GManfred I am a great fan of WWII movies, especially the ones concerning the resistance. To me, there is nothing better than a good film about the underground - British, Dutch, French, whatever, and "Against The Wind" is a good one. It takes a while to get going; there are many scenes setting up the planned rescue in Belgium and some time is spent on character development. A team of five are in the plan, and, of course, one is a double agent working for the Nazis.As in many such movies, the Nazis are slow-witted bumblers, which always adds to my enjoyment even if a caricature. The action here is fast-paced and is in the second half of the picture and is one reason for my rating. The other reason is Simone Signoret, who I consider the best actress to ever grace the silver screen. She is aided and abetted by an able cast including Robert Beatty, Jack Warner and Gordon Jackson. If you are a fan of spy movies you should catch this one.

GUENOT PHILIPPE I did not know this film about French Belgian resistance army. I did not know either that Chuck Crichton made such non comedy features, and I am not disappointed at all. And Simone Signoret gives here one of the three French partisan character she had - and maybe more, I don't exactly know - in her career. Before Jean-Pierre Melville's ARMEE DES OMBRES and René Clément's LE JOUR ET L'HEURE. She is awesome here and I don't understand the reviews against this movie. I just discover it after decades of film passion. Later is better than never.

geoffholman2003 this is an excellent film of the mid Ealing period Critchton's tight direction and Bridgewaters music intertwined with each characters role in the film is truly marvellous! as time has passed all but one of the cast members have died, with the exception of Giselle Preville who plays Julie the wireless operator. i have watched this film many times and cannot get enough of the opening score by Bridgewater. i throughly recommend this film as an all time Ealing great, although many Ealing aficionados will probably not agree, as it received a very Luke warm reception in 1948 possibly due to public tiredness of all things to do with war.

Terrell-4 It's 1943 and a team of saboteurs, some British and some Belgian, are being trained to parachute into Belgium to cause as much damage to the Nazis as they can. After they've landed London learns that one is a traitor. Sound familiar? But this movie is very well done. The heroics are underplayed even though half of the team dies. A special mission they're given is carried out cleverly and reasonably realistically.Among the team members is a young Simone Signoret. In my opinion, over the years she developed into an extraordinarily effective actor. Here, she reflects determination, anguish and a desire not to let herself become emotionally entangled. She discovers the identity of the traitor while they are alone in a farmhouse. He's shaving and she's on the transmitter getting a message from London. The message gives the traitor's name. She picks up her pistol, calls the guy's name so he faces her, and without hesitation shoots him. A very tidy, tough scene. She and a young team member played by Gordon Jackson eventually reach a romantic understanding. Because of Signoret's fierceness as an actor it was a little like watching a teen-age cocker spaniel falling in love with a young tigress.The movie didn't do well when it was released. Some said that it was too close to the war years; nostalgia for courage and victory hadn't set in as it did during the Fifties. Signoret was, in my opinion, one of the great actors of her time with a career that spanned over 40 years. Check out the span with her performance here -- young, hurt, determined and a great looker, with Room at the Top (1959) -- pushing 40, melancholy, sexy, knowing, with Madame Rosa (1977) -- tender up to a point and looking every inch plus more of her age. As she got older she put on weight and didn't seem to give a damn. I doubt if a surgeon's touch-up scalpel ever tightened her face. And Yves Montand was fascinated enough by her for their marriage to last 34 years until her death.