By Frank Miller
Assignment in Brittany
Brief Synopsis
A French Resistance fighter discovers he's a dead ringer for a Nazi official.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Jack Conway
Director
Pierre Aumont
Captain [Pierre] Metard/Bertrand Corlay
Susan Peters
Anne Pinot
Richard Whorf
[Jean] Kerenor
Margaret Wycherly
Mme. [Henrietta] Corlay
Signe Hasso
Elise
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Adventure
Spy
Release Date
Apr
1943
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 21 Apr 1943
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes (Boston, 1942).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8,609ft
(10 reels)
Synopsis
Immediately upon completing a dangerous spy mission in Northern Africa, Captain Pierre Metard is ordered back to the "Free French" headquarters in London. There, Metard learns that his next assignment is to impersonate Bertrand Corlay, a writer and suspected Nazi collaborator whom he greatly resembles. Metard learns many details about the wounded, hospitalized Corlay and even has a replica of Corlay's birthmark imprinted on his back. Once his education is complete, Metard, whose mission is to discover the exact location of a German submarine base near Corlay's home, parachutes into a field near Corlay's farm and is accosted by two escaped British soldiers. Metard soon convinces the escapees of his loyalties and directs them to Louis Basdevant, his contact in nearby St. Lunaire. When Metard arrives at the Corlay farm, he is coolly greeted by Corlay's disapproving mother Henrietta. Metard then reunites with Corlay's fiancée, Anne Pinot. Although Anne appears happy to see Metard, whom she believes to be Corlay, she tells him that she cannot marry him because of a past infidelity. Confused, Metard heads for the local inn and discovers that Corlay was having an affair with Elise, a seductive Nazi collaborator. Jean Kerenor, a disabled schoolteacher, is deeply in love with Elise and accuses Metard, as Corlay, of being pompous and vicious. After Metard agrees to meet the unsuspecting Elise at a ruined castle, Nazi soldiers burst into the Corlay farm, demanding accommodations. When Metard identifies himself as Corlay, however, the commanding officer suddenly changes his mind and departs. Afterward, Mme. Corlay reveals to Metard that she is aware of his impersonation, but assures him that she will not betray him, as she is ashamed of her son's Nazi affliations. At the castle, Elise confirms that she is a Nazi collaborator and tells Metard that the submarine base is in St. Lunaire. As Metard is walking back to the Corlay farm, he sees Anne being attacked by a German soldier and kills him. Anne is moved by Metard's bravery and lovingly forgives him. Later, however, Mme. Corlay implores Metard to "go easy" on Anne, and he agrees. Metard then heads for St. Lunaire, where he meets Louie, a fisherman. After making plans with Louie, who is also helping the English soldiers and a French resistance fighter named Rochet, Metard learns that Louie is actually a Nazi collaborator. As feared, Louie betrays Metard, Rochet and the Englishmen to some German soldiers, but Metard manages to overpower the Germans and takes Louie hostage. With his gun jammed into Louie's back, Metard and Louie meet with German Major Von Pless, who believes Metard is Louie's cousin. Before Metard can secure safe passage, however, Von Pless discovers his ruse and orders his arrest. Once again, Metard outmaneuvers the enemy and escapes by diving into the bay. While he is swimming to safety, Metard sees a German submarine surface and dock under a hidden sea wall. Now aware of the base's location, Metard proceeds to Mont. St. Michel, where he relays his findings to Plehec, a restaurant owner who secretly operates a wireless for the British. Metard then returns to the Corlay farm, unaware that Elise and Capt. Holtz suspect him. Although Metard shows Holtz his birthmark, Holtz becomes convinced he is a spy when Plehec's young nephew Etienne identifies him as the man who visited Plehec. Metard is taken to jail, where he sees the tortured Plehec killed by the Nazis. Metard is also tortured and starved by Holtz, but like Plehec, refuses to reveal what he knows. With the help of Kerenor, a priest, and other sympathetic villagers, Metard escapes from Holtz's jail and hides in the catacombs of the local church. There, Anne nurses Metard and confesses that she loves him even though she now knows he is not Corlay. In turn, Metard pledges his love and vows to marry her. To Metard's surprise, Etienne then appears, explaining that his uncle had instructed him to protect the wireless at any cost. Etienne helps Metard out of the church, and Kerenor leads him safely into some woods. After Mme. Corlay bids "her son" goodbye, Metard and Etienne head for the wireless to alert the British. Kerenor, meanwhile, sees Elise, whose innocence he has always maintained, embracing Holtz in the woods and, enraged, shoots and kills him, then strangles Elise. Hearing the shot, German soldiers rush to the scene, but Mme. Corlay insists that she is Holtz's killer. Metard then relays the submarine base's location, and British commandos launch a sneak attack on St. Lunaire. Overcoming his physical handicap, Kerenor kills many Germans during the ensuing battle, but is himself killed. After British speed boats bomb the hidden base, Metard reunites with Anne on board an England-bound ship and joins her in singing "Les Marsielles."
Director
Jack Conway
Director
Cast
Pierre Aumont
Captain [Pierre] Metard/Bertrand Corlay
Susan Peters
Anne Pinot
Richard Whorf
[Jean] Kerenor
Margaret Wycherly
Mme. [Henrietta] Corlay
Signe Hasso
Elise
Reginald Owen
Colonel Trane
John Emery
Captain Deichgraber
George Coulouris
Captain [Hans] Holtz
Sarah Padden
Albertine
Miles Mander
Colonel [Herman] Fournier
George Brest
Henri
Darryl Hickman
Etienne
Alan Napier
Sam Wells
Odette Myrtil
Louis' sister
Juanita Quigley
Jeannine
William Edmunds
Plehec
Adia Kuznetzoff
Louis Basdevant
Donald Stuart
Townshend
Paul Leyssac
The curé
Almira Sessions
Mme. Perro
Lionel Royce
Von Steffen
Frank Lackteen
Arab chief
Peter Lawford
Navigator
John Meredith
Pilot
Albert Morin
Arab mechanic
Alan Schute
Co-pilot
Stanley Mann
Orderly
Davis Roberts
Orderly
Constant Franke
Orderly
John Burton
Doctor
Ralph Bushman
German lieutenant
Louis Adlon
German lieutenant
Robert R. Stephenson
German lieutenant
Ferdinand Schumann-heink
German lieutenant
Major Farrell
Jacques
Louise Colombet
Marie
Rex Williams
Sergeant Krulich
Lucien Prival
Major Von Pless
John St. Polis
Old man in inn
Duke York
German private
Hans Von Morhart
German private
Paul Kruger
German private
Horace Carpenter
Yves
Harry Fleischmann
Jules
George Travell
Rochet
Dick Wessel
German sergeant
George Sherwood
German sergeant
Ray Miller
German sergeant
Nick Shaid
Sentry
Frederick Giermann
Guard
Otto Reichow
Sergeant
J. Lewis Smith
Soldier
Lisl Valetti
Peasant
Alex Papana
Peasant
Frank Arnold
Fisherman
Louis Mercier
Fisherman
Albert D'arno
German officer
John Merton
Gestapo
Frederick Brunn
Gestapo
Al Masiello
Peasant in cellar
Joseph Marievsky
Peasant in cellar
Joseph P. Mack
Peasant in cellar
Hector Sarno
Peasant in cellar
Arnold Virt
French sergeant
Leigh Sterling
French officer
Bert Hicks
French officer
Crane Whitley
Gestapo lieutenant
May Mcavoy
Nurse
Walter Bonn
German sentry
Hans Schumm
German sentry
Clive Morgan
Commando officer
Arthur Mulliner
Commando lieutenant
Charles Irwin
Commando lieutenant
Morris Ankrum
Stenger
Dave Thursby
Commando sergeant
Pat O'moore
Commando lookout
Leyland Hodgson
Commando
Bill Nind
British lieutenant
William Vaughn
German major
Guy D'ennery
Albert
George Davis
Nestor
Arthur Gould-porter
Naval officer
Leslie Denison
Naval officer
George Aldwin
Gunner
William Yetter
German
Steve Geray
Priest
Jack Norton
Drunk peasant
Crew
Tom Andre
Assistant Director
Edward G. Boyle
Associate (Sets)
William Ferrari
Associate (Art Direction)
Cedric Gibbons
Art Director
Arnold Gillespie
Special Effects
Paul Groesse
Associate (Art Direction)
Lennie Hayton
Music Score
Irene
Costume Supervisor
George La Brousse
Technical Advisor
Ben Lewis
Film Editor
Simon Mitchneck
Language coordinator
Major Ramsay-hill
Tech adv for commando seq
Howard Emmett Rogers
Screenwriter
Arthur Rose
Unit Manager
Charles Rosher
Director of Photography
J. Walter Ruben
Producer
Douglas Shearer
Recording Director
Shoup
Associate
Walter O. Stahl
Tech adv for German seq
Gile Steele
Men's Costume
Frank Sullivan
Film Editor
Anthony Veiller
Screenwriter
Edwin B. Willis
Set Decoration
William H. Wright
Screenwriter
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Adventure
Spy
Release Date
Apr
1943
Premiere Information
New York opening: week of 21 Apr 1943
Production Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.
Distribution Company
Loew's Inc.
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Assignment in Brittany by Helen MacInnes (Boston, 1942).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 36m
Sound
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
8,609ft
(10 reels)
Articles
Assignment in Brittany -
Classic Hollywood's love affair with international locations acquired a political purpose during World War II, when all of the studios turned out film tributes to America's allies. For this wartime thriller, MGM turned parts of its back lot into Brittany and even cast French star Jean Pierre Aumont, in his U.S. film debut, in a dual role as a Frenchman collaborating with the Nazis and a lookalike Resistance hero who takes his place to learn the location of a secret German naval base. Aumont was one of the few French actors in the film, which filled the South of France with Englishmen, Americans and even a Swiss miss. But he was very much the real thing. Like his character, Aumont had served heroically in North Africa during the war and received the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre. In fact, after only one more film in Hollywood, Cross of Lorraine (1944), he returned to fight with the Free French. Even in Hollywood, he supported the war effort, appearing at special screenings of Assignment in Brittany, to help raise funds for the Resistance. Joining him in the film are Margaret Wycherly and Susan Peters as the collaborator's wife and girlfriend and Signe Hasso (in her U.S. debut) as his mistress.
By Frank Miller
By Frank Miller
Assignment in Brittany -
Classic Hollywood's love affair with international locations acquired a political purpose during World War II, when all of the studios turned out film tributes to America's allies. For this wartime thriller, MGM turned parts of its back lot into Brittany and even cast French star Jean Pierre Aumont, in his U.S. film debut, in a dual role as a Frenchman collaborating with the Nazis and a lookalike Resistance hero who takes his place to learn the location of a secret German naval base. Aumont was one of the few French actors in the film, which filled the South of France with Englishmen, Americans and even a Swiss miss. But he was very much the real thing. Like his character, Aumont had served heroically in North Africa during the war and received the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre. In fact, after only one more film in Hollywood, Cross of Lorraine (1944), he returned to fight with the Free French. Even in Hollywood, he supported the war effort, appearing at special screenings of Assignment in Brittany, to help raise funds for the Resistance. Joining him in the film are Margaret Wycherly and Susan Peters as the collaborator's wife and girlfriend and Signe Hasso (in her U.S. debut) as his mistress. By Frank Miller
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this film was Fire in the Night. Helen MacInnes' novel was serialized in The Saturday Evening Post from 2 May to June 20, 1942. When M-G-M bought the screen rights in February 1942, the novel was titled Cross Channel. French screen star Pierre Aumont made his American acting debut in this film, as did Swedish actress Signe Hasso. Like the character he plays in Assignment in Brittany, Aumont fought with the Free French forces in Tunisia, Italy and France. He was awarded both the Legion of Honor and the Croix de Guerre. Hollywood Reporter news items and production charts add the following information about the production: John Carradine was announced as one of the film's stars in August 1942. In mid-October 1942, production shut down for several days due to director Jack Conway's flu. The following actors were announced as cast members: Blanche Yurka, Wolfgang Zilzer, Byron Nelson, George Ford, Vernon Rickard, Jack Lorenz, Alan Westcott, George Calliga, George Magrill, Max Lucke, Waclaw Rekwart, Alex Akimoff, Helen Giere, Cap Somers, Bob Ireland, John Peters, Bruce Carruthers, Florence Brown, Richard Carpenter, Michael Macey, Claude Payton, Art Belasco, John Phipps, Esther Fleischman and Lillian Nicholson. Their appearance in the final film has not been confirmed. In November 1942 Hollywood Reporter production charts, Ben Lewis is listed as editor instead of the credited Frank Sullivan, and Paul Groesse is listed as associate art director instead of the credited William Ferrari.
