During the Battle of France, Fred Wimbush, an English Shakespearean actor turned RASC private, is pressed into entertaining the troops. He is ordered to perform in drag, a daring demand that sticks with him even as the Germans overrun the audience. The disguise becomes both a shield and a liability as he fends off suspicions from wary French locals and advancing German troops. Amid shouts, gunfire, and close calls, Fred’s improvisational humor and courage keep him moving, and he finds himself slipping through danger in the company of pupils from an English girls’ finishing school.
On a quiet country lane, he crosses paths with Miss Flodden and Miss Lockhart, who run an English girls’ school. They ask him to fix their car, a battered vehicle nicknamed “Agatha,” and he is introduced to their five pupils on a tour of France: four English and one American, who are secretly sheltering in a barn. The headmistress’s blunt disdain for female impersonators—she would gleefully hand them over to the Germans—complicates Fred’s plan to stay incognito. The girls suggest he shed the flamboyant disguise and instead pose as a teacher, a proposal Fred weighs as danger closes in.
The group hides an additional complication: the downed RAF airman, Smallpiece, is concealed in a shed. Fred bravely reveals his true identity to him, building a fragile trust. In a shrewd move, Fred obtains a Nazi SS uniform to help disguise [Smallpiece], enabling them to maneuver through the countryside with greater cover. As they travel toward an airfield, they improvise by presenting themselves as a troupe of girls from the local brothel, using appearance and wit to slip past German scrutiny. When a plane remains out of reach, they ingeniously tether the car to a barrage balloon and glide toward safety, turning a near-disaster into a clever escape.
Freed from immediate danger, Fred is recruited by the Special Operations Executive, marking a significant turn in his wartime role. With his cover still intact, he continues to navigate peril and humor alike, using his acting skills to outsmart capture and aid those around him. In the climactic sequence, Fred Wimbush returns to his drag persona, entertaining a group of Germans as he and the girls sing a rebellious tune.
> Hitler Has Only Got One Ball
The film blends farce with wartime grit, balancing peril, quick thinking, and slapstick as Fred’s disguise becomes a lifeline and a statement of resilience. Across eruptions of laughter and bursts of danger, the narrative follows Fred’s unexpected transformation from a stage performer to a resourceful ally in a chaotic landscape, aided by Miss Flodden, Miss Lockhart, and a cast of students and allies whose courage and humor shine through the chaos. The story unfolds with breezy romance, tense chases, and a jaunty musical finale that leaves a winking impression of defiance during a dark chapter of history.
