Warn that Man ** (1943, Gordon Harker, Raymond Lovell, Jean Kent, Finlay Currie, Philip Friend, Patrick Aherne) – Classic Movie Review 13,239

The 1943 British comedy thriller film Warn that Man.

The exuberantly performed 1943 British wartime comedy thriller film Warn that Man, about a Nazi attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill in rural England, stars Gordon Harker, Raymond Lovell, Jean Kent and Finlay Currie.

Director Lawrence Huntington’s exuberantly performed 1943 British wartime comedy thriller film Warn that Man, about a Nazi attempt to kidnap British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in rural England, stars Gordon Harker, Raymond Lovell, Jean Kent, Finlay Currie, Philip Friend, and Patrick Aherne.

Vernon Sylvaine’s 1941 play about Nazis parachuted to Britain, where they take over a stately home called Buckley Hall, incarcerating Lord Buckley (Raymond Lovell), and masquerade as posh Brits awaiting Winston Churchill amuses but perhaps fails to sparkle very brightly on the screen.

A German actor called Hausemann (Raymond Lovell), who looks like a British peer, Lord Buckley (Raymond Lovell), is the key part of a German attempt to kidnap the Prime Minister Winston Churchill when he visits a country house during the Second World War.

Jean Kent plays Buckley’s niece, who arrives with her RAF pilot fiancé, and hides upstairs and tries to get a message out to stop Churchill coming.

The humour in this rather sluggishly staged, improbably scripted comedy spy-mystery thriller is sometimes mistimed and the thrills mainly fail to materialise. However, the film still provides some very considerable interest and fun, mainly thanks to the performers (particularly the amusing Harker, reprising his original role as George Hawkins from the stage play, and the alluring Jean Kent) and the strong nostalgia value. Raymond Lovell also excels in the dual role of Lord Buckley and the German actor.

It was made at Welwyn Studios, Hertfordshire, on sets designed by Charles Gilbert.

The play ran for ten months on the London West End stage.

The Eagle Has Landed (1976) uses a similar plot about an attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill in rural England.

The cast are Gordon Harker as George Hawkins, Raymond Lovell as Hausemann / Lord Buckley, Finlay Currie as Captain Andrew Fletcher, Philip Friend as John Cooper, Jean Kent as Frances Lane, Frederick Cooper as Charles / Frampton, Carl Jaffe as Schultz, John Salew as Wilson, Veronica Rose as Miss Conway, Anthony Hawtrey as Brent, Anthony Holles as waiter, Patrick Aherne as Mellows, Frank Bagnall as Lehmann, Ferdy Mayne as German radio operator, Friedrich Richter as Wolheim, Leonard Sharp as Miles.

Warn that Man is directed by Lawrence Huntington, runs 82 minutes, is made by Associated British  Picture Corporation, is released by Pathé Pictures, is written by Vernon Sylvaine and Lawrence Huntington, is shot in black and white by Günther Krampf, is produced by Warwick Ward, is scored by Charles Williams, and designed by Charles Gilbert.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Classic Movie Review 13,239

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