Orders to Kill

This is a quietly gripping movie about a man ordered to kill a traitor in wartime France. The protagonist bonds with his quarry and his family and agonizes over following his orders to kill. To find out whether he kills the man and whether he is guilty or innocent you'll need to see this.

I've searched in vain for this very fine movie, which I saw many years ago and has clung firmly to my memory. It's about a cocky young soldier who is sent to kill a French collaborator. He later develops serious moral qualms about the mission.

This film has a fine cast and has some very interesting touches. I am sure, for example, that those of us who have seen it still remember the collaborator's cat, who adds tremendously to the humanity of that character. At times, the tension and psychological pressure of this movie is almost unbearable. Filmed on location in Paris, I believe. The score, which also stands out in my memory, is melodramatic but appropriate.

Paul Massie, Eddie Albert, Leslie French, and Irene Worth star in "Orders to Kill," a 1958 film produced and directed by Anthony Asquith.

Done in a low-key, realistic way, the story concerns a young American soldier, Gene Summers (Massie) who is chosen to go to France to kill an attorney who was a Resistance member, Lafitte (French) but has become a traitor. For Summers, it's an exciting assignment, and he relishes learning his new identity and being taught to kill either with his bare hands or by knife. One of the men in charge of his training, Major MacMahon (Albert) is afraid the ramifications of the job aren't real enough for him, but off he goes. His contact in France is Leonie (Irene Worth).

All goes well until Summers actually meets LaFitte, who saves him from a Nazi roundup by hiding him in his office. When he sees that Lafitte seems like a gentle soul, he can't kill him. Then he meets LaFitte's daughter and wife. He appeals to Leonie -- maybe this man is innocent, maybe a further investigation is warranted. Leonie is a hard-nose and insists that he carry out his orders.

Talky and slow-moving through a good deal of the film, it changes suddenly and becomes very suspenseful and exciting. Everyone underplays, making them somehow more realistic in their war-torn surroundings.

Everyone is very good, but Irene Worth, a fantastic actress, Leslie French, and Eddie Albert are standouts. The workhorse role is Massie's, and he is very good in a role that required him to be extremely natural and even throughout.

Very good.

This movie used to be on television all the time. It disappeared several years ago and hasn't reappeared on the tube or in video. It's interesting for a lot of reasons. Two great actresses, Lillian Gish and Irene Worth, are in it. Some fine British character actors including James Robertson Justice are outstanding in it. It's a suspenseful film about World War II and the scenes in Paris are particularly gripping. I too would give a lot to see it and own

This World War II movie has a realistic well written script, good acting and presents the viewer with a powerful moral dilemma to contemplate about war. Do you follow orders regardless of what your own observations suggest you do? I saw this movie 40 years ago and have never forgotten it. The tragedy is that it apparently did not have big promotional dollars behind it so has never reappeared. Nine stars out of ten.