This is a wonderful mini-series about a lesser known part of World War II, and a man who contributed to the creation of Office Of Strategic Services (later to become Central Intelligence Agency).
This shows the "true" story of the training and preparation of spies and saboteurs for work in France. They were recruited and then shipped to Ontario, Canada to a secret base called Camp X near the great lakes. There they were given in depth training for missions behind enemy lines.
While the novel "A Man Called Intrepid" was a ground-breaking work in its time, later researchers have taken away a lot of its credibility.
I remember watching this mini-series in its original broadcast and loving it. Sir David Niven brought a certain class to the project, though he has almost nothing in common with the real William Stephenson.
Barbara Hershey was stunning and heroic.
Paul Harding was mesmerizing as the German torturer. I will always remember his request for a prisoner to kneel before the firing squad. Before the defiance of his "charge" he explains. "It is not symbolic, merely efficient". And with one line is summed up the brutality of the Nazi regime.
Catch it if you can on DVD or re-broadcast on the history channel.
try rarewarfilms.com as this was never officially made available.
