Directed by Anthony Asquith (who also directed Pygmalion, The Browning Version and Underground, and is remembered as the Great Uncle to Helena Bonham-Carter and the son of former UK Prime Minister H. H. Asquith), Orders to Kill is a 1958 espionage thriller set during the Second World War, starring Eddie Albert (Roman Holiday, The Heartbreak Kid and The Longest Yard), Paul Massie (The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll, Call Me Genius and Sapphire), silent film legend Lillian Gish (Night of the Hunter, The Wind and The Whales of August) and James Robertson Justice (Guns of Navarone, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Doctor series of films). 

A young American soldier, Gene Summers (Massie) is parachuted into occupied France during World War II with the express aim of murdering a member of the French resistance who has turned traitor. After meeting Lafitte (Leslie French, The Leopard and The Avengers TV series), Summers decides he can’t complete the task he was sent to do as Lafitte has risked his own safety to protect Summers from the Nazis by hiding him in his office and he asks his contact Leonie (Irene Worth, Deathtrap, King Lear and Nicholas and Alexandra) if perhaps the resistance were mistaken in their beliefs about Lafitte. Leonie insists that he must carry out his mission, and he returns to Lafitte, intent on betraying his own thoughts. This opens up an ethical quandary in Summers about doing the right thing for the greater good or following one's own beliefs.

Orders to Kill feels very realistic at times, the performances of the cast are all very good but understated, and it’s difficult to pick a standout performer, although Irene Worth and Paul Massie share some excellent screen time together. The original story was written by Donald Downes, who was an OSS officer during the war, which probably goes some way to explaining the realism on display. Ultimately, the film is a very strong, but often forgotten entry in the British war movie genre, and as such is very deserving of this new limited edition Blu-ray release from Powerhouse/Indicator in the US. Surely, a UK release will follow in the near future? 

As well as the newly remastered print of the movie, the disc features an interview with producer Anthony Havelock-Allan, a career analysis of director Asquith by Matthew Sweet, and a Ministry of Information short film from 1944 called Two Fathers by Asquith. There is also a limited edition booklet featuring a new essay from Adam Scovell. 

If you’re looking for a good, underappreciated war movie, then this is definitely worth your time. It’s not a genre that I am a big fan of, but I found myself invested in the storytelling and enjoying the performances.