It's kind of fun. I can see why reviewers have compared this to Hitchcock. It resembles his work, specifically "The 39 Steps." Conrad Veidt is the captain of a Danish freighter carrying a few passengers and a load of necessary supplies to Denmark. The ship is waylaid by British customs officers who need to make sure nothing of military value is on the inventory. The ship is delayed at a small English port for a day or so and everyone is ordered to stay aboard.
Veidt discovers that two of the passengers have entered his cabin and lifted papers allowing them to go ashore. One of them is Valerie Hobson, the other Esmond Knight. He himself rows ashore at night and tracks them to London, where he hooks up with Hobson, who he believes is in cahoots with Knight. It's lucky for him that he found Hobson. She's very attractive, tall, willowy, cheerfully cheeky. I mean, if he had to choose Hobson or Esmond Knight, Veidt might as well get Hobson.
They are now roaming the streets of London, two illegals, searching for the missing Knight whose character is named Pidgeon. ("The pigeon has flown!", announces a ship's officer.) Well, this is Hitchcock territory. A man and a woman being pursued while trying to unravel a mystery -- "Saboteur", "North by Northwest," and hints of others.
The narrative isn't at all dark. It's mostly comic and buoyant. There are small comic incidents involving minor characters -- a crowded passenger on a bus, a Welsh restaurateur, a sinister pair of brothers named Grimm (Peter Bull and Leo Genn). The director, Michael Powell, even anticipates Hitchcock's later use of point-of-view shots.
That the adventure ashore turns into a frolic is somewhat surprising, considering that this was released in 1940, a troublesome year for Britain. But who knows? Maybe chuckles and smiles are what a distressed audience needs.
Veidt discovers that two of the passengers have entered his cabin and lifted papers allowing them to go ashore. One of them is Valerie Hobson, the other Esmond Knight. He himself rows ashore at night and tracks them to London, where he hooks up with Hobson, who he believes is in cahoots with Knight. It's lucky for him that he found Hobson. She's very attractive, tall, willowy, cheerfully cheeky. I mean, if he had to choose Hobson or Esmond Knight, Veidt might as well get Hobson.
They are now roaming the streets of London, two illegals, searching for the missing Knight whose character is named Pidgeon. ("The pigeon has flown!", announces a ship's officer.) Well, this is Hitchcock territory. A man and a woman being pursued while trying to unravel a mystery -- "Saboteur", "North by Northwest," and hints of others.
The narrative isn't at all dark. It's mostly comic and buoyant. There are small comic incidents involving minor characters -- a crowded passenger on a bus, a Welsh restaurateur, a sinister pair of brothers named Grimm (Peter Bull and Leo Genn). The director, Michael Powell, even anticipates Hitchcock's later use of point-of-view shots.
That the adventure ashore turns into a frolic is somewhat surprising, considering that this was released in 1940, a troublesome year for Britain. But who knows? Maybe chuckles and smiles are what a distressed audience needs.