Movie Description
Parachutists hurtle out of the sky toward the camera as the credits of AGAINST THE WIND unfurl. Made less than three years after WWII ended, AGAINST THE WIND shows a group of Belgians, Jacques (Paul Dupuis), Emile (John Slater), and Michèle (Simone Signoret), Scotsman Johnny (Gordon Jackson), and Irishman Max (Jack Warner) going behind enemy lines to join the Belgian resistance.
In AGAINST THE WIND, Charles Crichton--best known as a comedy director (HUE AND CRY, THE LAVENDER HILL MOB, A FISH CALLED WANDA)--proves he is adept at showing the intricacies of military planning. The movie provides a primer on how to mount an operation to rescue a captive on a train by systematically isolating a passenger car from the rest of the train.
Crichton does well by his actors--John Slater as the disguised Emile, longing to see his wife; Paul Dupuis, unable to explain his masquerade as a German; and the youthful Gordon Jackson as the heroic Johnny. Jack Warner, cast against type, is all oily charm as the nosy Max. And anyone who thinks English cinema, and Ealing's movies in particular, are soft should see Simone Signoret's brutal efficiency as she deals with a double agent.
| Credits | | Producer: | Michael Balcon, Sidney Cole | | Cast: | Alan Osbiston, George Kersen, Gilbert Davis, Giselle Preville, Helen Hanson, Jean Pierre Hambye, John Slater, Kenneth Hyde, Leo De Pokorny, Margot Lassner, Martin Bradley, Olaf Olsen, Robert Wyndham, Sheila Carty |
Notes
AGAINST THE WIND was released in London, England, in February 1948.
Art director J. Elder Wills is also credited with writing the original story for the movie.
AGAINST THE WIND is one of French actress Simone Signoret's first starring roles. It precedes her great performances in Max Ophuls's LA RONDE, Jacques Becker's CASQUE D'OR, Henri-Georges Clouzot's DIABOLIQUE, and Jack Clayton's ROOM AT THE TOP--for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress in 1960.
Jack Warner is cast against type. He usually appears in more sympathetic roles. Warner's most notable role is as Police Constable George Dixon. He first appears as Dixon in THE BLUE LAMP, which is directed by Basil Deardon and based on a story by Ted Willis. The character was so popular that Willis revived him--literally, as Dixon is gunned down in THE BLUE LAMP--for a televsion series. DIXON OF DOCK GREEN, starring Warner in the title role, ran on British TV for 23 years, from 1955 to 1978.
AGAINST THE WIND features one of Gordon Jackson's first roles. The versatile actor went on to a long career as a character actor. He is best known for his role is in TV's UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS, which ran from 1971 to 1975. Jackson played the head butler, Mr Hudson.
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