Susan Peters and Jean-Pierre Aumont, 1943

Susan Peters and Jean-Pierre Aumont in Assignment in Brittany

''Assignment in Brittany'' is a 1943

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that wa ...

directed by Jack Conway and starring French actor

Jean-Pierre Aumont Jean-Pierre Aumont (born Jean-Pierre Philippe Salomons; 5 January 1911 – 30 January 2001) was a French actor, and holder of the Légion d'Honneur and the Croix de Guerre for his World War II military service. Early life Aumont was born Jea ...

and Swedish actress

Signe Hasso Signe Eleonora Cecilia Hasso (''née'' Larsson; 15 August 1915 – 7 June 2002) was a Swedish actress, writer, and composer. Biography Hasso was born in the Kungsholmen parish of Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. Her father and grandfather died when s ...

, both in their American film debuts. Also starring was American actress

Susan Peters Susan Peters (born Suzanne Carnahan; July 3, 1921 – October 23, 1952) was an American actress who appeared in over twenty films over the course of her decade-long career. Though she began her career in uncredited and ingénue roles, she woul ...

. The film was adapted from a novel by Helen MacInnes, which was serialized in ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'' from May 2 to June 20, 1942, and also became a bestseller when published as a book. When MGM bought the screen rights in February 1942, the novel was titled "Cross Channel". The working title of this film was "Fire in the Night"."Notes"
on TCM.com

Plot

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exil ...

Captain Pierre Matard (Aumont) is assigned the task of locating a concealed U-boat pen in

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. He is chosen due to his striking resemblance to Bertrand Corlay, a suspected Nazi collaborator being held prisoner by the British. At the Corlay family farm, Madame Henriette Corlay ( Margaret Wycherly), Bertrand's mother, eventually realizes Matard is not her son, but does not give him away, although she disapproves of Bertrand's apparent cooperation with the Germans. Matard has better luck fooling both Anne Pinot (Susan Peters) and Elise (

), Bertrand's fiancee and mistress, respectively. After

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

contact Louis Basdevant is unmasked as a turncoat, Matard forces him at gunpoint to get him into a heavily guarded town. When the masquerade is uncovered, Matard shoots Basdevant and a German officer, and escapes by jumping in the harbor. He sees a U-boat entering a hidden pen. He gives a coded message to Plehec ( William Edmunds) to transmit on his wireless, but the man is caught. Matard is also taken. Though a number of civilians refuse to betray Matard (and are shot), Plehec's young nephew Etienne (

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...

) identifies him. When Matard refuses to tell Captain Hans Holz (

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Gre ...

) the location of the wireless, he is tortured for days. Schoolteacher and Resistance member Jean Kerenor (

Richard Whorf Richard Whorf (June 4, 1906 – December 14, 1966) was an American actor, writer and film director. Life and acting career Whorf was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts to Harry and Sarah (née Lee) Whorf. His older brother was linguist Benjamin Le ...

) and other villagers manage to free him. Hidden in a secret room beneath the church, Matard is nursed back to health by Anne Pinot. Knowing his true identity, she admits she loves him, much to his delight. Etienne shows up, telling Matard that his uncle had instructed him to do whatever he had to in order to protect the wireless. The boy takes Matard to it; Matard sends the location to his superiors. A commando raid is organized, led by Colonel Trane (

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

). On the way to rendezvous with the British, Matard and Kerenor stumble upon Elise and Holz in each other's arms. Furious that he had defended Elise from the charge of collaboration all this time, Kerenor kills them both. After they depart, Madame Corlay arrives, attracted by the sound of gunfire. When she hears German soldiers approach, she grabs the pistol and allows herself to be captured to shield the others. Matard joins some of the soldiers in the assault on the control room. Becoming trapped inside, they are rescued by Kerenor, who attacks the Germans from behind. Though he is killed, the others succeed in blowing up the sub pens. The commandos re-embark on their boats. Aboard, Matard finds Anne and Etienne.

Cast

as Capt. Pierre Matard / Bertrand Corlay *

as Anne Pinot * Margaret Wycherly as Mme. Henriette Corlay *

as Elise *

as Jean Kerenor *

as Capt. Hans Holz * John Emery as Capt. Deichgraber *

as Etienne *

Sarah Padden Sarah Ann Padden (16 October 1881 – 4 December 1967) was an English-born American theatre and film character actress. She performed on stage in the early 20th century. Her best-known single-act performance was in ''The Clod'', a stage pr ...

as Albertine * Adia Kuznetzoff as Louis Basdevant *

as Col. Trane *

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor of the early Hollywood cinema, also a film director and producer, and a playwright and novelist. He was sometimes credited as Luther Mile ...

as Col. Herman Fournier *

Alan Napier Alan William Napier-Clavering (7 January 1903 – 8 August 1988), better known as Alan Napier, was an English actor. After a decade in West End theatre, he had a long film career in Britain and later, in Hollywood. Napier is best remembered for ...

as Sam Wells *

Odette Myrtil Odette Myrtil (born Odette Laure Clotilde Quignarde; June 28, 1898 – November 18, 1978) was a French-born American actress, singer, and violinist. She began her career as a violinist on the vaudeville stage in Paris at 14. She expanded in ...

as Louis' sister * Juanita Quigley as Jeannine * William Edmunds as Plehec

Production

The working title for ''Assignment in Brittany'' was ''Fire in the Night''.

Reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' described the film as "an ordinary box-office adventure whose pretensions fall flat."T.S
"Assignment in Brittany (1943)"
''

'' (April 22, 1943)

References

Notes

External links

* * * * {{Jack Conway 1943 films American black-and-white films American war films Films about the French Resistance Films based on American novels Films directed by Jack Conway Films scored by Lennie Hayton Films set in France Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films World War II films made in wartime Films based on works by Helen MacInnes 1943 war films 1940s English-language films