Le mouchard

It never ceases to amaze me the truly wonderful films that you find if you venture from the mainstream. This is one of the greatest finds I have come across in a while.

A classic cast of Richard Todd, Richard Attenborough, Bernard Lee, Vincent Ball and Dennis Price are holed up in a Prisoner of War camp in Italy. They struggle against a sadistic camp Capitano (Peter Arne), the impending threat of a German takeover of the camp, internal personal clashes and a traitor in their midst as they try to escape. It sounds like heavy going but with a tight, often witty script and magnificent performances this is simply rivetting viewing. Richard Todd and Richard Attenborough (both underrated actors) especially shine out for their performances.

And there is the bonus of seeing a frighteningly young and skinny Michael Caine in a bit part!

There's something about POW escape dramas, you rarely get a poor one. Firstly, unusual to see one set in an Italian camp. I'm not sure the harsh reality of POW camps were put across here, but that's not necessarily what the movie was trying to do. What it does have is an interesting script that moves along at a healthy pace. this is helped by a top notch cast who are all utterly believable. There are definite comedy moments but they don't detract at all from the action. This film was over in what seemed like no time & I would watch it again in a heartbeat. Two minor quibbles. I thought the informant was revealed a shade too early for me and I never felt that his motivation was sufficiently explored. Great, Boys own stuff.

Interesting thriller set in a POW camp in Italy, with discreet yet well-executed cinematography throughout. The exceptionally chosen cast, including the presence of a young Michael Caine in a minor role, is very believable and performs superbly through a simple yet well-narrated storyline. The good, classically styled cinematography, well-structured dialogues with a good dose of English humor, precise camera work without technical showing-off, make this movie a classic in its genre and a delight for enthusiasts of war themes.

Perhaps life in the POW camp has been overly idealized, and the movie doesn't faithfully depict how harsh life has been for many prisoners in these camps. It might slightly trivialize the daily struggles the internees had to endure. However, it's worth noting that this is a comedy, not a documentary. Especially considering that at the time of filming, the relationships between countries-Italy, the United Kingdom, and partially France-were already of allied nations closely collaborating within NATO.

As is often the case in British productions, Italians don't come off entirely well. Even though in this film, they haven't been entirely ridiculed in their manners, undoubtedly, the highly successful ending with the escape of an entire camp isn't something that can be considered a fair portrayal of Italians, especially considering this is a historical fiction, and such an escape never occurred in any Italian camp under those circumstances.

This virtually forgotten British WW2 POW thriller is set in Italy in 1943. An officer's camp of around four-hundred men is under the command of a sadistic Italian general, who delights in discovering the breakout plans of the Allied POWs through his informants, as it allows him to wait for the escape that gives him the excuse to kill the men, rather than stopping it at source. This thriller moves along at a nice pace. It suffers from being a tad lifeless, in the cinematography and directing, but the performances are stellar, as is the writing and character development. A very young Michael Caine makes an appearance towards the end.

Danger Within is directed by Don Chaffey and adapted to screenplay by Bryan Forbes and Frank Harvey from the novel "Death in Captivity" written by Michael Gilbert. It stars Richard Todd, Bernard Lee, Michael Wilding, Richard Attenborough and Dennis Price. Music is by Francis Chagrin and cinematography by Arthur Grant.

Northern Italy, 1943, a POW Camp. No matter how intricate the planning, how well executed, escape attempts are met by tragedy as the sadistic camp commander is waiting to not only foil the escape, but to also kill the escapees in cold blood. It can mean only one thing, there's an informer in the camp.

Packed with British thespian talent giving good turns, Danger Within serves as both a POW escape drama and a war time mystery thriller. The mystery element is a little undone since the informer is revealed to us the audience at the midpoint, but from there on in the suspense is amped up by way of wondering if the rat will be found, and if the amazing grand escape planned at film's end will succeed. With that, the second half of pic also serves as an escape procedural. Lots going on here, with plenty of slices of British humour into the bargain as well, while some of the dialogue is tough and the odd line is very much of its time; but in a good period setting way (for example; how wonderful to hear the word clot used as an insult again!). 8/10