, and I was glad to be watching the US cut, which is fourteen minutes shorter – but still a hefty 126 minutes.
The highlight of the second half might be Chapman’s double-agency being sussed by Steinhäger’s boss (Yul Brynner). He basically shrugs and says, with the end of the war looming, it doesn’t matter any more. But in general, it feels like Chapman becomes a side character, despite being awarded the Iron Cross [the film says he was the first Englishman so honoured. William Manley, who received both the Iron Cross and Victoria Cross, would like a word]. While the all-star cast and high production values are a plus, you would likely be better off watching a good documentary on the topic, such as Timewatch’s Double Agent: The Eddie Chapman Story. There are times when truth isn’t just stranger than fiction, it’s more entertaining as well.