Bon Voyage

Shot in 1944 entirely in French (version seen has English subtitles), in style rather like a short section of a budget version of his "Lady Vanishes", it must have been intended for clandestine distribution in occupied and Vichy France. For this reason and the fact that it appears to have a clear practical purpose it presumably is a training film. It is thus not primarily a tribute to the French Resistance, its purpose seems instead to be to warn them of a dangerous new Gestapo method of infiltration. Hitchcock's contribution was to make the message clear and hold the attention.

It concerns the return to England of a British air-gunner (played by English actor John Blythe in French) recently escaped from a German prisoner of war camp. He has safely arrived back in London due to the help he received from the French Resistance and is being de-briefed by French exile officers. What should though have been a happy conclusion to a successful escape is soured when the true tragic facts are revealed to him that he has been an innocent pawn in a dastardly Gestapo design for the infiltration of the French resistance network. In this he was made a carrier of something deadly - not disease but something similarly poisonous - that he had been made to unwittingly expose members of the Resistance. One guesses that the main purpose of the film was to warn everyone of this.

Disclaimer: This review is based on versions of Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache as seen on Turner Classic Movies. These versions were copyrighted 1993, and I'm assuming they are the same versions previously available on VHS and more recently on DVD. The following criticism is aimed at saving people much grief and money. If someone has seen the DVD and can disqualify any of my remarks, I welcome you to do so. There are so few accurate reviews of obscure DVDs.

Alfred Hitchcock made Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache (Madagascar Adventure) in 1944 to help the war effort by encouraging the French Resistance. The only people who have ever heard of these short films are Hitchcock fanatics, but even the most die-hard fans need not waste any time looking for these rarities. There is little in Bon Voyage and nothing in Aventure Malgache to indicate the hand of Hitchcock. Both films are in French and suffer from boring framing stories hung with flashbacks and constant voice-over narration. It is unlike Hitch to use so much dialog and the subtitles are difficult to read. The white lettering is hard to read against lighter parts of the background and at least half of the subtitles in Bon Voyage are cropped off the bottom of the screen.

Aventure Malgache tells of the French Resistance smuggling people out of Nazi-controlled Madagascar and is a completely forgettable film. Bon Voyage is more interesting. It tells of a British flier who has escaped from a POW camp. He is traveling with another escaped POW and helped by the Resistance, but there are double-crosses and murder in their path. However, only the murder scenes look like Hitchcock while the other scenes are very static. There is minimal camera movement and when the actors aren't sitting around talking they are shuffling around like zombies. The cropped subtitles leave viewers guessing at many of the finer details. Many references to passwords, place-names, and other important details (something about a cigarette used as a signal) are completely illegible. Bon Voyage does include the "old Gestapo trick" that Martin Landau mentions near the end of North By Northwest, but this is the only connection I could see to Hitch's other films.

If the DVD is significantly better than what I have described (new subtitles in yellow, for instance), please write a review saying so. It is very hard to find detailed reviews of obscure foreign films on DVD. Now I'm going to go critique the 1990 version of Cyrano.

A delightful little propaganda film and more than just a curiosity for Hitchcock fans. The plot is about an RAF pilot who was shot down, escapes through France and is debriefed by French officials. He is helped along in his escape by courageous members of the French Underground and a co-escapist. His recounting of the events which allowed his return to England are given a very interesting spin by the French officials.

A companion with Hitchcock's other WWII French film 'Aventure Malagache,' 'Bon Voyage' was an attempt to buoy French spirits. I love the fact that the film is SUPPOSED to be a celebration of the daring and heroism of ordinary French civilians who've joined the Underground to fight the Nazis. Buried under the surface there are strong suggestions that being part of the underground will probably get you killed and that you should keep your mouth shut because German agents are everywhere. Heroism and sacrifice rule the day though and it is these two things which Hitchcock was attempting to realistically celebrate.

Given a limited showing throughout the Free French regions, 'Bon Voyage' remained a film that Hitchcock was fond of and was a film that Hitchcock considered expanding into a full feature after the war. Although lost in the shuffle and neglected by time, this isn't a bad film. It just remains under-exposed and under-appreciated.

"Bon Voyage" is a short, French-language film, one of two such features that Alfred Hitchcock made during World War II as a tribute to the French Resistance. It will be of special interest to fans of the great director, but it is also an interesting, exciting story that is worthwhile in its own right.

As the story opens, we meet a young Scottish pilot from the RAF who has successfully escaped German-occupied territory with help from the resistance. He is being de-briefed about his experiences by intelligence officials, and he goes back and relates for them (and for the audience) his exciting story. Then, in the second half, the officials take him back through the same events, to reveal some astounding surprises.

It is all nicely done in fine Hitchcock fashion. It is very much like a good episode from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and is about the same length.

Hitchcock fans should not miss "Bon Voyage", as there is nothing else quite like it in his movie credits. It is also a good story that should be of at least some interest to anyone interested in World War II films or spy dramas.

I recently watched Bon Voyage (1944) on Tubi. The storyline follows two refugees in a German prison camp who escape. They are forced to separate on their journey, with the Scottish refugee making it to the French resistance. As they begin asking him questions about his journey, it becomes apparent that nothing was as it appeared...

This short political propaganda film was directed by the iconic Alfred Hitchcock (Psycho) and stars John Blythe (The Happy Breed) and Janique Joelle. The names of most of the cast were kept a secret to protect them from the Nazis. The settings and circumstances pull the audience in, and the acting and dialogue are excellent, as you'd expect from Hitchcock. The characters are easy to root for, and while the cinematography hasn't aged perfectly, it's good enough for an espionage drama. The storyline is intense, and there's a great twist at the end.

In conclusion, Bon Voyage is a fun Hitchcock short film that brilliantly depicts the trials and tribulations of individuals during World War II. I would score this a 7/10 and recommend it to Hitchcock fans.