The strange but true story of a finishing school where daughters of Germany’s Nazi regime were sent to improve their English is fictionalised in this flawed but hugely watchable drama from director Andy Goddard. Written by Goddard, Celyn Jones and Eddie Izzard, Six Minutes to Midnight is an old fashioned Hitchcockian spy thriller reminiscent of classic Pinewood and Shepperton Studios productions.

Summer 1939, and tensions between the UK and Germany have reached boiling point and war looks inevitable. After the sudden disappearance of an English teacher at the Augusta Victoria school for girls in Bexhill-on-Sea, the headmistress Miss Rocholl (Dench) hires Thomas Miller (Izzard) to replace him and prepare the school’s mostly German students for the Anglo-German fellowship.

It soon transpires that Miller has been sent by the British Secret Service to investigate his predecessor’s disappearance. Having aroused the suspicions of Ilse Keller (Carla Juri), the girls’ stern German tutor who appears to be harbouring secrets of her own, Miller is consequently framed for murder and is forced to go on the run.

Having spent years researching the school and its story, it’s clear that this is somewhat of a passion project for Izzard who grew up in the area. The film is robustly acted and undeniably engaging, but sadly some pacing issues arise thanks to a slightly baggy and directionless screenplay.

Still, this is a good old fashioned spy thriller which wears its influences proudly on its sleeves. Comparisons will clearly be made with Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, but to me there’s also a lot of North by Northwest and The Man Who Knew Too Much in this hugely entertaining caper.