Rent Odette (1950)
3.7 of 5 from 61 ratings
1h 53min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- A classic tale of bravery and courage during WWII, 'Odette' tells the true story of female war hero Odette Hallowes (Anna Neagle). After volunteering her services to the Special Operations Executive, Odette is dispatched into Nazi occupied France and thrown into an intense world of espionage. Whilst on a deadly mission working for the French Resistance, her cover is blown and Odette is captured and interrogated by ruthless Gestapo officers. But, even after being brutally tortured and sentenced to death in a concentration camp, Odette still refuses to reveal any information concerning her original mission and her fellow spies.
- Actors:
- Anna Neagle, Trevor Howard, Marius Goring, Peter Ustinov, Bernard Lee, Maurice Buckmaster, Alfred Schieske, Gilles Quéant, Marianne Walla, Fritz Wendhausen, Marie Burke, Wolf Frees, Liselotte Goettinger, Campbell Gray, George Hilsdon, John Hunter, Catherine Paul, Derrick Penley, Guyri Wagner
- Directors:
- Herbert Wilcox
- Producers:
- Herbert Wilcox
- Writers:
- Jerrard Tickell, Warren Chetham Strode
- Aka:
- Odette - agent S23
- Studio:
- Optimum
- Genres:
- Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 10/06/2019
- Run Time:
- 117 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- New Interview with Sebastian Faulks
- Those British Faces: Anna Neagle
- Afternoon Plus with Mavis Nicholson - Interview with Odette Hallowes (1980)
- Captain Peter Churchill and Odette Sansom get married in London (1947)
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Reviews (1) of Odette
Classic Special Op Film. - Odette review by Steve
The films of Anna Neagle and her director/husband Herbert Wilcox haven't aged well, but this is an exception. It's a faithful biopic about Odette Sansom, a Frenchwoman who spied for the British in WWII, then survived Ravensbrück concentration camp. She was awarded the George Cross and Legion d"Honneur
It follows the standard special operations model , but surprisingly the events are hardly embellished, partly due to the influence of Odette herself. This means the narrative feels undeveloped, but leaves an impression of authenticity. Especially with the use of genuine locations.
This is the role of Neagle's life, and despite her limitations, she gives it a fair shot. Trevor Howard is a natural with the brittle dialogue and maybe upstages her as the British liaison with the Resistance, who Odette married (and divorced) in peacetime. But the romance is only incidental.
Odette is portrayed as an average woman made heroic by extraordinary times. By 1950, there had already been films made from the files of the SOE, but this was new because it is about real, named people and verifiable incidents. And it is a moving and humbling experience..
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.