"Open wide, Adolf - the dentists are coming!" An obscure chapter in the history of English eccentricity comes under the microscope in this World War Two yarn, which tells the strange-but-true story of two army dentists - a crusty, over-the-hill sergeant (Kenneth Cranham) and a gormless, eager-to-please private (Leo Bill) - who invaded occupied France in 1942 and succeeded in blowing up a German radar station.
In the hands of director John Henderson (the genius who brought us Bring Me the Head Of Mavis Davis), it's a nostalgic caper that will no doubt appeal to lovers of Dad's Army and 'Allo, 'Allo. But while the film boasts an agreeably quirky sense of humour ("God bless the lunatics! Without them this war really could be quite serious," mutters Derek Jacobi's urbane intelligence officer) and a strong cast of British character actors, it's ultimately as inconsequential and redundant as the "mission" it so glowingly celebrates.
