Nancy Wake: Gestapo's Most Wanted

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source: Nancy Wake, the White Mouse

I enjoyed this film. There are few films about the S.O.E. and even fewer about women in the S.O.E. So it was a treat to see the story of a real hero of WWII.

Whilst the story of Nancy Wake, WWII agent for the allies, is an interesting one, this production is only "OK". Nancy Wake: the white mouse is one of the those docu drama's where people give "their opinions" of events alongside the dramatized story of Wakes time, in Nazi occupied Europe. Regrettably the "insights", such as they are, are clumsily interjected, breaking up the flow of the actual drama itself. Imagine someone talking loudly in a cinema, offering their view of events, while you are trying to watch a film and you get the idea. It would have been better, I believe, to have gotten the opinions out of the way up front and then move on to the story itself, without further interruption. The acting is alright as are the sets but the narrative felt a bit forced and stilted. The action scenes are quite well done and entertaining. In short, not a bad effort and to be fair, I suspect, on a nominal budget? That said, I felt, a lot more could have been accomplished with a simpler approach. Five out of ten from me.

Rachael Lampied stars as Nancy Wake, a French Resistance Agent during the Third Reich's occupation of France. It's sad that Germans and the Third Reich were made out to be villainous, but that's Hollywood. She was from New Zealand, my old country. I took a vacation there in March of 2001, decided to stay and returned to the States in November 2011. The fair-haired Rachael looks amazing as a brunette. There's nothin' like a dame! 💃🏻

I'd not heard of Nancy Wake until I stumbled upon this tv film on YouTube history documentaries. Well aware of the SOE missions flown to France launched from Tangmere airfield in West Sussex, including those of Violette Szabo ( see Carve her name with Pride 1958 film ). I found this account of Nancy Wake's wartime life a fascinating watch despite the interrupting verbal interjections from her biographer etc. It was reasonably well executed despite a average script in places, but hey, Nancy's exploits far outshine my critical nit-picking. Worth a watch as she contributed to give us all valuable peacetime today.

Nancy Wake, the White Mouse