Main Cast: Clifton Webb, Gloria Grahame, Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin, Stephen Boyd
Release Year: 1956
Country: US/UK
Run Time: 103 minutes
Plot
The Man Who Never Was is the true story of how the Allies threw the Nazis off track in planning the invasion of Sicily. The British Royal Navy exhumes the corpse of a man who died of natural causes, arranging to make it appear as though the dead man was a special services operative carrying the secret invasion plans. The elaborate ruse includes creating a fictional identity for the "spy," then faking a drowning for the corpse and having the body wash up on shore with false information. The plan is complicated by Lucy Sherwood (Gloria Grahame), the girl friend of the dead man, and Patrick O'Reilly (Stephen Boyd), a German espionage agent. The Man Who Never Was moves too slowly to maintain excitement, but it works well on a pure storytelling level. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
As The Man Who Never Was aptly demonstrates, sometimes truth really is stranger than fiction. While some dramatic liberties have been taken in putting this story on the screen, most of it is fact-based, even though it often seems farfetched. And there lies the problem with Man, a good espionage thriller that falls short of being a great one -- and falls short basically because the filmmakers confused realistic truth with cinematic truth. Because Man's story is so incredible, telling it in a very bald-faced, straight-ahead manner has the perverse effect of making it seem a bit contrived. Had director Ronald Neame treated it with a bit more artifice and imagination, it might have been less real, but it would have played more believably. Still, even with this flaw, Man is a film well worth seeing, and not just for espionage buffs. The intricacy of the plotting is intriguing, and when Stephen Boyd arrives to try to determine whether the whole plot is a ploy or not, things get delightfully tense. The cast, with the exception of Gloria Grahame, who is uncharacteristically off here, is a treat. Clifton Webb turns in a commanding change-of-pace performance that is quite impressive, and Boyd is excellent as the German spy. Robert Flemyng is a perfect foil for Webb, and Josephine Griffin's quiet portrayal is highly effective. Wrapped up in Oswald Morris' evocative Cinemascope camerawork, The Man Who Never Was packs a nice punch -- even if one wishes it were a solid knock-out. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
