Against the Wind (1948 film)
Encyclopedia
Against the Wind is a black-and-white
British film directed by Charles Crichton
and produced by Michael Balcon
, released through Ealing Studios
in 1948. Against the Wind is a World War II
sabotage/resistance drama set in occupied Belgium
, starring Robert Beatty
, Jack Warner
and Simone Signoret
(in her first English-language film role).
to train for covert operations behind enemy lines in Belgium. These include a priest (Beatty) and a Belgian émigrée (Signoret), the latter having suffered personal tragedy during the occupation of Belgium. Her motives are initially questioned before she is finally given the green light. On completion of their training the operatives are parachuted into Belgium, briefed to destroy a Nazi records office in Brussels and to spring a prominent S.O.E. agent from custody. As the group arrive in Belgium, the S.O.E. discover that one of their number is a double-agent; however it is too late to raise the alert.
With the first part of their mission completed to plan, the operatives are hiding out with the Belgian resistance when the S.O.E. succeed in getting a message through, alerting one of them to the presence of a traitor among their ranks. The individual is executed following the discovery of unambiguous evidence of duplicity. The second part of the mission then goes ahead, with the captured S.O.E. operative being successfully released after a road and railway chase sequence.
for the main protagonists leaving many viewers rather confused as to what exactly was going on. The performances of the lead actors tended to be commented on in vague faint-praise terms such as "competent" and "proficient".
Black-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
British film directed by Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton
Charles Crichton was an English film director and film editor. He became best known for directing comedies produced at Ealing Studios...
and produced by Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
, released through Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
in 1948. Against the Wind is a World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
sabotage/resistance drama set in occupied Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, starring Robert Beatty
Robert Beatty
Robert Beatty was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.-Career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Beatty began his acting career in Britain in 1939....
, Jack Warner
Jack Warner (actor)
Jack Warner OBE was an English film and television actor. He is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon, which he played until the age of eighty....
and Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
(in her first English-language film role).
Plot
A disparate group of individuals is recruited by the wartime British Special Operations ExecutiveSpecial Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
to train for covert operations behind enemy lines in Belgium. These include a priest (Beatty) and a Belgian émigrée (Signoret), the latter having suffered personal tragedy during the occupation of Belgium. Her motives are initially questioned before she is finally given the green light. On completion of their training the operatives are parachuted into Belgium, briefed to destroy a Nazi records office in Brussels and to spring a prominent S.O.E. agent from custody. As the group arrive in Belgium, the S.O.E. discover that one of their number is a double-agent; however it is too late to raise the alert.
With the first part of their mission completed to plan, the operatives are hiding out with the Belgian resistance when the S.O.E. succeed in getting a message through, alerting one of them to the presence of a traitor among their ranks. The individual is executed following the discovery of unambiguous evidence of duplicity. The second part of the mission then goes ahead, with the captured S.O.E. operative being successfully released after a road and railway chase sequence.
Cast
- Robert BeattyRobert BeattyRobert Beatty was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.-Career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Beatty began his acting career in Britain in 1939....
as Father Philip Elliot - Simone SignoretSimone SignoretSimone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
as Michèle Denis - Jack WarnerJack Warner (actor)Jack Warner OBE was an English film and television actor. He is closely associated with the role of PC George Dixon, which he played until the age of eighty....
as Max Cronk - Gordon JacksonGordon Jackson (actor)Gordon Cameron Jackson, OBE was a Scottish Emmy Award-winning actor best remembered for his roles as the butler Angus Hudson in Upstairs, Downstairs and George Cowley, the head of CI5, in The Professionals....
as Scotty Duncan - Paul DupuisPaul DupuisPaul Dupuis was a French Canadian film actor who was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and performed in British films during the late 1940s. The roles he played were mainly as the romantic leading man...
as Jacques Picquart - James Robertson JusticeJames Robertson JusticeJames Robertson Justice was a popular British character actor in British films of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:...
as Ackerman - André MorellAndré MorellAndré Morell was a British actor. He appeared frequently in theatre, film and on television from the 1930s to the 1970s...
as Abbott - Eugene DeckersEugene DeckersEugene Deckers was a Belgian stage actor who relocated to England when his Nazi-held homeland was liberated by the Allies. Re-establishing himself on the British stage, Deckers made his first English language film appearance in 1946. Formerly a romantic lead, he specialized in "continental"...
as Marcel van Hecke - John SlaterJohn Slater (actor)John Slater was a British character actor usually seen as lugubrious, amiable cockney types.His father was an antiques dealer. After attending St. Clement Danes School, Slater began acting in farce at the Whitehall Theatre. He first appeared on film in 1938, remaining active in the industry up to...
as Emile Meyer - Peter IllingPeter IllingPeter Illing was an Austrian born, British film and television actor.-Filmography:* Silver Darlings * The End of the River * Against the Wind * Traveller's Joy...
as Andrew - Sybille BinderSybille BinderSybille Binder was an Austrian actress of Jewish descent whose career of over 40 years was based variously in her home country, Germany and the United Kingdom, where she found success in films during the 1940s.-Career:...
as Florence Malou - Andrew Blackett as Frankie
- Arthur Lawrence as Capt. Verreker
Reception
Against the Wind performed only modestly at the box-office and received a mixed critical reception, with reviews ranging from the favourable ("This little film about a batch of saboteurs in wartime Belgium is...tense and artistic. It is a pleasing and worthwhile film") to the unimpressed ("Against the Wind...has the aspect of contrived melodrama and a minimum of the truth behind the sabotage of World War II. Despite an experienced cast, Against the Wind is unconvincing fare.") A frequent criticism levelled at the film was that the early scene-setting section was somewhat jerky in style, with sketchy attempts to provide back-storiesBack-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
for the main protagonists leaving many viewers rather confused as to what exactly was going on. The performances of the lead actors tended to be commented on in vague faint-praise terms such as "competent" and "proficient".