Touches You

The Worst Film Ever

That was an excellent one.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Every Sunday in the UK Talking Pictures, a fairly new channel that screens only movies, publishes its schedule for the next seven days and I go through it checking titles I want to see; when I saw Orders To Kill I thought it would be well worth missing but then I noticed that it was directed by Puffin Asquith which made it almost obligatory. Asquith was responsible for some of the cream of British movies and forged an excellent writer-director partnership with Terence Rattigan, making him arguably THE English director of the 20th century despite Carol Reed and David Lean enjoying higher profiles. I wasn't disappointed; Orders To Kill is a fine movie with a moral question at its core. In brief; a man is recruited to kill a resistance worker suspected of treachery in World War II. The assassin undergoes training, is given a new identity and parachuted into France. Having met the target by chance he bonds with him and decides he is innocent, says as much to his 'contact' who reminds him he is under orders. He kills the target who, it turns out, is innocent. Irene Worth runs away with the picture as the 'contact' whilst newcomer Paul Massie succeeds in conveying the moral dilemma in which he finds himself. One of Puffin's finest.

This remarkable little film contains some excellent performances, the best of all coming from Irene Worth (Leonie, Paul's contact in occupied Paris), and from Leslie French as the suspected informer Lafitte. The musical score too is noteworthy, particularly when it picks up a nursery tune used by Paul to commit details of his mission to memory and amplifies it to emphasise the horrible consequences. The script and handling of Paul's doubts (brushed aside by Worth) and finally the completion of his mission are unforgettable. It should be noted that this is one of the best scripts from the film critic Paul Dehn - he also made a notable contribution to Jack Clayton's fine film "The Innocents".

I've searched in vain for this very fine movie, which I saw many years ago and has clung firmly to my memory. It's about a cocky young soldier who is sent to kill a French collaborator. He later develops serious moral qualms about the mission.This film has a fine cast and has some very interesting touches. I am sure, for example, that those of us who have seen it still remember the collaborator's cat, who adds tremendously to the humanity of that character. At times, the tension and psychological pressure of this movie is almost unbearable. Filmed on location in Paris, I believe. The score, which also stands out in my memory, is melodramatic but appropriate.

I saw this film on the late show about 25 years ago & haven't seen it since but I still remember much of it vividly. A soldier is parachuted into occupied France during World War II & is "ordered to kill" a resistance leader who is believed to have been collaborating with the Nazis. However, as he works his way into the trust of his target, he begins to believe that he is a loyal Frenchman & not a Nazi sympathizer. He expresses his doubts to his superiors, but they order him to continue his mission. His decision & its consequences form the climax of the movie. Despite its obscurity, the film packs quite an emotional punch & I dearly wish I could see it again. Perhaps time has burnished its image in my mind, but I would rate this as a superior war movie.