Ready for a feature film that will knock your socks off and change your view of what Dad/Grandpa did in the war? Try Cloudburst, a 1951 film based on a play by Leo Marks.

Leo Marks, of course, was the cryptographer who worked for S.O.,E. He helped save civilisation. He also wrote the love poem 'The Life That I Have' – and then used it as a code. After the war, Marks became a playwright and screenwriter who explored psychological states, notably in the infamous film Peeping Tom. He has a lot to say about the human mind, especially in this film about codebreaking, revenge, and the legacy of World War II.

Do you remember what Colm Meaney, as Chief O'Brien, said to the Cardassian in Star Trek: The Next Generation? He said, 'I don't hate you. I hate what you made me become.' O'Brien was referring to the psychological damage inflicted by war. In this film, Marks is showing us how the hypervigilance imposed on the mind by the necessity of defeating an enemy like the Nazis bore fruit in a changed postwar outlook. You can't just turn these things off – you've got to come to terms with them.

It's a shame that the acting styles and camerawork of the time don't quite do justice to the subtlety of Marks' dialogue, but the film is really impressive for its day – or any other day. Also, stop and think: because of the Official Secrets Act and Cold War needs, it wasn't possible for people like Marks to tell us exactly what went on in those cryptography offices during the conflict. By projecting the story past the end of the war, Marks could give us a glimpse into cryptographers' methods. The geeks saved the world, you know, even if the guys with the guns got all the glory.

For an analysis of the deeper significance of this film to the field of semiotics, read 'Semionauts at Work', at this website. I quote the author:

So are cryptanalysts a secret society of the seeing in a world of the blind? During World War II – if Cloudburst, which was based on real-life cryptographer Leo Marks’ experiences, is a reliable indication – that’s exactly how they viewed themselves. Marks seems to have believed that this was a form of hubris, and that anyone who viewed himself that way was riding for a fall.

As I said, cryptography, mystery, and psychological analysis. And for once, the plot makes sense. You can't ask more than that.

PS FREEBIE FILM EXTRA: A short subject of ludicrous association. You might have done a double-take at Robert Preston in that film. You probably said, 'Huh? Isn't that Harold Hill from The Music Man?' or, 'Didn't I see that guy in a dress in Victor/Victoria?' Well, yes. Apparently, though, he used to be a leading man. Preston was, however, responsible for a record we were all forced to listen (and exercise) to in school. I can't avoid sharing this with you, it's historical. So click on the 'Chicken Fat' song. Preston as cheerleader. Of such things are memories made.