Main Cast: Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, Tony Britton, Alexander Knox, Malcolm Keen
Release Year: 1959
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 103 minutes
Plot
One of the covert operations at the beginning of World War II is enacted in this fast-paced docudrama about a government-approved diamond heist. A Major from the British army (Tony Britton) joins up with a Dutch diamond expert (Alexander Knox) and another adventurous Dutchman (Peter Finch) to steal a fortune in diamonds from a bank vault in Amsterdam before the Nazis completely close off the city. The trio are launched under the covering fire of a British battleship in the harbor and then chauffeured into Amsterdam by Anna (Eva Bartok), one of many people they encounter who could be either friend or foe. There is no time to waste in emptying the bank vault because it is estimated that the city will be overrun by the Nazi army in just fourteen hours. Meanwhile, the war is intensifying all around them, and the Nazi soldiers already on patrol are a continual threat. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
Review
Michael McCarthy's Operation Amsterdam was the kind of realistic, low-keyed World War II thriller of the sort that the British did better than anyone else -- and which would disappear in the 1960's. The intentionally flat, gray cinematography by Reginald Wyer only compliments the realistic approach of director/co-author Michael McCarthy (whose last film this was), who worked on his share of documentaries earlier in his career. The movie might even be too subdued for its own good, the scenes of turmoil surrounding the German invasion of Holland played in so low-key fashion (compared to what we're used to in such depictions), that they almost lose some of their requisite suspense. But ultimately, this is a historical thriller not too far removed in tone and spirit from such better-known stories as Sink The Bismarck!. Essentially, the movie is divided into two halves, the first depicting the set-up of the mission and the arrival of the British agents in Amsterdam, and the second their fate as the Germans take over the city -- both sections are more rooted in suspense than action. But it does have elements -- particularly bursts of violence -- that anticipate the flashier wartime thrillers that began showing up (in color) in the early 1960's. As a relatively cerebral black-and-white thriller turning up at the end of the decade, Operation Amsterdam never got the exposure that it deserved, and was later eclipsed in memory by gargantuan productions such as The Longest Day, The Battle of the Bulge etc., which demanded greater attention and -- depicting much bigger and more celebrated events -- were more self-consciously crowd-pleasing in their intent. It's worth tracking down, however, and even more worth seeing, for the subtlety and nuance that it brings to its aubject, and some fine performances by a uniformly excellent cast. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
Alexander Vetchinsky - Art Director, Eleanor Abbey - Costume Designer, Michael McCarthy - Director, Arthur Stevens - Editor, Philip Green - Composer (Music Score), Reginald Wyer - Cinematographer, Maurice Cowan - Producer, Michael McCarthy - Screenwriter, John Eldridge - Screenwriter, David E. Walker - Book Author
Operation Amsterdam is a 1959 adventure film, directed by Michael McCarthy, and featuring Peter Finch, Eva Bartok, and Tony Britton. It is based on a true story [1] as described in the the book Adventure in Diamonds, by David E Walker. The action of the story covers a few days in May 1940 when the Germans invaded Holland.
In May 1940, as the German invasion of Holland is underway, the British government decides to send a team to Holland on board HMS Walpole [2] to secure stocks of industrial diamonds before the invaders can get to them. Accordingly, two Dutch diamond experts, Jan Smit (Peter Finch) and Walter Keyser (Alexander Knox) with an Intelligence officer, Major Dillon (Tony Britton), are dropped by ship off the Dutch coast. Dodging German bombs and suspicious Dutch police and soldiers, they commandeer a car driven by Anna (Eva Bartok), whom they have just saved from trying to commit suicide. The four of them drive to Amsterdam.
They meet Jan's father at his diamond business house and he agrees to try to persuade other dealers to bring their diamonds later that day for transport to Britain. But as many of the stones are stored in a time-locked bank vault which won't open for 24 hours, they recruit a group of sabotage experts to break in.
With the Dutch police, including suspected fifth-columnists, on their trail, the group manage to break into the vault and recover the diamonds. The three visitors make their escape whilst the armed Dutch helpers hold down the police and soldiers. They drive back to the coast, barely dodging German bombers.
As they embark on a commandeered tugboat to take them back to the waiting ship, Anna elects to remain in Holland and work with the nascent Resistance movement.
