365+ movies in 365 Days: Day 106 - Alfred Hitchcock's Alventure Malgache

Today's film was a short film made by Alfred Hitchcock during WWII. By the time war broke out in Europe Hitchcock had already moved to the United States. But he felt a need to contribute to the war effort so he returned to Great Britain in 1943 and directed two propaganda films for the British Ministry of Information.  Both films, Bon Voyage and Aventure Malgache (Adventure In Madagascar) were aimed towards the French and were about the French resistance.

Aventure Malgache tells the two story of two men, a corrupt official and a lawyer who are on opposite sides. The official supports the new Third Reich supported Vichy government and the lawyer supports the allies. Their duel of personal animosity plays out on the island of Madagascar, during the early part of the war. The film is told in a flashback style by an actor discussing his role in the resistance.

the film has strong production values. The movie was made with French actors and technicians, all living in England and had fled France at the start of the war. The film itself is a curiosity. There are no other movies telling anything about how the war affected Madagascar or other Indian ocean countries. After the war the film was filed away at the British Film Institute and has rarely been seen until recently. In the meantime Hitchcock returned to Hollywood and resumed his career with Spellbound.

At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars (interesting but not worth seeking out unless you are purposely looking for examples of Hitchcock's early work)