The Inspector

Dolores Hart heads a cast of mostly British players in The Inspector, a film about a Dutch Jewish refugee determined to get to Palestine. Her's is a tightly controlled performance of a woman for whom every kind of emotion has been drained out of her. But she wants more than life itself to live in a Jewish homeland, a place where she doesn't feel like an unwanted guest.

Stephen Boyd plays a Dutch police inspector who covers up the fact that she killed a white slaver looking to pimp out her sexual services. Boyd and Hart are kept under a loose surveillance by British intelligence as many try to help them in their quest.

As we know the politics of oil kept the British who occupied Palestine tilting toward the Arabs. But for many, humanity dictated otherwise.

A nice cast was put together in support of Boyd and Hart and standing out are Leo McKern as a gruff Dutch barge captain, Donald Pleasence as a surveilling policeman and Hugh Griffith as a gunrunner.

For the leads this is some of the best work they do in their interrupted careers, Boyd by an early death and Hart by retiring from acting to go into a convent where she still is a mother/prioress.

Exodus was an epic tale of the founding of Israel. The Inspector reduces the story to an inspiring singularity.

I know very little about Director Philip Dunne, though HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY warrants instant respect. Sadly, THE INSPECTOR (also known as LISA) rates nowhere near as good, even if it boasts a truly stellar cast, with supporting actors of such high quality as Hugh Griffith, Donald Pleasence, Leo McKern, Harry Andrews.

Of course, Stephen Boyd and Dolores Hart are the good looking leads who occupy the screen most of the time, both delivering quite satisfactorily - Boyd is particularly appealing as a Dutch police inspector who wants to take to Palestine a young Jewish woman who had suffered all manner of torture in German concentration camps during WWII.

It stands to reason, however, that a Dutch policeman can only have the power of the law behind him in the Netherlands, and he is warned about that by the authorities of various other countries, notably the United Kingdom's.

The couple's adventures seem more cute than real, with a dog on a barge playing an eye-catching part.

Unfortunately, I watched a rather fuzzy VHS copy but I do not think that cinematography is exceptional in any way.

Uneven script by Nelson Gidding. Ultimately a film that I feel will not stay on my memory for long. 7/10 for the great supporting cast.

I saw this film as a young girl in the sixties and never forgot it. One of the great pluses in this film is the very deep cast of English character actors who parade through the story. Not the least of which is Donald Pleasence. I consider this film the first to bear the, Donald Pleasence is in it, it must be good, rule. You know, that seal of approval that M.Emmet Walsh and later J.T. Walsh brought to their work.

I consider this to be Stephen Boyd's best work, and indicative of the career he could have had, had he not been saddled with the "too good looking for his own good" curse that ruined the aspirations of a lot of actors doomed to play shallow roles. As for Delores Hart's final screen performance, goodness only knows what she could have accomplished had she not committed her life to God. One of the great show biz what ifs. But the real star of this movie is the story, with its brutal for its time period, depiction of refugees problems in a post war Europe. Attempting to start anew while unable to escape the horrors of her war time experiences, Lisa is an unwanted and painful reminder of a society that wishes to move on but can't agree on how to handle the problems of thousands of extraneous displaced victims. And how this film refuses to sugar coat the ending, leaving its characters with choices that can only be described as excruciatingly heartbraking and yet uplifting at the same time. The post war experience in Europe was no picnic for the victims or the guilt ridden bystanders. This film will haunt you.

This is one of my favorite movies by the actor. Definitely not a miscast and great acting. Also a great story but maybe you would have to be first generation WW II dependent and from Holland to appreciate it's value. The novel by Jan De Hartog is extremely accurate of what went on in post war Europe and I loved this movie. Highly recommend it. Great scenery and tells the tale of the displacement of Holocaust victims as well. This movie did give him another nomination for the Golden Globes and rightly so.

This is a haunting, yet little-known film, beautifully acted, that shows the after-effects of Nazi concentration camp sterilization and torture on a young Jewish girl, as she tries to escape to Palestine after the war. The budding romance between the principal actors adds an extra poignancy to the tale, as they are separated in the dramatic and unforgettable ending. I only wish this film were on video, so that a new audience of young people could learn and benefit from its story.