An ordinary girl called to greatness I scored this 9 as much for the story, a tribute to an ordinary young English girl from an English-French family, widowed, who served with British SOE. I found the story inspiring and moving. There were many others like Violette Szabo who also were captured, mercilessly tortured, gave up nothing and were executed.
A more recent film 'A Call to Spy', covers the story of Noor Inayat Khan, a Muslim Indian Princess, who volunteered for SOE. As a pacifist, she refused a weapon or a suicide pill. Betrayed, she gave nothing to her torturers and was executed.
The bravery of SOE agents is that 'pure' kind where people walk into extreme danger knowing that they have almost no chance to survive. Both Violette and Noor were awarded posthumously the George Cross, equal to the VC, Britain's highest award for bravery.
For more, I recommend Leo Mark's brilliant book, 'Between Silk and Cyanide'. Leo, a post WW2 screen writer, was at age 20 appointed SOE chief code maker. The beautiful poem used by Violette Szabo, was written by Leo for his girlfriend, killed in the war, and given to Violette. The book is informative, at times funny and also heartbreakingly sad. Leo knew all of the agents personally, briefing each and giving them their codes, and grieved their brutal deaths. The book was written in 1960 but not allowed to be published until 1998, due to the British Official Secrets Act, because he also described how he developed his codes.