The Radio Times wrote, "the picture may appear overly reverent by today's standards. But this is still a crucial wartime spy tale that is well worth watching." [9] The Goon Show parody [ edit ] The exact identity of the "man who never was" has been the centre of controversy since the end of the war. On the one hand, certain accounts claim the true identity of "Major William Martin" was a homeless, alcoholic rat-catcher from Aberbargoed, Wales, Glyndwr Michael, who had died by self-administering a small dose of rat poison. However, in 2002, authors John and Noreen Steele published the non-fictional account of The Secrets of HMS Dasher, about an ill-fated escort carrier that exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde around the time Operation Mincemeat had commenced. The Steeles argued that "Major Martin's" body was actually that of seaman John Melville, one of the Dasher's casualties. Further, it has been reported that the accuracy of this claim was verified by the Royal Navy in late October 2004, [3] and a memorial service was held for Melville, in which he was celebrated as one whose "memory lives on in the film The Man Who Never Was... we are gathered here today to remember John Melville as a man who most certainly was." There is some circumstantial evidence that also supports the identity of the body used as being Melville's. [4] However, in fact, Professor Denis Smyth, a researcher at the University of Toronto, has counter-argued that Glyndwr Michael was indeed the real "Major Martin". To support his claims, Smyth published the contents of a secret memo and an official report, both authored by Ewen Montagu himself, confirming the Glyndwr Michael story. [5] I think it's no accident, in a way that some of the greatest novelists of the 20th Century were also spies: Somerset Maugham, Graham Greene, John Buchan, John Le Carré," says Macintyre. "So much of what spies do is to create a false world and convince someone else that is true."

Now, the film's arrival in UK cinemas (before it comes to Netflix in North and Latin America in May) coincides with the return to UK stages of a hit musical about the very same story, also called Operation Mincemeat. The show, devised by theatre company SpitLip, started life on the London fringe in 2019 and has since played several sell out runs at increasingly larger spaces. Jean is threatened by Teddy, a waiter at a club the team has frequented, claiming to be a spy for an anti-Hitler plot within Germany. She tells him that Major Martin was travelling under an alias but the classified information was genuine. After Teddy leaves, Jean informs Montagu and Cholmondeley. They come to believe that Colonel Alexis von Roenne, who controls intelligence in the German Army High Command, sent Teddy to verify information so Von Roenne could undermine Hitler. However, they have no way of being sure. Montagu takes Jean to his home for protection, but she accepts a job in Special Operations and soon leaves London.Weekend Box Office Results: Five Nights at Freddy’s Scores Monster Opening Link to Weekend Box Office Results: Five Nights at Freddy’s Scores Monster Opening Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 359

Operation Mincemeat is a 2021 war drama film directed by John Madden. It is based upon Ben Macintyre's book on the British Operation Mincemeat during the Second World War. The film stars Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Penelope Wilton, Johnny Flynn and Jason Isaacs. This was Paul Ritter's final film appearance, and was dedicated to his memory.The logic-defying plan risks the lives of thousands of soldiers and tests the nerves of its creators to breaking point. But will it succeed? Is Operation Mincemeat a true story? Although the main thrust of the film is historically accurate, the filmmakers made some omissions and additions that were not in MacIntyre's book, including the creation of a fictional sub-plot involving a love triangle between Montagu, Cholmondeley and Leslie. [9] Release [ edit ] During these events, the Allies are determined to launch an all-out assault on Fortress Europe. But they face an impossible challenge: to protect a massive invasion force from entrenched German firepower and avert a potential massacre.