blpkst Review of Wodehouse in Exile

Wodehouse in Exile (2013 TV Movie)

PG Wodehouse an Innocent Unwitting Pawn

[9/10 · 15 September 2021]

As a person who enjoys Masterpiece Theater productions, I saw this film highlighted on Prime and decided to watch it. I knew little about PG Wodehouse, only that he wrote a popular character called Jeeves who is a butler and a rather scornful butler at that. Wodehouse appears to have been a very nice man who was wrongly accused of aiding the enemy during WWII. Specifically the Germans and not by being a spy but by unwittingly agreeing to do radio broadcasts to let his American public know that he has escaped harm after being released from a German civilian internment camp. The subsequent radio broadcasts are misunderstood by the British and are seen unfavorably bordering on treason. The film is well cast and the characters fleshed out. It is a beautiful portrait of the author who only realizes that he has been used once his wife has reunited with him in Berlin and she explains it to him in no uncertain terms. This quiet film is truly enjoyable even though it is a story tinged with sadness and regret.