Secret Army

1977

Seasons & Episodes

  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8.5| 0h30m| en| More Info
Released: 07 September 1977 Ended
Producted By: BBC
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00tklpx
Synopsis

World War II drama about covert organisation Lifeline helping allied airmen escape after being shot down in occupied Europe, working with the Resistance and hiding from the Gestapo.

... View More
Stream Online

Stream with Freevee

Director

Producted By

BBC

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Images

Reviews

ThrillMessage There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.
Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.
filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.
Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
chrissso Season 2 & 3 of this late 70's BBC series weren't released in the US ... and that should have been my big hint! Ignoring the writing on the wall I popped in disk 1 in and gave it a whirl. This experiment lasted 1.5 episodes. Really when you think about it most late 70's BBC shows were really bad and I remember having the same revulsion when I watched "Enemy At The Door" about 20 years ago.Stagey and slow ... lots of film noir camera shots but no FN music ... bad acting ... and all those unrelenting close ups of people's faces ... it made me feel claustrophobic.This is not good TV and that is too bad as it is an excellent idea for a series.BTW: To show IMDb what I think of their disabling their message boards, I am vowing to stop using Amazon's pay per view service! Google Play, VUDU and Netflix are excellent alternatives ... and are often cheaper. Thanks IMDb/Amazon ... way to treat your dedicated customers who want to share their passion for films and history!
Margaret Swift I watched this the first time round and loved it. I then bought the box set earlier this year and I am watching it as I exercise on my treadmill - my exercise time has risen dramatically! I am loving it all over again and as it is so long since I saw it I really cannot remember what happens next! I would recommend it to anyone who loves suspense and WW11. The one thing I would love to know though is where some of the external town shots were taken. Anything I read says some external scenes were shot in Brussels but some of them look more like Ghent or one of the more provincial cities or towns. Does anyone have any knowledge of where external scenes in Belgium were shot?
Theo Robertson The 1970s was undoubtedly the golden age of British television . There were so many great shows , everything from the Jon Pertwee and early Tom Baker episodes of DOCTOR WHO , THE SWEENEY , THE PROFFESIONALS , FALWTY TOWERS and a dozen other shows that I could list off the top of my head . Perhaps that's why I'd forgotten all about SECRET ARMY a show that I've just been watching again on one of the history channels on freeview and I'm instantly reminded as to how great it was and left me me wondering slightly as to how I'd forgotten it . Actually I think I know why it's unfairly forgotten but I'll explain in a moment What's so striking is how much thought has gone in to the series . Producer and series creator Gerald Glaister spent the second world war as a bomber pilot and this brings a personal dimension to a series like this . Imagine for a second how much inferior this drama would have been if it'd been produced today by someone from an academic media studies background . It'd almost be a parody wouldn't it ? Take notice too that each and every episode was inspired by actual events that took place during the war and how much research went in to every script . It's sad that today we rarely see if ever such thought go in to a drama SECRET ARMY is drama ith a capital D . Even if you've little interest in the second world war you can't fail to notice the rich characterisation and intelligent writing . This greatly helps the cast and draws the audience in to on screen events as the Belgian " Lifeline " resistance try to help downed allied bomber crews escape to a neutral country where they'll eventually be repatriated to Britain . It's interesting to note that there's so much moral ambiguity involved . Series hero Albert for instance isn't only painted as a Belgian freedom loving patriot , he's also someone who accepts sums of money from the Brirtish government which helps him run an exclusive restaurant and he hates communists , not as much as his right hand man and confessed thief Max Brocard , but still someone who's not got a selfless motive for helping the allies . There's also doubt in his mind after a main character is written out of the first series in a cruelly ironic way but the money sure comes handy . Likewise the series " Good German " Major Erwin Brandt almost beats an RAF airman to death , a bomb aimer who is only saved by the intervention of gestapo chief Ludwig Kessler Ludwig Kessler deserves his own paragraph because he is quite simply one of the greatest characters created for British television . Again imagine if he was a character created today he'd be portrayed as one of those " Ve have vays of making you talk Englander " goose stepping stereotypes . He is a three dimensional character who is obviously capable of great cruelty but who is also very intelligent and is driven by a desire to bring order to the world . He is someone who never fails to point out to the other characters " That every hour of the day and night German women and children are being murdered in large numbers by American and British terror raids " . You're not going to like him but you can understand what's motivating him . Praise too for the acting of Clifford Rose who gives a restrained and very subtle performance . Look closely and you'll notice one of Kessler's personal flaws is that he seems very lonely . You could almost feel sorry for him if he wasn't a gestapo head So why is this show forgotten ? One reason only and that's 'ALLO 'ALLO is directly based upon it . A comedy show that ran for ten years based upon a spoof premise and endless repetitive lines like " Good moaning ... " you stupid woman " and " the madonna with the flashing boobies " YAWN . You quickly become so bored with that comedy show that you quickly forget what inspired it . Perhaps when I say you'll forget all about Renee and the camp Nazis when you watch the repeats of SECRET ARMY you will realise what a genuinely great drama it is
opusv5 This series played a few years ago on the "History Channel." It was, to me, good from first episode to last. The acting, dialogue, situations were true to life. One could, in tiny roles, see actors such as David Neilson (Roy on Coronation Street) as a young German officer. That the Gestapo officer played by Clifford Rose escapes at the end is realistic: though he is reprehensible, we are made to understand him. If this show isn't available on video, is hopefully will be.

Similar Movies to Secret Army