Mister V

Professor Horatio Smith (Leslie Howard) has his students accompany him to the continent for an archaeological dig. Ultimately they realize that he is secretly helping to transport enemies of the Nazis out of Germany, and they want to help. But is someone in the group collaborating with the Nazis? Howard was the Scarlet Pimpernel saving people from the guillotine; now he's a modern Pimpernel saving people from the Nazis, using the archaeological dig as a cover and wearing several disguises in the film.

It's a very good film, with a great speech by the Professor at the end, saying that Germany's entrance in the war would lead to its destruction and not its glory - very prescient. His enemy here is von Graum (Francis L. Sullivan), probably modeled on Herman Goering. He gets away when Von Graum is distracted, but we hear Howard say, "I'll be back." In real life, of course, Howard was defeated by the Nazis when a plane he was in was shot down. It's a rousing WW II film and reminds us of the dashing Howard's legacy outside of Gone with the Wind.