****SPOILERS**** The movie shows the lengths those during war time would go to achieve their missions. Even in the case of tricking the bright eyed and bushy tailed Canadian Leut. Paul Raine, Bradford Dillman, to not only go beyond the call of duty but death itself in unknowingly giving false information to the enemy by having it beaten and tortured out of him. Dropped into Nazi occupied France in the spring of 1944 Raine, who speaks perfect Franch, is told to contact the French underground in coordination with their attacks of German installations as the allies pull off their D-Day invasion. Unknown to Raine is that he's being set up with false information to be caught and tortured by the Nazi Gestopo to brake down and spill the beans on the invasion of Western Europe. That to make them think that the invasion is to take place some 200 miles away from it's original landing points!
Thinking he's doing the right thing Raine endures the most brutal torture including being water-boarding, a major war crime according to the Geneva War Accords of 1929, that Nazis could dish out. Only after the poison pill he was given by his boss Capt. Thomas Rawson, Harry Andrews, turned out to be a dud and thus prevented him from peacefully popping off and meeting his maker that the by now completely broken Raine finally gave in. Rescued by the French underground and given free passage to Tangier's Morocco after the war Raines is now a completely defeated and broken man feeling he let down his men in spilling the beans about where the cross channel invasion was to take place.
***SPOILERS*** It's when the person who help set, together with Capt. Rawson, Raine up Leut. Bowen, Suzy Parker,that the poor and confused Raine up came to see him at the Bal Aldo Bar & Hotel that he finally got the story straight: He's in fact a hero who gave his all including his sanity for the allied cause not a coward who sold his men, after being brutally tortured, out to the enemy! This was no surprise to those of us watching but only to Raine who in his depression never bothered to even read a newspaper or listen to a radio broadcast after he was rescued from his captors. And in fact thought all that time that he screwed up the D-Day invasion plans by the allies which in fact he helped make a complete and smashing success!
Thinking he's doing the right thing Raine endures the most brutal torture including being water-boarding, a major war crime according to the Geneva War Accords of 1929, that Nazis could dish out. Only after the poison pill he was given by his boss Capt. Thomas Rawson, Harry Andrews, turned out to be a dud and thus prevented him from peacefully popping off and meeting his maker that the by now completely broken Raine finally gave in. Rescued by the French underground and given free passage to Tangier's Morocco after the war Raines is now a completely defeated and broken man feeling he let down his men in spilling the beans about where the cross channel invasion was to take place.
***SPOILERS*** It's when the person who help set, together with Capt. Rawson, Raine up Leut. Bowen, Suzy Parker,that the poor and confused Raine up came to see him at the Bal Aldo Bar & Hotel that he finally got the story straight: He's in fact a hero who gave his all including his sanity for the allied cause not a coward who sold his men, after being brutally tortured, out to the enemy! This was no surprise to those of us watching but only to Raine who in his depression never bothered to even read a newspaper or listen to a radio broadcast after he was rescued from his captors. And in fact thought all that time that he screwed up the D-Day invasion plans by the allies which in fact he helped make a complete and smashing success!