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Pardon me for beginning this way, but is this movie a copied storyline of the earlier film "Odette" (1951)? Both stories seem to run so parallel one can only wonder about it. On second thoughts perhaps not. We ought to realize how many dedicated people with strong convictions made the great sacrifice during the war. Violette Szabo (Virginia McKenna), as an appealing spy, felt duty bound to assist her country and was one of them who left all personal thought behind to do her duty. It's very dramatic and riveting as she faces the many dangers.

Really, Virginia McKenna gave a strong performance, very deserving of an Oscar, I'd say. War isn't glorious by any means. A serious film.

When I first saw Carve Her Name with Pride recently, I have to say I was really moved. This film is truly remarkable, I do agree one of two of the characters are somewhat clichéd, but on the whole there is very little wrong I can say about Carve Her Name with Pride.

The film is beautifully shot, with stunning cinematography effortlessly capturing the scenery. The score is also highly effective, while the script is honest and truthful, with some humorous and romantic spots, and the story, which is based on truth, is a remarkable one. The direction is excellent, the film does move at a reasonable pace and the ending had me deeply moved. And I have to say the acting is really good, Virginia McKenna especially is outstanding in the lead role, while Jack Warner and Paul Scofield are both excellent.

All in all, it is a great film, underrated and somewhat affecting. See especially for McKenna. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Carve Her Name with Pride (1958)

A resolutely respectful and consistent movie, powerful in a quiet way, and serious to the core. These aren't really adjectives for an amazing movie--and it's not amazing. The story is amazing, since it's true, a British woman going undercover in WWII and having to suffer badly at the hands of the Nazis. And the movie depends on the story, rather than the movie, to succeed.

It does, in fact, succeed. It's a moving story well told. It lacks drama, and is sometimes quietly sentimental, which is part of the point, giving a human side to the spy and war business. The leading woman is someone not well known to American audiences, a rather straight forward actress, Virginia McKenna. But you might remember her from "Born Free," a very different kind of role but needing the same sharp seriousness. She's still alive, gladly, and was even in a film in 2010.

The movie here needs drama, frankly. It takes half the film to reach the German conflict in France, and it comes to the real drama, the horrors of being caught, in the last half hour. Which is to say, be prepared for lots of preparation, well done, but preliminary, and purposely undramatic. By that last part is good wartime stuff, with a woman as the main figure in the fighting and the aftermath. The prison scenes are cold and harsh in their own way, and yet I don't quite believe it would have been quite so calmly paced and deliberate, even in the hands of the Germans happily in France.

Comedies such as 'ALLO 'ALLO have a lot to answer for. While watching some of the scenes where Violette Szabo (Virginia McKenna) is interrogated by the Nazis, I couldn't help recalling parallel scenes where Herr Flick (Richard Gibson) did exactly the same thing, aided (or is it abetted) by the leggy Helga (Kim Hartman) in the Lloyd/Croft British sitcom. This offers a good example of how time can modify our perceptions of a text.

On its own terms, however, Lewis Gilbert's film is a quietly understated biopic of a naive girl with a French mother (Denise Grey) who marries a Frenchman (Alain Saury) in a whirlwind romance. He loses his life at El Alamein, and Violette responds by becoming an agent parachuted into occupied France. Together with her partner Tony Fraser (Paul Scofield in one of his rare screen appearances) they accomplish one mission successfully, but things go horribly wrong when Violette embarks on her second, more dangerous assignment.

The film has some good action sequences, shot in and around Pinewood Studios, but Gilbert's principal focus centers on the characters' interrelationships - between Violette and her father (Jack Warner), who knows what she is doing, but agrees voluntarily to keep it a secret. Violette's relationship with Tony could bloom into love, but both know that they could lose their lives at any moment, so they agree to keep it platonic. McKenna portrays the central character as an ordinary woman with an extraordinary inner strength giving her the courage to undertake the missions while remaining determined to resist any attempts to force vital information out of her.

Her transition from ordinary homemaker to toughened agent is lucidly handled, as she is at first intimidated by and then learns to cope with her uncompromising NCO instructor (Bill Owen). It is a tribute to her strength that she learns to cope with various ordeals, of being ducked in the river, of walking home on a filthy wet night, and handling a shotgun. The training proves invaluable for her later on, when she has to take on a platoon of pursuing Nazis virtually single-handed.

Despite her hopes, Violette Szabo never made it back from the War, leaving her daughter Tanya (Pauline Challoner) to collect a George Medal from King George VI. As Tanya returns to her quiet suburban home with her grandmother and grandfather, we can but reflect that it was chiefly due to Violette's selfless efforts that Britain and the Allies managed to emerge triumphant from six years of conflict.

It must be a sign of getting older but I find myself watching old films more and more now. Sky showed this film recently, and I much preferred it to some of the modern blockbusters they show. Virgina McKenna does an excellent job of portraying Violetta Szabo. Good old Jack Warner (Sergeant Dixon!) is excellent as the long suffering father. Paul Scofield is brilliant playing the part of Tony. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert, who also directed "Alfie" and "Educating Rita". It brings home the suffering normal people went through, as well as heroines like Violetta. I defy anyone not to be moved by the ending. Hopefully it is available on DVD now as it belongs in anyone`s collection.