Nice effects though.

Admirable film.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

It's the spring of 1943. North Africa has been taken and London is preparing to invade the obvious next step Sicily. It's too obvious and a diversion is needed. Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu of the Royal Navy comes up with a plan to plant a dead body on a Spanish beach. The body holds the fake identity of Royal Marine Major William Martin with plans to invade Greece. Time is short. Montagu's secretary Pam writes a love letter for the ruse with the help of her roommate Lucy Sherwood who just sent her boyfriend off to the front. They use Lucy's picture and name. The locals transfer the material to the Nazis and IRA Nazi spy Patrick O'Reilly is dispatched to London to confirm the dead man posing as his friend.The historical story is compelling. The fictionalization is a bit stiff. The planning and execution of the scheme is not the most thrilling. There is a lot of stiff upper lip acting. The last half has much more espionage thrills with the introduction of a Nazi spy. This could have worked better with a non-linear timeline. The preparation of each aspect of the scheme could be done in short flashbacks. The straight forward way of storytelling keeps the movie a bit stiff.

In order to put the Axis powers on the defensive the Allies decide to invade Sicily. However, recognizing the possibility of severe casualties, an elaborate plan is devised to trick the Germans into believing that, rather than invading Sicily, they are going to invade Greece instead. This will hopefully result in the Germans moving some of their army from Sicily to Greece. But first, the British need a corpse which has recently died of pneumonia for which they plan to put in the sea near the Spanish coast with the hope that the Germans will discover the body. Attached to his arm will be a briefcase with top secret orders detailing the mythical invasion of Greece. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was an entertaining World War 2 film which kept my attention from start to finish. I especially enjoyed the scene involving "Lucy Sherwood" (Gloria Grahame) and the Nazi spy named "Patrick O'Reilly" (Stephen Boyd) which carried a good balance of suspense and irony. In any case, this is a decent film for those who might enjoy a drama of this type and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Right off the bat, this marginally entertaining (but decidedly morbid) WW2 drama lost itself 4 stars for featuring in its cast that total cow, American actress, Gloria Grahame, as one of the story's principal players.It then lost itself yet another 2 stars for claiming that its story was, indeed, true, when, in reality, only the first half of this tale could make that claim, while the last half was nothing but a complete fabrication.On top of all of that - I also found that there was, yet again, another actor who had a major part in the story whose unconvincing performance as Commander Montagu quickly began to grate on my nerves, big-time - And that was the priggishly effeminate, Clifton Webb (a real-life "Momma's Boy").With so much already going against this picture, I'm really surprised that I actually had the patience to sit through its 103-minute running time.But, as it turned out - Actor Stephen Boyd (whom I do like) appeared in a pivotal role (as an Axis agent) in this picture's latter half (its untrue part) and so I tolerated the rest of the show just to see what sort of shenanigans his character would get up to.For anyone who's interested - The Man Who Never Was is one of those truly rare war pictures that completely avoided battle scenes and big bomb explosions.*Special Note re. Gloria Grahame* - In real-life Grahame was something of a sexual predator and paedophile. It's true.As the story goes - In 1948 Gloria married director Nicholas Ray. (She was 25. He was 37) 2 years into this marriage Ray caught Grahame in bed with his 13 year-old son, Tony, from a previous marriage.Sure enough, Ray did divorce Grahame. But, (get this!) 8 years later Grahame actually married Tony, who was now 21.It sure looks to me like Grahame was something of a "Mommie Dearest" type, even more dangerous than the likes of Joan Crawford.

Clifton Webb is the embodiment of the stiff upper lip, never displaying undue emotions even at a sidesplitting London play. He doesn't just walk across a room, he marches. His impeccably trimmed, reddish beard looks particularly unruffled even while driving his classic, British-made MG roadster.The sets and locations are excellent. The care with which they are chosen and the way they are lighted and shot is reminiscent of Neame's The Odessa File (1974). That Oswald Morris was director of photography on both films is probably not a coincidence.A definitive scene takes place in a claustrophobic basement morgue lined with glistening white tiles. A body is being dressed. While they work, somewhere above them an air raid begins, moves closer, passes and ends. A woman screams. A dog barks. Very little is said and only the slightest gestures indicate their concern for the events going on above. But it is clear that they are very aware of the raid and of how what they are doing could alleviate some of the atrocity of the war.These are a different kind of man. Not gung-ho, hell-for-leather GIs but thoughtful men who remain rational and well-grounded. This is what will get them through this project and this war.