Operation Secret is a tale of military murder mystery, with a little twist.
Cornel Wilde plays the protagonist, who has been charged with the murder of a French underground marquee fighter during world war II.
It begins with a number of witnesses being questioned before a military tribunal, as they seek to discover the current whereabouts of this missing soldier, who fought for the French foreign legion, before being recruited as a spy for the British marines.
Being fluent in both French and German (alongside English), he's a perfect candidate to be sent behind enemy lines as a paratrooper with an espionage mission.
However, based on some of his earlier experiences in the war, he comes into conflict with one of the man he is tasked with working with.
This man is the commander of the French Underground, who goes by the codename Torch, and has communist sympathies.
After escaping from Germany with a woman undercover as a nun, whom also turns out to be the lover of this man...their egosbegin to butt heads.
So when they disagree about what to do with a valuable roll of film, that exposes the design of the Nazi jet plane program, which they had worked together to get their hands on...things start to get heated.
And it ends up with one of their own men being murdered.
Wilde's character wants to forward the information to the Brits, so they can design their own jet planes; while torch wants to get it to the Russians, fearing that the Brits will only use the information to perpetuate their own capitalist wars.
However, when the court case brings in a surprise witness...things take a turn that noone expected.
This is a nicely constructed, and entertaining little film...but it is also very clearly anti-communist propaganda in it's most explicit form.
And that- alongside the fact that everyone speaks english even when they are supposed to be talking to one another in foreign languages- takes a way from it's over all historical value.
Making it entertaining but outdated.
6 out of 10.
Cornel Wilde plays the protagonist, who has been charged with the murder of a French underground marquee fighter during world war II.
It begins with a number of witnesses being questioned before a military tribunal, as they seek to discover the current whereabouts of this missing soldier, who fought for the French foreign legion, before being recruited as a spy for the British marines.
Being fluent in both French and German (alongside English), he's a perfect candidate to be sent behind enemy lines as a paratrooper with an espionage mission.
However, based on some of his earlier experiences in the war, he comes into conflict with one of the man he is tasked with working with.
This man is the commander of the French Underground, who goes by the codename Torch, and has communist sympathies.
After escaping from Germany with a woman undercover as a nun, whom also turns out to be the lover of this man...their egosbegin to butt heads.
So when they disagree about what to do with a valuable roll of film, that exposes the design of the Nazi jet plane program, which they had worked together to get their hands on...things start to get heated.
And it ends up with one of their own men being murdered.
Wilde's character wants to forward the information to the Brits, so they can design their own jet planes; while torch wants to get it to the Russians, fearing that the Brits will only use the information to perpetuate their own capitalist wars.
However, when the court case brings in a surprise witness...things take a turn that noone expected.
This is a nicely constructed, and entertaining little film...but it is also very clearly anti-communist propaganda in it's most explicit form.
And that- alongside the fact that everyone speaks english even when they are supposed to be talking to one another in foreign languages- takes a way from it's over all historical value.
Making it entertaining but outdated.
6 out of 10.