In the opening credits for "Betrayed," MGM states clearly that the movie is fictitious, with the standard disclaimer. That being the case, the writers did a marvelous job of tying it to some real history. First, the Dutch resistance and underground, including incidents of traitors. Second, the rescue of the 2,500 plus men of the British First Airborne division who had been surrounded and cut off near Remagen in Operation Market Garden. The movie, "A Bridge Too Far," gives a fairly detailed and accurate portrayal of that operation, including the rescue of the men who were cut off.
In this film, of course, the incidents that lead to the rescue are fiction, but the movie does a good job of linking the fictitious story to real events of the time and place during World War II. That lends it that much more of a sense of reality. Along with that, most of the film was shot at locations in The Netherlands. Some scenes show the unmistakable lowland countryside. One very poignant scene shows Carla and The Scarf driving to his mother's home. They are on a long Holland dike that separates the open sea from an inland body of water.
The cast for this film is excellent. The main leads have about the same amount of film time. Clark Gable is Col. Pieter Deventer, a member of the Dutch army in exile and the head of Dutch intelligence working with British intelligence. Lana Turner is Carla Van Oven, a notorious black-market operator in Holland whom the British recruit and Deventer trains for espionage work. Victor Mature is The Scarf, a free- wheeling leader of a resistance faction. He resists coordination with the British and seems to enjoy the killing and destruction of German facilities. A fine supporting cast includes well-known British actors, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Louis Calhern and Ian Carmichael.
Other reviewers note that this is the last film Gable made with MGM, ending a 24-year contract under which he was its prime male star for much of the time. He made nine more films before his death from a heart attack in 1960. All of them were box office successes, and some are excellent films and highly regarded. Turner was active in films into the early 1970s, after which she turned to TV series until finally retiring in 1985 at age 64.
This film has some good action scenes along with the espionage intrigue. And, of course, the Gable and Turner characters fall in love for the Hollywood romantic aspect. While the story and movie are very good and interesting, this isn't a model production. The direction seems to be weak. The film editing is not what it could be. The movie is choppy in places, and at times, some of the actors seem a little wooden.
Still, it's an interesting wartime espionage and action thriller that most people should enjoy.
