This is How Movies Should Be Made

Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

A Disappointing Continuation

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

During World War I the spy Helene von Lorbeer goes to London to stay in the home of the cabinet minister Arthur Bennett as a refugee and meets with fellow agent Valdar who works there. Slowly it is revealed what the true mission is and the identity of the German spy master Strendler whom the British secret service have been after for years. It's a decent well written film and although set in WWI there are obvious parallels with WWII. Pointedly so. The director keeps the film moving on apace up to the explosive climax.Boris Karloff is excellent as Valdar and Margaret Lindsay, always an under rated actor I've always thought, is good as Helene. They are supported by familiar and able actors;Leonard Mudie,Holmes Herbert and Bruce Lester. Paul Panzer plays a peasant. It was based on a 1918 play and mainly takes place in one house reflecting its stage origin though there are outdoor scenes.A good film with an interesting plot and capable acting.

With my 8th IMDb anniversary being on the same day as a bank holiday,I decided take advantage of the day,by taking a look at Boris Karloff in a non-Horror role for the first ever time.The plot:Taking advantage of having recently won a battle which has forced The Allies to retreat,a German army officer decides to send double agent Helene Von Lorbeer undercover to a house that is used for meetings by the UK government.Arriving to the house,Lorbeer is met by a fellow undercover agent called Valdar,who tells Lorbeer that she must watch her step as she gathers information from government minister's.As Helene starts to get deeper into the workings of the government,Lorbeer begins to fear that some minister's may be starting to come suspicious of her true identity.View on the film:Mostly going against the grain of the time, (with the exception of the flag waving ending) in his adaptation of Anthony Paul Kelly's stage play,the screenplay by Lee Katz tells the story of the film from the point of view of the German's,with Katz gradually increasing the tension as he reveals the lengths that the German's will go to for picking up any information on The Allies.Backed by a lively score from Heinz Roemheld and Bernhard Kaun and also having a surprisingly good public domain print,director Terry O. Morse superbly uses candle lights to create a chilling espionage atmosphere,with Boris Karloff emphasising Morse's chilling feel with a very good creepy performance,and the cute Margaret Lindsay giving a good performance which shows Von Lorbeer's increasing fear of her true identity being uncovered by British intelligence.

It's hard to imagine a lamer spy movie than this one. The number of times the characters shift from German agent to British double-agent to German triple-agent to British quadruple-agent is ridiculous; it becomes mechanical and almost laughable. And, holy mackerel, how did the Germans ever lose that war if London was so chock full of spies - every other person in the movie involved in sending messages back to Berlin. Some commentator here was impressed by how the story is set in WWI but applies to WWII. Well, yes, my dear, that's because, although the original play it was based on ran in 1918, the movie was made during WWII. The "contemporary" references are incredibly artificial and awkward. At first, I wondered about my historical knowledge when the action stopped, the other characters in the room fell silent and a German officer went glassy-eyed, staring into the air and making a lengthy speech about fighting so that Germany could rule the world. Huh? World War I? Germany rule the world? That wasn't the purpose of Germany in that misbegotten conflict. But after a few more similar set speeches, such as someone predicting that after the current war a power-mad ruler would arise and start another war, or an earnest discussion of how the Germans commit atrocities, but we don't - well, after that, I got the picture. These were simple-minded propaganda add-ons to a play that was already pathetically weak. This is really not worth 61 precious minutes of anyone's life. I'm sorry I let it waste my time.

At first the British Intelligence in "British Intelligence" doesn't seem very smart. The film begins with The Great War in full swing and London is crawling with German spies. As a matter of fact, there are so many German intelligence operatives darting about on the screen it would appear difficult to cross Abbey Road without bumping into one. Boris Karloff might be a German spy, and so might Margaret Lindsey, who has really great looking teeth by the way. I was hoping she wasn't spying for the Zeppelin flying guys mainly because of her nice teeth. I won't sour the ending by revealing who wins World War I, but I would have thought the Germans might have learned a lesson from that one and not started a sequel.