Straff

Deleted.

Semper ubi sub ubi

ringsider

Great shout! In Against The Wind, when the British agents are on their mission in occupied territory, Johnny (Gordon Jackson) gets capured on the way to or from the Dentist's office. Whilst the Gestapo/SS are waiting to question him, another one of our agents, Jacques, who has infiltrated the German security services, helps him to escape. Jacques gets cornered himself. He burns pictures of his friends to protect them and then takes a lethal pill. A noble gesture on both counts. A brilliant film.


Regards - Bernie

theuofc

Straff,

Great Dirk Bogarde avatar.

Cheers,

Barbara

Gazza

Harold Nicolson and Vita-Sackville West had one each of what they called a bare bodkin (from Hamlet's To be or not to be soliloquy: When he himself might his quietus make /With a bare bodkin?).

They lived at Sissinghurst in Kent and would have been on the front line of any invasion. With his political influences he was in the Third Reich's black book, a list of people to be instantly arrested. She, of course, was from one of the great aristocratic families.

ringsider

Can I p.s. my earlier posts on this subject.

I have just seen the 2nd World War film "Female Agents", released yesterday, and the use of a cyanide tablet does crop up. I won't go further so as not to spoil it for anyone planning to see it. By the way, the film is a very worthwhile watch, plenty of action, but nothing too intellectual in the storyline.

Alas, this is not a Brit film, but why not? Why can't we produce something similar? The SOE was our organisation, although I know that the operatives were multinational. In Female Agents the french/italian actresses are certainly attractive (I have a long lasting love affair with Sophie Marceau), but I am sure we could produce a quintet to match them for looks and to beat them for acting skills.

Our last attempt at this genre was "Charlotte Gray" (was it the last?), but I found that film totally unsatisfying. Much too much Charlotte, not enough SOE resustance.


Regards - Bernie

Fab50s

Unfortunately not British but the recent French film, Female Agents, about the SOE has cyanide pills featuring quite prominently in the plot. In one scene, one captured leader passes a girl who has disgraced herself (by spilling info to the Germans) her own personal pill so she can 'do the decent thing'. They are enormous by the way, so goodness knows how they snuck them past the searches. Erm.

JeanF

Great series and actually used in education about the holocaust.