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A very exciting (and, in 1940, very topical) WWII thriller directed by the great Carol Reed. British agent Rex Harrison attempts to smuggle scientist James Harcourt and daughter Margaret Lockwood out of Nazi Germany before Gestapo goon Paul Henreid (here billed as Von Henried) can turn them all over to headquarters. A suspenseful, highly enjoyable film thanks to the expert direction of Reed and a twisty script by Sidney Gilliat & Frank Launder. Harrison is terrific as he half jokes his way across enemy territory and Henreid is suitably nasty. The script re-introduces Charters & Caldicott from Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES and they're just as deceptively befuddled here. They're also a source of some pretty biting humor (directed, of course, at the Third Reich). Lockwood gives a gutsy performance and the script never allows her to be a mere damsel in distress. The film's ending is really something.
score 7/10
JasparLamarCrabb 25 April 2010
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2240927/ |
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28-2-2021 00:06:20