Operation Amsterdam
Encyclopedia
Operation Amsterdam is a 1959
British
action film
, directed by Michael McCarthy
, and featuring Peter Finch
, Eva Bartok
and Tony Britton
. It is based on a true story as described in the book Adventure in Diamonds, by David E Walker. The action of the story covers a few days in May 1940 when the Germans
invaded the Netherlands
. The composer Philip Green
composed two original pieces of music for the film, the Pierement Waltz
and the Amsterdam Polka
.
to secure stocks of industrial diamonds before the invaders can get to them. Accordingly, two Dutch
diamond experts, Jan Smit (Peter Finch
) and Walter Keyser (Alexander Knox
) with a British Army
Intelligence officer, Major Dillon (Tony Britton
), are dropped by ship off the Dutch coast. Dodging German bombs and suspicious Dutch police and soldiers, they commandeer a car driven by Anna (Eva Bartok
), whom they have just saved from trying to commit suicide
. The four of them drive to Amsterdam
.
They meet Jan's father at his diamond business house and he agrees to try to persuade other dealers to bring their diamonds later that day for transport to Britain. But as many of the stones are stored in a time-locked bank vault which won't open for 24 hours, they recruit a group of sabotage
experts to break in.
With the Dutch police, including suspected fifth columnists
, on their trail, the group manage to break into the vault and recover the diamonds. The three visitors make their escape whilst the armed Dutch helpers hold down the police and soldiers. They drive back to the coast, barely dodging German bombers.
As they embark on a commandeered tugboat
to take them back to the waiting ship, Anna elects to remain in the Netherlands and work with the nascent resistance movement
.
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
British
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
action film
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
, directed by Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy (film director)
Michael McCarthy was a British screenwriter and television and film director.-Selected filmography:Director* Assassin for Hire * Mystery Junction * Shadow of a Man * It's Never Too Late...
, and featuring Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
, Eva Bartok
Eva Bartok
Eva Bartok , born Eva Ivanova Szöke, was an actress born in Budapest, Hungary. She began acting in films in 1950 and her last credited appearance was in 1966...
and Tony Britton
Tony Britton
Anthony Edward Lowry "Tony" Britton is an English actor. He is the father of presenter Fern Britton, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton.-Life and career:...
. It is based on a true story as described in the book Adventure in Diamonds, by David E Walker. The action of the story covers a few days in May 1940 when the Germans
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
invaded the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The composer Philip Green
Philip Green (composer)
Philip Green , sometimes credited as Harry Philip Green, was a film and television composer and conductor. His father was Philip Green, a boot clicker, and his mother was Elizabeth Vogel. Green's first credited work was on 1943's The Sky's the Limit...
composed two original pieces of music for the film, the Pierement Waltz
Pierement Waltz
The "Pierement Waltz" is a piece of music composed by Philip Green for the 1959 film Operation Amsterdam, in which it was played on a Dutch street organ. The piece of music was later released on record to the general public....
and the Amsterdam Polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
.
Plot
In May 1940, as the German invasion of the Netherlands is underway, the British government decides to send a team to the Netherlands on board HMS WalpoleHMS Walpole (D41)
HMS Walpole was a W-class destroyer of the Royal Navy.The ship was built under the 1916-17 Programme in the 10th Destroyer order. Walpole was assigned to the 13th Destroyer Flotilla in the Grand Fleet after completion, and served until almost the end of the Second World War...
to secure stocks of industrial diamonds before the invaders can get to them. Accordingly, two Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
diamond experts, Jan Smit (Peter Finch
Peter Finch
Peter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
) and Walter Keyser (Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
) with a British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
Intelligence officer, Major Dillon (Tony Britton
Tony Britton
Anthony Edward Lowry "Tony" Britton is an English actor. He is the father of presenter Fern Britton, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton.-Life and career:...
), are dropped by ship off the Dutch coast. Dodging German bombs and suspicious Dutch police and soldiers, they commandeer a car driven by Anna (Eva Bartok
Eva Bartok
Eva Bartok , born Eva Ivanova Szöke, was an actress born in Budapest, Hungary. She began acting in films in 1950 and her last credited appearance was in 1966...
), whom they have just saved from trying to commit suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. The four of them drive to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
.
They meet Jan's father at his diamond business house and he agrees to try to persuade other dealers to bring their diamonds later that day for transport to Britain. But as many of the stones are stored in a time-locked bank vault which won't open for 24 hours, they recruit a group of sabotage
Sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening another entity through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. In a workplace setting, sabotage is the conscious withdrawal of efficiency generally directed at causing some change in workplace conditions. One who engages in sabotage is...
experts to break in.
With the Dutch police, including suspected fifth columnists
Fifth column
A fifth column is a group of people who clandestinely undermine a larger group such as a nation from within.-Origin:The term originated with a 1936 radio address by Emilio Mola, a Nationalist General during the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War...
, on their trail, the group manage to break into the vault and recover the diamonds. The three visitors make their escape whilst the armed Dutch helpers hold down the police and soldiers. They drive back to the coast, barely dodging German bombers.
As they embark on a commandeered tugboat
Tugboat
A tugboat is a boat that maneuvers vessels by pushing or towing them. Tugs move vessels that either should not move themselves, such as ships in a crowded harbor or a narrow canal,or those that cannot move by themselves, such as barges, disabled ships, or oil platforms. Tugboats are powerful for...
to take them back to the waiting ship, Anna elects to remain in the Netherlands and work with the nascent resistance movement
Dutch resistance
Dutch resistance to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands during World War II can be mainly characterized by its prominent non-violence, summitting in over 300,000 people in hiding in the autumn of 1944, tended to by some 60,000 to 200,000 illegal landlords and caretakers and tolerated knowingly...
.
Cast
- Peter FinchPeter FinchPeter Finch was a British-born Australian actor. He is best remembered for his role as "crazed" television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and a...
as Jan Smit - Eva BartokEva BartokEva Bartok , born Eva Ivanova Szöke, was an actress born in Budapest, Hungary. She began acting in films in 1950 and her last credited appearance was in 1966...
as Anna - Tony BrittonTony BrittonAnthony Edward Lowry "Tony" Britton is an English actor. He is the father of presenter Fern Britton, scriptwriter Cherry Britton and actor Jasper Britton.-Life and career:...
as Major Dillon - Alexander KnoxAlexander KnoxAlexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
as Walter Keyser - Malcolm KeenMalcolm KeenMalcolm Keen was an English film and television actor.Born in Bristol, Keen was an early collaborator with the director Alfred Hitchcock, starring in his silent films The Mountain Eagle, The Lodger and The Manxman.Keen was the father of actor Geoffrey Keen, and the two both played Iachimo in...
as Johan Smit - Christopher RhodesChristopher RhodesSir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet was an English film and television actor.-Early life:Rhodes was the only son of Sir John Rhodes, 2nd Baronet, and was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War he served with the Essex Regiment, reaching the rank...
as Alex - Alfred BurkeAlfred BurkeAlfred Burke was a British actor, best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series Public Eye, which ran on television for ten years.-Early life:...
as Dealer - Tim TurnerTim TurnerNot to be confused with the TV character Timmy Turner of The Fairly OddParents.Tim Turner , was a British actor who performed in the 1950s and 1960s....
as Dutch lieutenant - Carl JaffeCarl JaffeCarl Jaffe was a German Jewish actor. Jaffe trained on the stage in his native Hamburg, Kassel and Wiesbaden before moving to Berlin, where his career took off....
as Diamond merchant - John HorsleyJohn Horsley (actor)John L. Horsley is an English actor. He was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England.He made his acting debut at the Theatre Royal in Bournemouth. His early career saw him playing a succession of doctors and policemen, the former on film in Hell Drivers , the latter on television in Big...
as Commander Bowerman - Keith PyottKeith PyottKeith Pyott was a British actor.He transferred from stage to screen and was a regular face in drama in the early days of television, appearing in The Prisoner, Out of the Unknown, The Avengers, and the Doctor Who story The Aztecs.He also appeared in over twenty feature films, including Orson...
as Diamond merchant - Melvyn HayesMelvyn HayesMelvyn Hayes is an English actor probably best known for playing the effeminate Gunner "Gloria" Beaumont in the 1970s BBC sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum,-Early life and career:...
as Willem - Oscar QuitakOscar QuitakOscar Quitak is a British film and television actor.His television credits include: Z-Cars, Man in a Suitcase, Doomwatch, Ace of Wands, Colditz, The Changes, The New Avengers, Open All Hours, Kessler as Josef Mengele, Chessgame, Howards' Way, A Very British Coup, Yes, Prime Minister and...
as Diamond merchant - George PravdaGeorge PravdaGeorge Pravda was a Czechoslovakian film and television actor.He began his career in Czechoslovakia, where he was credited as Jirí Pravda, and then emigrated to the United Kingdom....
as Portmaster - Peter SwanwickPeter SwanwickPeter Swanwick was a British actor best remembered as the "Supervisor" in the 1967 TV series, The Prisoner...
as Peter - John BaileyJohn Bailey (actor)John Bailey was a British actor with an extensive television repertoire.He played Edward Waterfield in the Doctor Who story The Evil of the Daleks in 1967, alongside Patrick Troughton and Marius Goring; and had previously appeared in the serial The Sensorites in 1964; and returned as Sezon in The...
as Officer - John Le MesurierJohn Le MesurierJohn Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:...
as Dutch Colonel
External links
- Adventure in Diamonds — source novel