I admit to being a fan of Colin Firth, and the two movies I’ve watched recently just happen to have him in both!
Operation Mincemeat was the code name assigned to a British wartime deception in 1943. In trying to convince the Germans that they planned to invade Greece (and not Sicily), a crazy plan was conceived to plant misleading documents on a corpse (dressed as a British officer) and release it off the coast of Spain. The Spanish (technically neutral) found the body and (eventually) returned the briefcase of documents to the British but… the sealed letters had been opened. Had the Spanish allowed the Germans access to the documents? Had the Germans taken the bait? Would they shift their troops from Sicily to Greece? Yes, yes and yes!
The tale of Operation Mincemeat has been well-told by Ben MacIntyre in his 2010 book titled the same. I have yet to read the book, but based on MacIntyre’s other books, and reader reviews of his Mincemeat one, I would say that it is probably factually accurate, and well worth a read.
The movie, which is based on MacIntyre’s book, takes many factual liberties, as movies sometimes do, but, despite that, is still worth watching. They do a moderately good job of sticking to the overall framework of the story, but within that framework, there are many fictional or slightly fudged elements.
- Did they consult coroner Bentley Purchase? Yes, they did, but they also consulted Sir Bernard Spilsbury.
- Was there a romantic love triangle between Montague, Cholmondeley and Jean Leslie? No, there wasn’t… that is purely a cinematic romance.
- Was Montague’s brother, Ivor, really a Soviet spy? Probably not, although he was a Communist.
- Did Jean Leslie’s American GI boyfriend provide the “live” photographs of the fictional Major Martin? No, he did not. That duty went to Ronnie Reed, an MI5 officer.
- Did the dead man’s sister show up to claim his body? Nope, never happened.
- Did Charles Cholmondeley board the Seraph submarine in Scotland and accompany the fictional Major Martin to his place of release? No, he did not.
- Did the bartender, Teddy, really threaten Jean Leslie in her apartment? No, Teddy is a fictional character.
- Did Naval Attaché, Captain David Ainsworth, seduce the Spanish secret police officer? No. Captain David Ainsworth didn’t even exist.
- And more pressingly, is that really how you pronounce Cholmondeley – as Chum-lee? Yes it is, and it is mystifying to me.
Overall, the movie was entertaining (at least to me, but then I like Colin Firth) and moved along at a quick pace. We are also introduced to a young Ian Fleming (who later wrote the James Bond stories) and are even given a quick peak into the “Q” section where the boffins were hard at work creating (and dismantling) secret gadgets. And, the movie did inspire me to actually buy MacIntyre’s book and it’s now on my reading pile (along with a host of other books).
If you haven’t seen the movie, I do recommend it. I admit to being completely distracted by the actor who played Admiral Godfrey. He looked so darn familiar… and I couldn’t pin him down… until I finally figured out where I had seen him… in the Harry Potter movies!