They Who Dare (1954)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

THEY WHO DARE is one of the more disappointing WW2 movies I've watched. Where the film should be tense and exciting it just sort of trudges along through the story, much like the same characters. Despite the narrative being chock-full of dramatic events, nothing in the picture is ever very exciting, and you don't end up caring much about the fate of the characters one way or the other. It keeps you watching throughout, but I was expecting to be on the edge of my seat and I never was.The story is about a squad of British commandos who arrive on the island of Rhodes with the objective of blowing up a German airfield. Their mission is full of the usual problems and complexities, and things are far from over when they finally arrive at their destination. The film is full of stunning Greek scenery and has some strong character work from the likes of Akim Tamiroff, but the plodding pace and seeming disinterest of the director works against it.Dirk Bogarde is a good choice for the youthful hero, tough and yet humane at the same time. I've always been a fan of Denholm Elliott so there's nothing to complain about there either. In addition, character actors who are usually limited to brief cameo parts in low budget movies, such as Sam Kydd and Eric Pohlmann, get bigger and better roles than usual. The story has the sting of realism to it, but at the same time remains uninvolving throughout. I've not seen any of Lewis Milestone's other movies so I can't say how much he's to fault.

They Who Dare is directed by Lewis Milestone and written by Robert Westerby. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Denholm Elliott, Akim Tamiroff, William Russell, Eric Pohlmann and Harold Siddons. Music is by Robert Gill and cinematography by Wilkie Cooper.It's "men on a mission" time as Special Commandos and some Greek partisans meet up on Rhodes to blow up two German airfields. And that's about it really, oh of course there's problems along the way such as questions of loyalty, hazards and set-backs such as minefields, and talking – lots of talking - as the men stand or sit around pondering the war and or - their own inadequacies etc. When the big action finale comes it is kind of worth the wait, but the performances are only adequate throughout and the script is lazily written to the point of tedium setting in. 5/10

Not sure what I expected from this one. Dirk Bogarde is my favorite actor and I have had pleasant encounters with Milestone as well. Here the latter screws up on multiple occasions.First off the cinematography is way too light and some of the shots are rather clumsy. The script could be faltered as well. And some of the acting, especially from the one playing a character who keeps singing this awful and quite annoying tune.Mind you it's not bad. Bogarde's performance makes it worth while. But really if it hadn't been for him this would have been below mediocrity. It got a few strong moments and whenever Bogarde is on screen you nearly forget everything else that has been going on.I will not recommend this but overall it was OK. I think the casting apartment did some horrible choices though.

This film will be of great interest to WW2 Aviation enthusiasts as it features several authentic Italian Savoia - Marchetti S.M. 79 three - motor bombers. These aircraft were provided by the Lebanese Air Force which was the last operator of the type.I would make an educated guess that this film was shot on Cyprus as there is an abundance of British Army trucks and armoured cars modified and painted to resemble German vehicles. A Bristol Beaufighter aircraft can also be briefly glimpsed during the airfield attack sequence.The special effects ,such as model aircraft being blown up, are not up to modern standards but they are no worse than other 1950s war movies such as "The Dambusters".