Sadly Over-hyped

Great Film overall

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Every Sunday in the UK Talking Pictures, a fairly new channel that screens only movies, publishes its schedule for the next seven days and I go through it checking titles I want to see; when I saw Orders To Kill I thought it would be well worth missing but then I noticed that it was directed by Puffin Asquith which made it almost obligatory. Asquith was responsible for some of the cream of British movies and forged an excellent writer-director partnership with Terence Rattigan, making him arguably THE English director of the 20th century despite Carol Reed and David Lean enjoying higher profiles. I wasn't disappointed; Orders To Kill is a fine movie with a moral question at its core. In brief; a man is recruited to kill a resistance worker suspected of treachery in World War II. The assassin undergoes training, is given a new identity and parachuted into France. Having met the target by chance he bonds with him and decides he is innocent, says as much to his 'contact' who reminds him he is under orders. He kills the target who, it turns out, is innocent. Irene Worth runs away with the picture as the 'contact' whilst newcomer Paul Massie succeeds in conveying the moral dilemma in which he finds himself. One of Puffin's finest.

I can recommend this little war thriller which has brains and heart behind it. Within the broad theatre of war it focuses on the moral impact of "orders" on a sensitive personality. Production values are good within the scope of the film and there are plenty of clues about the developing issue. We start to have reservations about the main character, who is clearly immature and not suited to the mission he is sent on. His behaviour is inept, but it is not hard to relate to his dilemma. The denouement winds up the story gracefully without weakening the horror of what has occurred, and in a way that the viewer does not expect, dignity is restored to the hero. I had not previously encountered the lead actor who is a little-known Canadian actor. I dislike the way he looks in this, with a neatly combed 1950s blonde quiff on which a ridiculously small beret is perched. He looks about as "French" as a bacon burger. But in a way that fits in with his feeble performance in the role of assassin. The film never goes into an examination of who was responsible for the false intelligence behind the mission. That is where the blame for the fiasco rests. But no doubt this sort of thing occurred and the people in the field never got to find out who was the author of the blunder.

During World War II, American-born bomber pilot Paul Massie (as Gene Summers) is sent from Boston to England, then German-occupied Paris. His mission is to assassinate a man secretly spying for the Nazis. In the event he is captured, Mr. Massie is trained in the art of interrogation and undercover work, by Eddie Albert (as Major "Mac" McMahon) and James Robertson Justice. His training complete, Massie is given the French identity "Jean Doumier" and arrives in Paris via parachute...When Massie meets his target, small-time lawyer Leslie French (as Marcel Lafitte), he has second thoughts. The suspected Nazi informant turns out to be a friendly family guy who loves cats. Massie thinks Mr. French may be innocent and shares his reservations with French resistance fighter Irene Worth (as Leonie). She reminds Massie of his "Orders to Kill"...Some of the build-up is tedious, but this turns out to be an intelligent drama about the morality of war...Note that the American stars' billing is exaggerated; top-billed Eddie Albert is a supporting actor to Massie, who is the star of the film. Moreover, Lillian Gish (as Mrs. Summers) appears in only two scenes. It would have been nice to see Ms. Gish become involved during the latter portions, inquiring about and/or visiting her son; this could have tied in with the parts of the opening which appear to signal flashbacks. The adaptation by Paul Dehn, direction by Anthony Asquith, and cast are excellent.******* Orders to Kill (7/25/58) Anthony Asquith ~ Paul Massie, Eddie Albert, Irene Worth, Lillian Gish

This is a quietly gripping movie about a man ordered to kill a traitor in wartime France. The protagonist bonds with his quarry and his family and agonizes over following his orders to kill. To find out whether he kills the man and whether he is guilty or innocent you'll need to see this.