Ordine di uccidere

Although Eddie Albert, Lillian Gish, and James Robertson Justice are the first, third, and fourth billed actors, the largest and most important parts are played by Paul Massie, Leslie French, and Irene Worth.

British intelligence believes they've identified a traitor in the French Resistance, and they send in a war-weary pilot (Massie) because he has lived in Paris and speaks fluent French. His mission is to execute the traitor, a different matter from dropping bombs on anonymous targets. He's eager to do the job and gets specialized training in methods of killing (James Robertson Justice is one of his eccentric instructors).

When he arrives in Paris, he meets his contact, a seamstress (Irene Worth) who, unlike him, understands exactly what is involved. Worth's energy and passion leap off the screen, yet she's never theatrical in the wrong way. The target turns out to be an apparently harmless old man (Leslie French, who resembles Donald Pleasence). Is he really guilty? Can the pilot carry out his mission? Should he? What will happen after he makes his decision?

Paul Massie, a Canadian actor, had played Brick in Peter Hall's London production of CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. His voice is very much like Richard Chamberlain, and like Chamberlain he is well-cast as a sensitive and decent man. His other big film roles were in LIBEL as Dirk Bogarde's accuser, and in SAPPHIRE. Around 1966 he appeared as a guest artist at the University of South Florida, and he became a professor of drama there, apparently finding a profession he liked better than film and professional stage acting.

I found it amusing that the French people encountered were so English, but it didn't hurt the film which was engrossing and thought provoking and an interesting look at the morals of the war.

I saw this move perhaps 40 years ago, during the height of my interest in espionage and spy tradecraft. I remember being mesmerized by the gritty reality of this movie and the fine portrayal of the agent/assassin as played by Eddie Albert. It remains what is perhaps one of his most serious roles, and the film reveals a side of his talent rarely revealed in his other movies. Every detail of the film, from mission preparation through to the conclusion, was exceptionally well done. I would love to find a copy of this somewhere; it remains a personal favorite.

This movie used to be on television all the time. It disappeared several years ago and hasn't reappeared on the tube or in video. It's interesting for a lot of reasons. Two great actresses, Lillian Gish and Irene Worth, are in it. Some fine British character actors including James Robertson Justice are outstanding in it. It's a suspenseful film about World War II and the scenes in Paris are particularly gripping. I too would give a lot to see it and own

Spoiler alert

What I remember most about this film is the way the idealistic young soldier in manipulated by a wheeler-dealer senior officer who is essentially a self serving bureaucrat. It rings so true of what can when the patriotism and of an innocent young man can be manipulated. The mission is based on flawed intelligence. The mission is poorly planned and puts the young operative at greater than necessary risk. In a way it is a microcosm of larger events with which we are all too familiar. As it turns out in the film, an innocent man is killed, a young man must live with having killed an innocent harmless man in cold blood. As for the senior officer who issued the orders, it is just a bureaucratic error. Not really anyone's fault he assures the guilt ridden young man. Besides he is very preoccupied with getting his fat butt over to Paris as soon as it is liberated to enjoy its I think it would be very This is a beneficial for young people to see to help them recognize one of the more subtle forms of evil so well represented. Maybe that is one of the true benefits of film art, it broadens our experience without the negative consequences that can result. As for the young man in the film, he had to learn the hard way. It is available on Amazon in new and used copies mostly shipped from UK but also new copies fulfilled by AmazonPrime at a higher price. All copies are Region 2 format.

This World War II movie has a realistic well written script, good acting and presents the viewer with a powerful moral dilemma to contemplate about war. Do you follow orders regardless of what your own observations suggest you do? I saw this movie 40 years ago and have never forgotten it. The tragedy is that it apparently did not have big promotional dollars behind it so has never reappeared. Nine stars out of ten.