Thriller,War,Drama
United Kingdom
Orders to Kill is a 1958 espionage thriller directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Paul Massie, Leslie French, and James Robertson Justice. The film is set in Paris during World War II, and follows the story of American fighter pilot, Lt. Col. Calvin Turner, who is grounded due to injury sustained while on a mission. He is approached by the British intelligence agency and offered a mission to go undercover as a journalist working on a story in Paris, with the goal to assassinate a small-time Parisian lawyer, Philippe Ledoux, who is suspected of selling out radio operators to the Nazis.
Turner is skeptical about the mission, especially as he has no experience as a spy and does not speak French. However, he is convinced to accept the mission when he is told that Ledoux may have information on the whereabouts of his old flame, a resistance fighter who disappeared while working in Paris. Turner is given a new identity and sent to Paris where he meets a contact who helps him navigate the city and gather information on Ledoux's whereabouts.
As he gets deeper into the mission, Turner discovers that the situation is more complicated than he thought, and that Ledoux may not be the traitor he was perceived to be. He must navigate the moral ambiguity of his mission and decides whether or not to carry out the assassination. Meanwhile, he meets an old acquaintance, Marianne, who he has not seen since before the war, and learns that she has become a collaborator with the Germans.
The tension builds as Turner becomes closer to Marianne and begins to question whether he can carry out his mission as planned. The film concludes with a climactic battle and a surprise twist ending that leaves Turner questioning what he has accomplished. Orders to Kill is a well-crafted espionage thriller that combines action, suspense, and complex moral themes.
