''The Man Who Never Was'' is a 1956 British espionage

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

produced by André Hakim and directed by

Ronald Neame Ronald Neame CBE, BSC (23 April 1911 – 16 June 2010) was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film '' One of Our Aircraft Is Missin ...

. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu and chronicles Operation Mincemeat, a 1943 British intelligence plan to deceive the

Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily would take place elsewhere in the Mediterranean. ''The Man Who Never Was'' was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and Nigel Balchin's screenplay won the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

for that year.

Plot

In 1943, Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu ( Clifton Webb) devises a scheme to deceive the Nazis about the impending invasion of

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

. It entails releasing a corpse with a fictional identity off the coast of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where strong currents will carry it ashore near where a known German agent operates. The non-existent Royal Marine courier, Major William Martin, would appear to be a plane crash victim carrying documents about an upcoming Allied invasion of German-occupied Greece, rather than

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, the more obvious target. Overcoming the reluctance of senior officers, Montagu receives

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

's approval to execute his plan, known as Operation Mincemeat. Following a medical expert's advice, Montagu obtains the permission of the deceased's father and procures the body of a man who died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

, which would give the appearance he had drowned. The corpse is placed in a canister packed with dry ice and transferred to a waiting submarine. The body is released off the Atlantic coast of Spain and washes ashore as intended. Local authorities, observed by German and British consulate staff, identify the body and conduct an autopsy. After the attaché case containing the deceptive documents is returned to London, a forensics expert confirms that the key letter, which describes an Allied invasion of Greece, has been cleverly opened, photographed and resealed.

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

is convinced the documents are genuine, though Admiral

Wilhelm Canaris Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1 January 1887 – 9 April 1945) was a admiral (Germany), German admiral and the chief of the ''Abwehr'' (the German military intelligence, military-intelligence service) from 1935 to 1944. Initially a supporter of Ad ...

, head of the ''

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

'', is sceptical. The Germans dispatch to London an Irish spy, Patrick O'Reilly ( Stephen Boyd), to investigate. O'Reilly investigates Martin's American "fiancée", Lucy Sherwood ( Gloria Grahame), who is the flatmate of Montagu's assistant, Pam ( Josephine Griffin). O'Reilly arrives at their flat, posing as Martin's old friend, on the same day Lucy has received news that her real boyfriend was killed in action. Her genuine grief mostly convinces O'Reilly. As a final test, he gives Lucy his north London address, telling her to contact him if she needs anything. He then radios his German contacts that if he does not send another message in an hour he has been arrested. As Montagu, General Coburn ( Michael Hordern) of Scotland Yard's Special Branch and police officers are en route to O'Reilly's flat, Montagu realizes why O'Reilly left his address with Lucy and persuades a reluctant Coburn to let O'Reilly go. When no one arrests him, O'Reilly sends a "Martin genuine!" radio message. The Germans then transfer most of their Sicily-based forces to Greece, which helps the Allied invasion of Sicily succeed. After the war Montagu receives several decorations and awards for his wartime service, including the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE). He visits Spain and leaves his OBE medal at the grave of Major Martin, "the man who never was".

Cast

* Clifton Webb as Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu * Gloria Grahame as Lucy Sherwood * Robert Flemyng as Lt. George Acres * Josephine Griffin as Pam * Stephen Boyd as Patrick O'Reilly * Laurence Naismith as Rear Adm. Cross * William Russell as Joe (Lucy's fiancé) * Geoffrey Keen as Gen.

Archibald Nye Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Edward Nye (23 April 1895 – 13 November 1967), was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. In the latter he served as Vice Chief of the General Staff (U ...

* Moultrie Kelsall as the Father * Cyril Cusack as taxi driver *

André Morell Cecil André Mesritz (20 August 1909 – 28 November 1978), known professionally as André Morell, was an English actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s. His best known screen roles were as ...

as Sir Bernard Spilsbury * Michael Hordern as Gen. Coburn * William Squire as submarine commander Bill Jewell * Allan Cuthbertson as Vice-Admiral * Miles Malleson as scientist * Joan Hickson as landlady * Terence Longdon as Larry * Gibb McLaughlin as club porter * Gordon Bell as Customs Officer * Wolf Frees as Admiral

''(uncredited)'' * Ewen Montagu as an Air Vice Marshal ''(uncredited)'' * Peter Williams as Vice Admiral Mountbatten ''(uncredited)''

Historical accuracy

Operation Mincemeat involved the acquisition and dressing up of a human cadaver as a "Major William Martin, R.M." and using the submarine to put it into the sea near Huelva, Spain. Attached to the dead body was a briefcase containing fake letters falsely stating that the Allied attack would be against

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

rather than

, the actual point of invasion. When the body was found, the Spanish Intelligence Service passed copies of the papers to the German Intelligence Service which passed them on to their High Command. The ruse was so successful that the Germans still believed that Sardinia and Greece were the intended objectives weeks after the landings in Sicily had begun. The exact identity of the "man who never was" has been the centre of controversy since the end of the war. On the one hand, certain accounts claim the true identity of "Major William Martin" was a homeless, alcoholic rat-catcher from Aberbargoed, Wales, Glyndwr Michael, who had died by self-administering a small dose of rat poison. However, in 2002, authors John and Noreen Steele published the non-fictional account of ''The Secrets of HMS Dasher'', about an ill-fated escort carrier that exploded and sank in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

around the time Operation Mincemeat had commenced. The Steeles argued that "Major Martin's" body was actually that of seaman John Melville, one of the ''Dasher's'' casualties. Further, it has been reported that the accuracy of this claim was verified by the Royal Navy in late October 2004, and a memorial service was held for Melville, in which he was celebrated as one whose "memory lives on in the film ''The Man Who Never Was'' ... we are gathered here today to remember John Melville as a man who most certainly was." There is some circumstantial evidence that also supports the identity of the body used as being Melville's, attested to as recently as 2022. Alternatively, in 2010 professor Denis Smyth, a researcher at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, counter-argued that Glyndwr Michael was indeed the real "Major Martin". To support his claims, Smyth published the contents of a secret memo and an official report, both authored by Ewen Montagu, confirming the Glyndwr Michael story. Regardless of the identity of Major Martin, Nigel Balchin's script stayed as close to the truth as was convenient, yet the film does fall back on some dramatization. For example, the episode of the Irish spy, O'Reilly, is a complete fabrication. The British Security Service controlled the German spy network in the UK with its

Double-Cross System The Double-Cross System or XX System was a World War II counter-espionage and deception operation of the British Security Service ( MI5). Nazi agents in Britain – real and false – were captured, turned themselves in or simply announced themse ...

, though this fact was still secret at the time the film was made. Ewen Montagu declared that he was happy with the fictitious incidents which, although they did not happen, might have happened. During filming, Montagu has a cameo role, that of a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

air vice-marshal who has doubts about the feasibility of the proposed plan. It was described by Ben Macintyre as a "surreal" moment when the real Montagu addressed his fictional persona, played by Webb.

Production

The budget was £227,262 plus the fees of the story rights and producer Hakim and stars Webb and Graham.Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359

Reception

The film earned an estimated $1.1 million in North American receipts in 1956. The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' wrote, "the picture may appear overly reverent by today's standards. But this is still a crucial wartime spy tale that is well worth watching."

''The Goon Show'' parody

The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's radio comedy show '' The Goon Show'' made a send-up of the story of ''The Man Who Never Was'' (based on the book) and incorporated most of the regular ''Goon Show'' characters. Written by

Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish comedian, writer, musician, poet, playwright and actor. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British India, where he spent his ...

and Larry Stephens, the first version of the script formed two-thirds of the episode broadcast on 31 March 1953, before the film's release, with the first third comprising a separate sketch. Like most of these early episodes, this no longer exists. Milligan and Stephens later wrote a full-length version which was broadcast on 20 March 1956. Milligan later revised this script for the episode broadcast on 17 February 1958. Both of the later versions have been issued on CD sets.

Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...

(one of the Goons) provided the voice of

in the film, although the character did not appear in the ''Goon Show'' adaptation.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Man Who Never Was, The Operation Mincemeat 1956 films 1950s spy thriller films 1956 war films British war films Films directed by Ronald Neame Films set in 1943 Films set in Spain Films set in London CinemaScope films Royal Navy in World War II films World War II spy films MI5 in fiction British spy thriller films Films shot in London Films shot in Spain World War II films based on actual events 20th Century Fox films Films with screenplays by Nigel Balchin 1950s English-language films 1950s British films Cultural depictions of Lord Mountbatten English-language spy thriller films Films scored by Alan Rawsthorne English-language war films