''They Who Dare'' is a 1954 British
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
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 war fi ...
directed by
Lewis Milestone
Lewis Milestone (born Leib Milstein (Russian: Лейб Мильштейн); September 30, 1895 – September 25, 1980) was a Moldovan-American film director. He is known for directing ''Two Arabian Knights'' (1927) and '' All Quiet on the Weste ...
and starring
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...
,
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...
and
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...
. The story is based on
Operation Anglo
Operation Anglo was a British Commando raid on the island of Rhodes during the Second World War. The raid was carried out by eight men of the Special Boat Section (SBS) assisted by four Greeks.
In September 1942 their mission was to attack two ai ...
that took place during World War II in the
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited. ...
islands where special forces attempted to disrupt the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
from threatening Allied forces in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. It was released by
British Lion Films
British Lion Films is a film production and distribution company active under several forms since 1919. Originally known as British Lion Film Corporation Ltd, it entered receivership on 1 June 1954. From 29 January 1955 to 1976, the company was kn ...
and in the United States by
Allied Artists. The title of the film is a reference to the motto of the
Special Air Service
The Special Air Service (SAS) is a special forces unit of the British Army. It was founded as a regiment in 1941 by David Stirling and in 1950, it was reconstituted as a corps. The unit specialises in a number of roles including counter-terro ...
: "Who Dares Wins".
Plot
During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Lieutenant Graham is sent on a mission to destroy two German airfields on
Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
that may threaten Egypt. Under his command, a group of six
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roya ...
, two
Greek officers and two local guides are assembled.
The group is taken to Rhodes by submarine and comes ashore at night on a desolate beach. From there, the group has to traverse the mountains to reach its targets. At a pre-designated location, the party splits into two raiding parties. After having infiltrated the air bases, they blow up the aircraft, but two of the raiders are taken prisoner by the Italians.
Hunted by the many enemy patrols, eight of the group are captured and only two, Lieutenant Graham and Sergeant Corcoran, make it back to the pick-up point where they are rescued by the submarine, despite the presence of an unwelcome enemy patrol boat.
Cast
*
Dirk Bogarde
Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Organ ...
as Lieut. Graham
*
Denholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, (31 May 1922 – 6 October 1992) was an English actor, with more than 125 film and television credits. His well-known roles include the abortionist in ''Alfie'' (1966), Marcus Brody in ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981 ...
as Sgt. Corcoran
*
Akim Tamiroff
Akim Mikhailovich Tamiroff, russian: Аким Михайлович Тамиров (born Hovakim Tamiryants; October 29, 1899 – September 17, 1972) was an Armenian-American actor of film, stage, and television. One of the premier character act ...
as Captain George One
*
Harold Siddons as Lieut. Stevens R.N.
*
Eric Pohlmann
Eric Pohlmann (german: Erich Pohlmann; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, th ...
as Captain Papadapoulos
*
William Russell (credited as Russell Enoch) as Lieut. Poole
*
Gérard Oury
Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer.
Life and career
Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...
as Captain George Two
*
Sam Kydd
Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...
as Marine Boyd
*
Peter Burton
Peter Ray Burton (4 April 1921 – 21 November 1989) was an English film and television actor.
Early life
Peter Ray Burton, was born in Bromley, Kent, to Frederick Ray Burton and Gladys Maude (née Frazer).
Career
He is perhaps best known fo ...
as Marine Barrett
*
David Peel as Sgt. Evans
*
Michael Mellinger
Michael Andreas Mellinger (30 May 1929 – 17 March 2004) was a German actor in film, television, theatre and radio. He was best known for his appearances on the West End and supporting role in the film '' Goldfinger'' (1964).
Biography
Born ...
as Toplis
*
Alec Mango
Alec Mango (16 March 1911 – 7 November 1989) was an English actor. He is best known for portraying El Supremo in the 1951 ''Captain Horatio Hornblower'', he also appeared in ''South of Algiers'' (1953), ''The Strange World of Planet X'' (1958 ...
as Patroklis
*Anthea Leigh as Marika
*
Eileen Way
Eileen Mabel Elizabeth Way (2 September 1911 – 16 June 1994) was a British actress who appeared in film and television roles in a career dating back to the 1930s. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from the age of 16.
She was i ...
as Greek woman
*
Lisa Gastoni
Lisa Gastoni (born 28 July 1935) is an Italian film actress. Gastoni was named "Best Italian Actress of the Year, 1966" as she received both the Nastro D'Argento Award and the Golden Globe Award from Italy's Foreign Press Association.}
Biograp ...
as George Two's girlfriend
*
Kay Callard
Kay Callard (10 November 1923 – 7 March 2008) was a Canadian film and television actress who spent most of her career in Britain. She was married to the actor Jack McNaughton
Jack McNaughton (22 December 190522 February 1990) was a British ...
as
nightclub singer
A nightclub act is a production, usually of nightclub music or comedy, designed for performance at a nightclub, a type of drinking establishment, by a nightclub performer such as a nightclub singer or nightclub dancer, whose performance may ...
*
Robert Rietty
Robert Rietti, (born Lucio Rietti; 8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015), was an actor, and Oscar-nominated director of Anglo-Italian descent. With over 200 credits to his name, he had a highly prolific career in the American, British and Ita ...
as Italian Officer
*
Christopher Rhodes
Sir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet (30 April 1914 – 22 June 1964) was an English film and television actor. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the United States Legion of Merit for his Second World War service.
Early life
Rhodes w ...
as German Officer
Production
''They Who Dare'' was partly shot on location in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
with Walter Milner Barry, a former SBS officer as
technical adviser
In film production, a technical advisor is someone who advises the director on the convincing portrayal of a subject. The advisor's expertise adds realism both to the acting and to the setting of a movie.
Nipo T. Strongheart
Nipo T. Stronghear ...
. A survivor of the raid,
David Sutherland, provided a copy of his
after action report
An after action report (or AAR) is any form of retrospective analysis on a given sequence of goal-oriented actions previously undertaken, generally by the author themselves.
The two principal forms of AARs are the literary AAR, intended for recrea ...
to screenwriter Robert Westerby. The interiors were shot at
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...
near
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The film's sets were designed by the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
Donald M. Ashton
Donald M. Ashton (26 June 1919 – 25 August 2004) was an Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning English art director most noted for his work on such films as '' Billy Budd'' (1962), ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' (1957), ''Oh! What a ...
.
''They Who Dare'' was re-written by Lewis Milestone. When he handed in the film, producer Setton re-edited it. The film was poorly received critically. Dirk Bogarde recalled one film reviewer referred to it as ''How Dare They'' in his review.
The
Lebanese Air Force
The Lebanese Air Force (LAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية اللبنانية, Al Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Lubnaniyya) is the aerial warfare branch of the Lebanese Armed Forces. The seal of the air force is a Roundel with two wings and a Lebanese C ...
provided a pair of
Savoia-Marchetti SM.79 aircraft for the film. Bogarde recalled Lewis Milestone insisting on the cast wearing actual 90 pound/40 kilogram backpacks as he felt actors could not convincingly act as if they were carrying a large amount of weight. The cast had a week of exercises with the packs as the script was polished but the weight was reduced to 60 lbs/27 kg.
[Bogarde, Dirk. ''Snakes and Ladders''. London: ]Bloomsbury Publishing
Bloomsbury Publishing plc is a British worldwide publishing house of fiction and non-fiction. It is a constituent of the FTSE SmallCap Index. Bloomsbury's head office is located in Bloomsbury, an area of the London Borough of Camden. It has a U ...
, 1998. p. 136. . .
Reception
Film reviewer Hal Erickson in his appraisal of ''They Who Dare'', said the film was, "... undeservedly the least-known of director Lewis Milestone's sound films. Set in the Aegean sea during World War II, the film recounts the exploits of Britain's Special Boat Squadron. ... Robert Westerby is credited with the screenplay of 'They Who Dare', and Lewis Milestone insisted the story was taken verbatim from the reminiscences of the squadron's two survivors."
[Erickson,. Hal]
"Review: 'They Who Dare'."
''AllMovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
.com'', 2019. Retrieved: 5 August 2019.
References
Notes
Citations
External links
*
*
{{Lewis Milestone
1954 films
1950s war films
British aviation films
British war films
Films directed by Lewis Milestone
Films set in Axis-occupied Greece
Films set on islands
Films set in the Mediterranean Sea
Dodecanese campaign
Films shot in Cyprus
Films shot in Malta
Films shot at Shepperton Studios
British Lion Films films
1950s English-language films
1950s British films