After reading the book, Young, Brave and Beautiful, which tells the tale of SOE agent Violette Szabo, I realized I needed to watch a vintage movie of her life. Carve her Name with Pride (1958) tells the tale of Violette and some of her compatriots. Starring Virginia McKenna and Paul Scofield, I had a bit of trouble tracking down a copy but, in the end, YouTube came through with a viewable version (if one ignores the Greek subtitles).
As noted in the previous book review blog, a friend and fellow author had brought the book to my attention. He also noted that the book “follows up on the old black and white film Carve her Name with Pride, one of my favourite WW2 films”. High praise indeed! So I settled down with my laptop and watched the movie and… it was very, very good!
The movie tells the story of Violette, but in a more chronological order than Tania Szabó’s book. We learn how Violette met her future husband, French Legionnaire Étienne Szabó, and then of his tragic death in North Africa. Violette is recruited by the Special Operations Executive who are entranced with her knowledge of the French language and culture. She would make a perfect SOE agent. We even get a glimpse into SOE training methods, things like self-defence, weapons and sabotage.
Her first mission to Rouen is a bit of a deviation from the book. In the movie, Violette heads out after curfew, during a bombing raid by the Allies, to try and find some of the members of the blown Salesman circuit. Not exactly how it happened in real life, but I gather this adds to the drama of the film.
Her second mission to the Sussac area ends with her capture. Again, not exactly as it took place in the book (and we presume in real life). The movie has her hot-heated Maquis driver shoot an approaching German motorcyclist as they try (and fail) to start their car. A second motorcyclist is shot by the Maquis, and then we see an approaching German convoy who, hearing the gunshots, pursue Violette and her comrade. Through meadows and forests, the pair run (and run and run) until Violette sprains her ankle. She holds the Nazis at bay while her comrade swims across a river to safety. Her subsequent interrogations and transfer to Ravensbrück are harrowing.
The movie was based on a book by the same name, authored by R.J. Minney in 1958. Given that the book was probably based on anecdotal accounts from various agents who knew Violette, it actually seems to hew fairly closely to the actual truth. The movie does take some liberties with timelines and relationships (Philippe Liewer and Harry Peulevé are condensed into the Tony Fraser character) creating a romance with Tony Fraser that may not have existed. We don’t learn a lot about her missions in Rouen or Sussac and that is probably for the best. The viewer won’t get confused by all of the circuits, cells and names/code names of various resistance operatives. We are left with a very compact list of characters and still get a very clear picture of Violette, her missions and her incredible bravery and resilience.
I found it interesting, in the end credits, to learn that Odette Hallowes (aka Odette Sansom or Odette Churchill) and Major L.P. Fernandez (a former SOE agent and instructor) had served as Technical Advisors on the film. Odette, like Violette, was an incredibly brave SOE agent, one of the few who survived execution by the Nazis. The historical accuracy of the film is likely a testament to their influence.
Review Score
5/5 – Highly recommend this movie. It is 66 years old but still imminently watchable and historically accurate (more or less).