The Man Who Never Was is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu and chronicles Operation Mincemeat, a 1943 British intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily would take place elsewhere in the Mediterranean.
The Man Who Never Was was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and Nigel Balchin's screenplay won the BAFTA for that year.
Plot
In 1943, Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) devises a scheme to deceive the Nazis about the impending invasion of Southern Europe. It entails releasing a corpse with a fictional identity off the coast of Spain, where strong currents will carry it ashore near where a known German agent operates. The non-existent Royal Marine courier, Major William Martin, would appear to be a plane crash victim carrying documents about an upcoming Allied invasion of German-occupied Greece, rather than Sicily, the more obvious target. Overcoming the reluctance of high officers, Montagu receives Winston Churchill's approval to execute his plan, known as Operation Mincemeat.
Following a medical expert's advice, Montagu obtains the permission of the deceased's father and procures the body of a man who died of pneumonia, which would give the appearance he had drowned. The corpse is placed in a canister packed with dry ice and transferred to a waiting submarine. The body is released off the Atlantic coast of Spain and washes ashore as intended. Local authorities, observed by German and British consulate staff, identify the body and conduct an autopsy. After the attaché case containing the deceptive documents is returned to London, a forensics expert confirms that the key letter, which describes an Allied invasion of Greece, was cleverly opened, photographed, and resealed.
Hitler is convinced the documents are genuine, though Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, head of the Abwehr, is sceptical. The Germans dispatch to London an Irish spy, Patrick O'Reilly (Stephen Boyd), to investigate. O'Reilly investigates Martin's American "fiancée", Lucy Sherwood (Gloria Grahame), who is the flatmate of Montagu's assistant, Pam (Josephine Griffin). O'Reilly arrives at their flat, posing as Martin's old friend, on the same day Lucy has received news that her real boyfriend was killed in action. Her genuine grief mostly convinces O'Reilly. As a final test, he gives Lucy his north London address, telling her to contact him if she needs anything. He then radios his German contacts that if he does not send another message in an hour he has been arrested. As Montagu, General Coburn (Michael Hordern) of Scotland Yard's Special Branch and police officers are en route to O'Reilly's flat, Montagu realizes why O'Reilly left his address with Lucy and persuades a reluctant Coburn to let O'Reilly go. When no one arrests him, O'Reilly sends a "Martin genuine!" radio message. The Germans then transfer most of their Sicily-based forces to Greece, which helps the Allied invasion of Sicily succeed.
After the war Montagu receives several decorations and awards for his wartime service, including the Order of the British Empire (OBE). He visits Spain and leaves his OBE medal at the grave of Major Martin, "the man who never was".
Cast
Clifton Webb as Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu
Gloria Grahame as Lucy Sherwood
Robert Flemyng as Lt. George Acres
Josephine Griffin as Pam
Stephen Boyd as Patrick O'Reilly
Laurence Naismith as Adm. Cross
William Russell as Joe (Lucy's fiancé) Geoffrey Keen as Gen. Archibald Nye Moultrie Kelsall as the Father Cyril Cusack as taxi driver André Morell as Sir Bernard Spilsbury Michael Hordern as Gen. Coburn William Squire as submarine commander Bill Jewell Allan Cuthbertson as Vice-Admiral Miles Malleson as scientist Joan Hickson as landlady Terence Longdon as Larry Gibb McLaughlin as club porter Gordon Bell as Customs Officer Wolf Frees as Admiral Wilhelm Canaris (uncredited) Ewen Montagu as an Air Vice Marshal (uncredited) Peter Williams as Admiral Mountbatten (uncredited)