Watch They Who Dare For Free

the audience applauded

It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"They Who Dare", which Lewis Milestone directed in 1953, comes across as a kind of preamble for "The Guns of Navarone" and was handsomely shot on location. It deals with the exploits of a small group of British and Greek soldiers tasked with blowing up German air bases on Rhodes but is rather lacking in action; most of the time is spent on the journey to the targets thought when the fighting does start it is lively enough. This is Dirk Bogarde in handsome, dashing leading man mode rather than Bogarde the actor he was ultimately to become and others in the cast include Denholm Elliot and Akim Tamiroff, though they are both wasted. It's hardly comparable to Milestone's other war movies but it's far from being a right-off either.

Please note that my vote of 9/10 applies only to the 92-minutes version. The 107 minutes version I would rate as 5/10, or maybe 6/10 at the most.The problem with the long version -- and the reason "They Who Dare" earned so many scathing and unenthusiastic reviews on its first release back in 1953 -- centers on inconsistencies and other defects in scriptwriter Robert Westerby's characterizations. Recognizing that these complaints were legitimate and that Dirk Bogarde's box office popularity was being undermined, the movie was withdrawn and expertly cut down to 92 minutes.As far as I'm concerned, the cutdown concentrates on action, and as these sequences are directed with Lewis Milestone's usual bravura, I'm not going to quibble about a few little, trifling elements of confusion that I may have in following the plotting and the storyline.

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.

Off hand I can't think of a single plus point for this one other than the appearance of Gerard Oury in a supporting role. Oury continued to act throughout his life, long after he had added writing and directing to his repertoire and at least the scenes he is in here are watchable. Pretty-boy Dirk Bogarde turns in another Rank Charm School performance and leads the over-acting, encouraging the likes of Eric Pohlman, Denholm Elliot and Sam Kydd to go OTT. It's difficult to imagine that a plot like this - small team of commandos sent to Rhodes to blow up a couple of airfields - had any mileage left in it by 1954, unless you lavished more than a stick of gum on the budget and thought in terms of Guns Of Navarone. Even as a freebie with a daily newspaper it's not worth the price of admission.