the French coast. The raid is carried out and deemed successful, albeit with heavy losses. The film concludes back in England, as we observe two careless talkers on a train, as they are monitored by Agent 23, who is seen taking notes. Cast Mervyn Johns as No 23, Mr "Arthur Davis" John Chandos as No 16 Nova Pilbeam as Beppie Leemans Reginald Tate as Major Richards Stephen Murray as Mr Barratt Jack Hawkins as Brigade Major Harcourt (billed as 2nd Lt. Jack Hawkins) Geoffrey Hibbert as Private John Philip Friend as Lieutenant Cummins Phyllis Stanley as Miss Clare Mary Clare as Mrs. Webster Basil Sydney as a naval captain Joss Ambler as Mr Vemon Brefni O'Rorke as Brigadier Alexander Field as Private Durnford David Hutcheson as an intelligence officer Torin Thatcher as a German general Thora Hird as an ATS driver with a puncture Release and alternative American version The film opened at the Pavilion Cinema in London on 15 May 1942. The version shown then ran one hour and 42 minutes. The film opened at the Rialto Theater in New York City almost a year later, on 5 May 1943. On the advice of film mogul David O. Selznick, who believed that American audiences might get the impression that Britain was overrun with spies, the director, Thorold Dickinson, made drastic cuts to the running time, but also added two short extracts from a speech by J. Edgar Hoover as a framing device. This new version of the film ran for about 75 minutes. It is the version released on DVD in the United States by Alpha Video. References External links 1942 films British World War II propaganda films British spy films Ealing Studios films Films directed by Thorold Dickinson Films scored by William Walton 1940s spy films British black-and-white films 1940s war films 1940s English-language films