The Scarlet Coat (1955)

In 1780 at the height of the American Revolution, an officer (Cornel Wilde) goes undercover to the British as a turncoat and convinces them of his willingness to spy on the Americans. In reality, his mission is to discover who the high ranking traitor on the American side that is supplying the British with inside information. Loosely based on the relationship of the British Major John Andre (Michael Wilding), who was hung by the Americans, and the American Benjamin Tallmadge (Wilde's character who is called Bolton here) with more speculation than fact. Films on the American Revolution haven't fared well but this one is provocative enough to get a pass. The relationship between Wilding (who's surprisingly good) and Wilde provides the film with a moral conundrum regarding duty, honor, loyalty and friendship that elevates the film somewhat over the usual historical adventure. Even the romance subplot between Wilde and Anne Francis, as the daughter of a British loyalist but with rebel sympathies of her own, doesn't follow the usual angle but instead is unresolved with a poignant ambiguity. Directed by John Sturges (THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN). With George Sanders, John McIntire, John Dehner, Rhys Williams, Bobby Driscoll and as Benedict Arnold, Robert Douglas.