Orders To Kill (1958)

A young American bomber pilot (Paul Massie) is sent to Nazi occupied France to kill a man (Leslie French) who is believed to be a traitor and double agent. But when he meets his intended victim, he finds a gentle cat loving, henpecked husband who dotes on his daughter. The pilot begins to have doubts on the guilt of his target and wavers. Directed by Anthony Asquith (THE VIPS), this is a powerful film that has me perplexed on why it isn't better known. It won three BAFTA awards (including a deserved best actress win for Irene Worth's performance) but it's a film that one doesn't hear being discussed much. It posits a difficult conundrum in respect to war. Does one obey orders even if it goes against your intuition that what you're doing is wrong? Does the fact that innocent people are killed in wars all the time matter when dealing with the individual? Does duty come before morality? The film wisely doesn't attempt to answer these questions but rather put it out there and lets us work it out for ourselves. Heaven forbid anyone should be in the position of Massie's character. A disturbing but powerful film that deserves to be seen. Paul Massie, Irene Worth as his Paris contact and Leslie French as the target all give excellent performances. With Eddie Albert, Lillian Gish, James Robertson Justice and Lionel Jeffries.