In Stalag 17 there's a famous scene and line where the audience who now knows that Peter Graves is an agent is pitching horseshoes and trying to obtain information, as he lands one, an off screen voice says 'that's a ringer.'
The British prisoners, mostly from Dunkirk, who because of capture sat out the war have a ringer among them in The Captive Heart. It's Michael Redgrave, but his is not an espionage mission. He's a Czech who's escaped from a concentration camp and found himself on the battlefield where the defenseless British have surrendered. He takes the identity and uniform of a dead officer and is then 'caught' by the Germans.
To keep up the deception Redgrave writes letters back to his 'wife' in the United Kingdom, played by his real life wife Rachel Kempson. She and her real husband have not gotten along and truth be told his call up for war was greeted with some relief. But Redgrave wrote such poetical stuff she falls for him by correspondence.
Although Redgrave's story is the main plot line, there are others that are nicely acted. Young Gordon Jackson goes blind because of lack of proper care for his wounds and he gives a touching performance. And chief officer of the prisoners, Basil Radford is an inspiring leader among them, trying to keep up morale as best he can.
The Captive Heart is a tandem pulling of the strings on the auricle and ventricle of the viewer. It's a fine wartime romantic drama with equal accent on the war and the romance. It was done just as Michael Redgrave was reaching his heights as one of the United Kingdom's premier players. Try not to miss it if it is broadcast.
