Candlelight in Algeria (1944)

An American sculptress in wartime Britain gets mixed up with a British agent and a Nazi spy who knows that a top-secret meeting of Allied military leaders will be taking place in Algeria--... See full summary »

Director:

George King

Writers:

John Clements (additional dialogue), Dorothy Hope (story),

Stars:

James Mason, Carla Lehmann, Raymond Lovell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Mason	...	Alan Thurston
Carla Lehmann	...	Susan Foster
Raymond Lovell	...	Von Alven
Enid Stamp-Taylor	...	Maritza
Walter Rilla	...	Dr. Muller
Pamela Stirling	...	Yvette
Lea Seidl	...	Sister
Sybille Binder	...	Woman
Hella Kürty	...	Maid
Paul Bonifas	...	French Proprietor
Leslie Bradley	...	Henri de Lange
Harold Berens	...	Toni
Cot D'Ordan	...	Hotel Manager
Richard George	...	Capt. Matthews
Meinhart Maur	...	Schultz

Storyline

An American sculptress in wartime Britain gets mixed up with a British agent and a Nazi spy who knows that a top-secret meeting of Allied military leaders will be taking place in Algeria--and that the British agent has a camera that has photographs of the meeting place.

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 July 1944 (USA)

Also Known As:

La espía de Argel

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Aviation Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film bears a copyright statement of MCMXIII (1913), which, of course, a typographical error; it should should be MCMXLIII (1943).

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Soundtracks

"Flamme d'Amour (Flame of Love)"
(uncredited)
Music by Hans May
Lyrics by Alan Stranks
French Lyrics by G. Arbib
Sung by Christiane De Maurin

User Reviews

Pepe Le Moko Meets Dorothy

British spy Alan Thurston (Mason) is trying to get hold of a camera to bring to the British Consulate in Algiers. It has pictures of the location of a top-secret meeting place of the Allied commanders regarding the invasion of North Africa. Tailing him is RNO (repugnant Nazi official) Dr. Muller, who knows of the camera. Thurston breaks into the Algerian residence of American civilian Susan Foster (Carla Lehmann), with Muller in hot pursuit. Thurston persuades her to help him in his quest for the camera, since he is too notorious and would be arrested on sight in Algiers. There then follows a tense and taut cat-and-mouse game with Nazi officials and our two co-heroes.

The picture is extremely well-done and the suspense doesn't let up for the entire 82 minutes (by my watch). There is a romantic interlude in The Casbah, where Thurston has sought refuge and has taken Ms. Foster, reminiscent of 'Pepe Le Moko", in which similar circumstances occur. Ms. Foster, it turns out, is from Kansas, fulfilling the prophesy of my headline. Walter Rilla plays Dr. Muller in despicable fashion, a Nazi civilian official feared by everyone in the picture except Thurston.

Despite the grim circumstances the mood of the picture ranges from deadly serious to lighthearted, especially during exchanges between Mason and Lehmann (the deadly serious passages belong to Rilla). I agree with a reviewer above that Mason was a dashing adventure hero - too bad he became typecast as humorless and overbearing. I don't understand why this movie is so lightly regarded and why it hasn't been shown on TV or in revival houses. Note to IMDb directors: Your rating is too low. It is better than a similar movie, "Five Graves To Cairo", made the previous year. You should at least use the median figure instead of the weighted one.