Island Rescue

APPOINTMNET WITH VENUS is a light-hearted wartime comedy with an unusual premise: British officers going out of their way to rescue a cow from the Isle of Sark during the German occupation in WW2. Weirdly, this turns out to be a true story, and admittedly it is rather slight, almost a gimmick. What this film does benefit from are some assured performances from a typically like David Niven, alongside a wealth of character talent (Noel Purcell, et all) who bring the supporting roles to life. George Coulouris impresses as a kindly Nazi officer, and the whole thing has a light and breezy feel, even if it is a little forgettable.

The storyline involving one of the smaller the Channel Islands, whereby the British navy, with David Niven, as the army officer leading an operation to rescue a prize, pedigree cow (Venus) from a small island called Amorel, rather then let the Germans have the prize beast, seems to have great potential for humour and drama. However, sad to say, it doesn't really tick either box, suggesting that the director was caught in two minds. Bernard Lee as usual plays an army officer, but his role leaves him little to do. Glynis Johns is miscast as the local guide and Niven's romantic interest, since she shows no sparkle or energy but comes across as a mild mannered, one dimensional character, who speaks in the same 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' monotone voice throughout the film. Kenneth More, is also wasted, playing the island's pacifist artist, who wants nothing to do with the war, More never engages the audience's empathy, since he walks around most of the the time feeling hard done by and looking sorry for himself. Niven never breaks into a sweat, but plays the cheery, urbane, 'come on lads' type of military officer, who adopts a 'Boy Scout leader' approach to the bovine operation. Even the dramatic scenes between the plucky channel islanders and the German are underwhelming and unconvincing. The film meanders along and presents a happy outcome but essentially it misses the mark.

The British garrison has been evacuated from the Channel Islands and soon after the Germans occupy the islands. The British send a very small expedition force to attempt to transport back to Britain a prize Guernsey cow named Venus. The Nazi commandant of the island recognizes the breeding value of this cow makes plans to have her shipped to Germany. The key members of the rescue team are Glynis Johns and David Niven - two actors who never disappoint. The commandant is a sympathetic character who treats the islanders with great respect. It's all rather bucolic and pleasant with just one nasty Nazi soldier who provides the tension to the story. It's a charming and engaging movie set in a fascinating locale and a reminder of a perhaps little remembered fact of this German occupation. The print I saw of this was great and I'll be watching this movie again.

"Appointment with Venus" author Jerrard Tickell, who also wrote "Odette", wrote that the germ of the idea for his novel, and delightful movie, came ten years or more in the past when he had a conversation with a Colonel "Duke" Wright in the British War Office. In 1940, Wright was O.C. at Guernsey and, with the fall of France, had the dangerous task of evacuating the garrison from the Channel Islands. After a nightmare journey, the exhausted, unshaven but triumphant Wright reported to the War Office at three in the morning that not a man had been lost. The junior officer who greeted him remarked what a pity it was that the Colonel had failed to bring any pedigreed cows with him. And added, "I suppose you couldn't go back and collect some." Tickell wrote that Colonel Wright's reply was as pungent as it was unprintable.

It's the Second World War, and the Germans have just occupied the Channel Islands. The High Command have ordered a rescue mission on the (fictional) island of Amorel. David Niven is to lead the mission. He needs a local guide, and that turns out to be Glynis Johns. The preparations are extensive and unique, because they're trying to bring out a prize purebred cow.

Before you scoff, please be aware that something similar was done in rescuing the Aldenay breed from the Channel Island of that name. It's still absurd in retrospect, but everyone in the movie takes it seriously, which helps some with a cast that includes George Coulouris (in his first of nine appearances in director Ralph Thomas' movies) as the cultured cattle-breeding officer in charge of the island, and Noel Purcell as the navigator who knows the local waters. There's a suitable amount of flag-waving, islanders loyal to His Majesty, a cute kid, and a nasty German sergeant.

In short, this is pretty much a bog-standard movie with a great cast that makes it highly watchable. For me, I was enchanted as soon as Miss Johns' name appeared in the credits. There's extensive location shooting, with Sark standing in for the fictitious island, and a final race between the British PT boat and a pursuing German craft. This movie was near the end of the period when a serious movie could be made about such a subject. Soon enough, it would be all war-is-hell dramas and service comedies.