Secret Army (1977-1979)

Name: Secret Army
Genre: Drama, War
Released: 2021-02-06T16:22:06+01:00
Rating: 4.44
Cast: Christopher Neame, Valentine Dyall, Bernard Hepton

Drama | 3 seasons

3 seasons

4,44 16 votes

State: Ended

Genre: Drama

Origin: United Kingdom

Developed by: Gerard Glaister

Stars: Bernard Hepton, Angela Richards and Clifford Rose

IMDb score: 8,5 (1.797)

Releasedate: Wednesday 7 September 1977

This TV Show is not available on US streaming services.

Secret Army plot

Secret Army tells the story of a Belgian escape route and the people involved. Lisa Colbert, a Belgian nurse and founder of the secret organization 'Lifeline', helps, under the code name 'Yvette', to take British pilots to safer places. Lifeline's headquarters is 'Le Candide', a Brussels restaurant owned by Albert Foiret and frequently visited by German officers. The Dutch Natalie and Monique, Albert's mistress, are also Lisa's loyal helpers. However, the operation of Lifeline is threatened by the German occupier.

Seasons

4,17 (6)
Secret Army - Season 1 (1977)
4,60 (5)
Secret Army - Season 2 (1978)
4,60 (5)
Secret Army - Season 3 (1979)

Full Cast & Crew

Actors and actresses

Richard Marner

Flight Lt. Andre De Beers

Videos and trailers

All Media

Secret Army - Resistance Fighters Ambushed

Opinions about Secret Army

The reviews and comments below are selected at random from our extensive user contributions. If you want to write a review or post a comment yourself, you can do so on a specific season page.

Dievegge

224 comments
935 votes

Tuesday 22 June 2021

Secret Army season 1

This co-production by BBC and BRT was widely viewed at the time, but is in danger of being unjustly forgotten. Every now and then a sentence of Dutch can be heard, but the French-speaking inhabitants of Brussels and the Germans speak English with an accent, without this having a disturbing effect. This would later be parodied in 'Allo 'Allo! Unfortunately, the parody has become more famous than the original.

Café Le Candide was located on the Grand Place in Brussels. The Gestapo headquarters was on Avenue Louise. Many real events were involved. The authors had a thorough historical knowledge of the Occupation in Belgium. They created exciting intrigue, lively dialogue and layered characters who were confronted with ethical dilemmas.

Albert poses as a collaborator, but his cafe is a cover for an escape line for British pilots. Through Lisa (code name Yvette) and Natalie, attention is paid to the role women played in this period. Each episode they must outsmart the Germans, with the danger of being exposed and the uncertainty of who you can and cannot trust. The resistance, the black market, communists, deserters, collaborators and black whores are discussed. With the Germans there is a clash between two styles. Sturmbannführer Kessler is the hardline Gestapo leader; Major Brandt of the Luftwaffe is more diplomatic and gentle, but sometimes more dangerous.

The actors often had a theater background. Stars include Juliet Hammond-Hill as waitress Natalie, Christopher Neame as British envoy Curtis, and Michael Culver as Major Brandt. Clifford Rose in the role of the stiff Kessler would later get its own spin-off.