Appointment with Venus (1951)

Perfectly adorable

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

There are women in the film, but none has anything you could call a personality.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

The British garrison has been evacuated from the Channel Islands and soon after the Germans occupy the islands. The British send a very small expedition force to attempt to transport back to Britain a prize Guernsey cow named Venus. The Nazi commandant of the island recognizes the breeding value of this cow makes plans to have her shipped to Germany. The key members of the rescue team are Glynis Johns and David Niven - two actors who never disappoint. The commandant is a sympathetic character who treats the islanders with great respect. It's all rather bucolic and pleasant with just one nasty Nazi soldier who provides the tension to the story. It's a charming and engaging movie set in a fascinating locale and a reminder of a perhaps little remembered fact of this German occupation. The print I saw of this was great and I'll be watching this movie again.

The Nazi's have taken over the Channel Islands, and they are after the native's prized cow, Venus. The islanders, determined to prevent this, gather together to foil them, and utilize every means necessary to stop them. What this is really telling us is that what may seem silly to us on the surface is really much more important than it seems. Venus, expected to give birth any day, and the islanders utilize British intelligence (lead by David Niven) to get Venus out of the country before she is given into the Nazi's hands. Glynis Johns ("Mary Poppins") plays a native of the Channel Islands, the sister of a controversial artist, who returns to her home not only to rescue Venus but get her brother out of there as well. This light-hearted drama reminds us that what is sometimes taken for granted or seems inconsequential can really make the difference when an innocent land is pummeled into war and taken over by a nasty force such as Nazi Germany. There is a revealing scene about the German Officer who disciplines one of his soldiers for cruelty, slapping him then telling him that he is one of the reasons why the world hates the Germans. They don't sugarcoat this officer; he is still determined to do his job, yet he shows a softness that is sometimes missing from portrayals of a people who were not all stereotypically hard-nosed or evil.

A 1951 trifle about a team stealing a prize cow from under the noses of the Germans who have occupied one of the Channel Islands.There's no other animal in the world like it, we're told. And, further, it was recently impregnated by a prize bull, now demised. It's a symbol of national pride as much as anything else, the ultimate ungulate.So a team is organized to abduct the cow, named Venus, from its island and bring it back to the green fields of England. It's a diverse group, as these teams always are. Led by Major David Niven, they include wide-eyed Glynis Johns, rescued from a kitchen in Wales because she is a native of Amorel Island, and Noel Purcell, an Irish fisherman who is suddenly taken drunk from time to time, but who is able to navigate among the rocks, channels, and kills of the moral Amorel.There are moments of slight comedy, and some tension builds towards the end when the torpedo boat carrying the team and its prize are pursued by a Nazi E boat, but it's all pretty schematic. Kenneth More is an islander who now pays no attention to politics and glumly devotes himself to his painting. He opposes war and violence, but he's won over.There's nothing much to applaud in the film. We see a lot of rugged islanders talking. We see a civilized German commanding officer who doesn't want to see anyone get hurt. We see the team disguised as simple farmers or fishermen dashing about, sometimes tugging a cow behind them. We see Venus give birth and everyone's face glows with a sort of pleasure that strikes me as a little perverse. What's so hot about a new-born calf? In Samoa, nobody would even be allowed to WATCH the calving because it's considered dirty.At any rate, there's never any real doubt that Venus will be rescued from the Huns. It's not especially funny and it's not very dramatic. What's all the fuss?

Who in their right minds would mount a commando raid to rescue a cow ?Only the Brits. Venus was in fact a Gurnsey Cow. A champion milk producer.And the envy of Hitler, who wanted to breed her capabilities into the Teutonic herds that he had proclaimed to be the world's best.Thus for reasons of morale the Brits mounted a commando operation to snatch Venus right from under the noses of the German occupiers of her island home. A wonderful movie Starring David Niven and Glynis Johns,recreated this exciting story of the successful operation. I was lucky enough to have seen the movie in a theatre when it first came out,at the tender age of ten .I loved it then and I loved it on late night TV 35 years later. I wish it would play again. I'd make a point of staying up to tape it. A splendid paean of praise for the indomitable Human Spirit. If it comes your way take time to enjoy.