A smorgasbord of in-jokes, tres moderne crime-fighting techniques, and every old-dark-house cliche (but of course, it was made in 1932, so it may have been inventing some of them), the film features Frank Morgan (later to be the Wizard of Oz) as a clever, chain-smoking inspecteur from the Surete who goes up against a wily Russian crook. Murders, staged accidents, bodies dragged from the Seine and an amazingly successful attempt to foil the censor while showing female nudity are all parts of this tale. A suave French thief (with an impeccable Oxford accent)is employed by the Surete to help foil the plot, and an army of Chinese house-servants and a broken-glass wall topping are just some of the dazzling obstacles to be overcome. The "statue" created by the villain will astonish you, as will the gorgeous clothes worn by the beautiful young heroine who could be Anastasia, long-lost daughter of the Romanoffs. This is high camp film-making but done in an earnest style. Really fun.
11 Reviews
strange and twisted, though disappointing
pyamada16 April 2002
This film tries to cross Secrets of the Wax Museum with one of Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse series, and ultimately fails. Some of the editing and set shots are remarkable, but the beginning of the film, about Danton's widow, is a waste of time, and at the end, the pacing of the film just falls apart. The villain who turns young, beautiful women into statues is certainly a delicious and twisted plot turn, but too little is made of it. Nonetheless, even if the reach far exceeds the grasp, this is worth watching if you can find it.
OK if you've run out of pre-code movies you haven't seen
RickeyMooney5 October 2020
This film starts out with a shot of a magazine article about the modern methods adopted by the Paris police department. Then it switches to a secret burial ceremony of a Paris policeman implying that it would be a breach of national security if his death were made public. Next is Frank Morgan as a Paris police detective about to track the killer based on cigarette ash found near the corpse which he finds to be from a brand sold only at a certain bar in Paris. Then he goes to the bar disguised as a drunk to cleverly get the proprietress to tell him who buys that brand of cigarette. It seems to be a mysterious monocled gent who then disappears from the movie.
Interesting, but all this has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie, which is concerned with the legend of Anastasia, the Russian princess killed during the Revolution whose body was never recovered, leading to several false claimants pretending to be her and collect an inheritance. This story was also the basis of a1997 animated cartoon and a 1956 film starring Ingrid Bergman as the claimant and Yul Brynner as the con artist trying to fob her off.
Here the claimant is played by Gwyli Andre, a Danish actress reminiscent of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, whose lack of critical success led to a brief career in Hollywood. I thought she was pretty good, actually.
Her mentor is one General Moloff, a White Russian emigre played by Gregory Ratoff, one of the most multi-faceted villains in movie history, kidnapper, murderer, hypnotist, and surprisingly wealthy for an escapee from the revolution. On top of all this, in the end he turns out to be a sadistic mad scientist foreshadowing some of the grade-Z movies Bela Lugosi made toward the end of his career. You will be amazed, if not convinced, by the high-tech methods by which he causes a car crash by remote control.
Everyone in France speaks English, of course, occasionally remembering to attempt a French accent. English actor John Warburton has some amusing moments as another multi-tasker, both burglar and pickpocket. In fact, all the actors do a good job.
At least the film keeps moving right along and won't bore you. OK time killer if you're quarantined. Just don't expect anything to think about afterwards. Even better if you're into camp.
Interesting, but all this has almost nothing to do with the rest of the movie, which is concerned with the legend of Anastasia, the Russian princess killed during the Revolution whose body was never recovered, leading to several false claimants pretending to be her and collect an inheritance. This story was also the basis of a1997 animated cartoon and a 1956 film starring Ingrid Bergman as the claimant and Yul Brynner as the con artist trying to fob her off.
Here the claimant is played by Gwyli Andre, a Danish actress reminiscent of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, whose lack of critical success led to a brief career in Hollywood. I thought she was pretty good, actually.
Her mentor is one General Moloff, a White Russian emigre played by Gregory Ratoff, one of the most multi-faceted villains in movie history, kidnapper, murderer, hypnotist, and surprisingly wealthy for an escapee from the revolution. On top of all this, in the end he turns out to be a sadistic mad scientist foreshadowing some of the grade-Z movies Bela Lugosi made toward the end of his career. You will be amazed, if not convinced, by the high-tech methods by which he causes a car crash by remote control.
Everyone in France speaks English, of course, occasionally remembering to attempt a French accent. English actor John Warburton has some amusing moments as another multi-tasker, both burglar and pickpocket. In fact, all the actors do a good job.
At least the film keeps moving right along and won't bore you. OK time killer if you're quarantined. Just don't expect anything to think about afterwards. Even better if you're into camp.
a good look at Gwili Andre
mukava99127 October 2014
Gwili Andre looked like a cross between Joan Crawford and Myrna Loy with hints of Garbo and Dietrich, but with none of their magnetism or acting ability. All four of those superstars evolved over several years before they achieved the look and manner by which we know them today. Andre, one of the more notable Hollywood career failures of the early talkie era, was just a hastily packaged commodity meant to resemble others, but with no substance. Perhaps if she had been given more chances she might have developed into a competent performer, but instead she faded out almost as quickly as she came in, dying in obscurity in 1959.
Andre's presence is the major object of interest in this routine crime drama. Otherwise, there is Gregory Ratoff in one of his rare incarnations as a cold-blooded villain—specifically, a dastardly Russian émigré who kidnaps flower girl Andre off the streets of Paris and hypnotizes her into believing she is the missing Grand Duchess Anastasia in order to convince exiled Russian nobility that she is the real deal and walk off with the loot from her inheritance as the only surviving member of the Tsar's immediate family. Ratoff has a deeply menacing, inhuman quality that reminds one of Bela Lugosi in "Dracula" or "White Zombie," particularly in conjunction with his domination of entranced and attractive young females.
The versatile Frank Morgan plays one of the police of the title and chain smokes his way through the film.
Near the end there is a well-staged auto crash which reminds us how far automobile construction has come since the days of steel chassis and brittle glass windows.
Andre's presence is the major object of interest in this routine crime drama. Otherwise, there is Gregory Ratoff in one of his rare incarnations as a cold-blooded villain—specifically, a dastardly Russian émigré who kidnaps flower girl Andre off the streets of Paris and hypnotizes her into believing she is the missing Grand Duchess Anastasia in order to convince exiled Russian nobility that she is the real deal and walk off with the loot from her inheritance as the only surviving member of the Tsar's immediate family. Ratoff has a deeply menacing, inhuman quality that reminds one of Bela Lugosi in "Dracula" or "White Zombie," particularly in conjunction with his domination of entranced and attractive young females.
The versatile Frank Morgan plays one of the police of the title and chain smokes his way through the film.
Near the end there is a well-staged auto crash which reminds us how far automobile construction has come since the days of steel chassis and brittle glass windows.
Cops and robber join forces in tired mystery.
st-shot18 June 2011
Secrets of the French Police is a horror crime hybrid that muddles early and never really recovers. The story revolves around a plot by an ex patriot Russian (Gregory Ratoff) trying to pull off an Anastasia scam to get his hands on Romanoff cash. Joining forces with a thief, French police set a trap to expose fraud.
As inspector St. Cyr, Frank Morgan chains smokes and forgoes an accent while Ratoff sounds like he is fresh out of the Lugosi school. John Warburton in the key role of the second story man lacks charm and comes across smug in the process negating the decent work done by Gwili Andre as his girl and the phony Anastasia.
Police has some jarringly violent and ghoulish moments along with a cynical grittiness in which the law employs illegal means to solve its case but director Ed Sutherland's anemic direction wavers between genres and ultimately fails at both.
As inspector St. Cyr, Frank Morgan chains smokes and forgoes an accent while Ratoff sounds like he is fresh out of the Lugosi school. John Warburton in the key role of the second story man lacks charm and comes across smug in the process negating the decent work done by Gwili Andre as his girl and the phony Anastasia.
Police has some jarringly violent and ghoulish moments along with a cynical grittiness in which the law employs illegal means to solve its case but director Ed Sutherland's anemic direction wavers between genres and ultimately fails at both.
A bit silly if you ask me.
planktonrules8 November 2014
Despite the presence of Frank Morgan in the lead, this is a cheap B-movie all the way--with a plot that seems like the stuff you'd see in a Monogram cheapie of the 1930s or 40s--the sort of thing that George Zucco, Lionel Atwill or Bele Lugosi would star in and which would have terrible production values.
The Zucco/Atwill/Lugosi type character in this one is a Russian who uses his powers of hypnosis to control a young girl and convince her she is the Princess Anastasia! At the same time, a high class crook has reported that a flower girl has disappeared. Thinking the two women might be one in the same, the French police inspector (Frank Morgan) convinces the robber to do a bit of breaking and entering to learn the truth.
This story is filled with silly elements--such as disposing of bodies by entombing them in plaster, the whole hypnosis angle and more. You never can take it very seriously and the story seems more like a cheap movie serial crammed into a one hour time slot. Moderately engaging at best.
The Zucco/Atwill/Lugosi type character in this one is a Russian who uses his powers of hypnosis to control a young girl and convince her she is the Princess Anastasia! At the same time, a high class crook has reported that a flower girl has disappeared. Thinking the two women might be one in the same, the French police inspector (Frank Morgan) convinces the robber to do a bit of breaking and entering to learn the truth.
This story is filled with silly elements--such as disposing of bodies by entombing them in plaster, the whole hypnosis angle and more. You never can take it very seriously and the story seems more like a cheap movie serial crammed into a one hour time slot. Moderately engaging at best.
Anastasia scam
bkoganbing5 January 2018
Long before Ingrid Bergman won her second Oscar for Anastasia RKO did a much
smaller production on the subject as expatriate Russian-Chinese Gregory Ratoff
tries to pull an Anastasia scam on the Romanoff exiles in Paris. Only he's not
nearly as sympathetic a figure as Yul Brynner.
Secrets Of The French Police has Ratoff as a Karloff/Lugosi like villain who is both a scientist and a hypnotist and he uses both to work his plot. The hypnotism is for his subject Gwili Andre who he is trying to pass off as Anastasia.
She's the girlfriend of John Warburton noted cat burglar who is forced into alliance with Inspector Frank Morgan of the Paris PD. Back in the day before he was typecast as bumblers Morgan did play serious roles like this.
Ratoff is appropriately sinister. Warburton who slipped into character roles eventually is a weak romantic lead here. This needed the charm of a Cary Grant.
Still Secrets Of The French Police is not a bad B film from RKO.
Secrets Of The French Police has Ratoff as a Karloff/Lugosi like villain who is both a scientist and a hypnotist and he uses both to work his plot. The hypnotism is for his subject Gwili Andre who he is trying to pass off as Anastasia.
She's the girlfriend of John Warburton noted cat burglar who is forced into alliance with Inspector Frank Morgan of the Paris PD. Back in the day before he was typecast as bumblers Morgan did play serious roles like this.
Ratoff is appropriately sinister. Warburton who slipped into character roles eventually is a weak romantic lead here. This needed the charm of a Cary Grant.
Still Secrets Of The French Police is not a bad B film from RKO.
A Delightful Adventure!
raymundohpl20 December 2009
Warning: Spoilers
SECRETS OF THE FRENCH POLICE is an exotic mixture of Sax Rohmer, John Buchan, Edgar Allan Poe and Dorothy L. Sayers mystery genres. The convoluted plot centers around French flower-seller Eugenie Dorain(Gwili Andre) who is hypnotized by a ghoulish mad Russian criminal mastermind, General Hans Moloff, a cross between Rasputin and Fu Manchu(Moloff's father was a Russian but his mother was a 'Manchu Princess'!) hammily played by a young Gregory Ratoff, who seems to be channeling Bela Lugosi's Murder Legendre from WHITE ZOMBIE whilst speaking like Erich Von Stroheim! Ratoff chews up the scenery as he sneers and ruthlessly murders anyone who gets in his way or is a witness to his schemes, including a male and female cohort of his. Ratoff also has a nasty habit of covering up his female victims with clay after doing away with them like in Lord Peter Wimsey's THE ABOMINABLE HISTORY OF THE MAN WITH COPPER FINGERS and to be shown in other films like MYSTERY OF THE WAX MUSEUM, HOUSE OF WAX, MILL OF THE STONE WOMEN(Il Mulino Delle Donne Di Pietra) and DIARY OF A MADMAN! Ratoff/Moloff has a hare-brained scheme to pass off Eugenie/Gwili as the lost princess ANASTASIA, sole "survivor" of the massacre of Czar Nicholas Romanoff and his family by the communist scum Bolshies. The Grand Duke Maxim Romanoff, the late Czar's brother and émigré residing in Paris, is given an "audience" with the would-be Anastasia and cannily sees right through Moloff's nefarious plot to get his greedy claws on the Romanoff millions. This forces Moloff to arrange a traffic "accident" that reunites Maxim with his brother Nicky(Nicholas) in the hereafter! Moloff is so wacky he claims that Eugenie has "the Romanoff features" which really calls for the suspension of the audiences' belief.
Also on hand are Eugenie's gallant boyfriend, Leon Renault, a Richard Hannay-ish RAFFLES-like Robin Hood thief(who NEVER steals from his fellow Frenchmen) played by John Warburton and the later-to-be WIZARD OF OZ, Frank Morgan as a sharp Surete inspector, Francois St. Cyr. Renault and St. Cyr join forces grudgingly to foil Moloff's plot and rescue Eugenie from his vile clutches! Several moments in the film, like a nude female plaster-covered corpse with breast nipples taut, are a surprising sight in a film of this period. The film was produced for RKO by David O. Selznick, of all people! David wanted to showcase his new discovery Gwili Andre to create the "Second Garbo" from the Danish Andre, but her utter lack of talent, charm and emotive powers had spelled doom for her career to be. Poor Gwili, she never should have let David catch her as he chased her around the casting couch! Oh Well, nobody's perfect!
If you can suspend your belief long enough to suffer the ham being sliced thick by Ratoff and blank stares by Andre(she was HYPNOTIZED, after all), SECRETS OF THE FRENCH POLICE is a MUST-SEE! FIVE STARS and EXCELLENT all around! Vivien Leigh and Jennifer Jones(God rest her soul), EAT YER HEARTS OUT!
Also on hand are Eugenie's gallant boyfriend, Leon Renault, a Richard Hannay-ish RAFFLES-like Robin Hood thief(who NEVER steals from his fellow Frenchmen) played by John Warburton and the later-to-be WIZARD OF OZ, Frank Morgan as a sharp Surete inspector, Francois St. Cyr. Renault and St. Cyr join forces grudgingly to foil Moloff's plot and rescue Eugenie from his vile clutches! Several moments in the film, like a nude female plaster-covered corpse with breast nipples taut, are a surprising sight in a film of this period. The film was produced for RKO by David O. Selznick, of all people! David wanted to showcase his new discovery Gwili Andre to create the "Second Garbo" from the Danish Andre, but her utter lack of talent, charm and emotive powers had spelled doom for her career to be. Poor Gwili, she never should have let David catch her as he chased her around the casting couch! Oh Well, nobody's perfect!
If you can suspend your belief long enough to suffer the ham being sliced thick by Ratoff and blank stares by Andre(she was HYPNOTIZED, after all), SECRETS OF THE FRENCH POLICE is a MUST-SEE! FIVE STARS and EXCELLENT all around! Vivien Leigh and Jennifer Jones(God rest her soul), EAT YER HEARTS OUT!
Beautiful Gwili Andre Was, Unfortunately, Not a Success!!!
kidboots30 January 2012
Warning: Spoilers
The most popular series ever published in the Hearst newspaper's Sunday supplement, "The American Weekly" was "Secrets of the French Police Detectives" from the memoirs of H. Ashton Walle. The illustrations were superb and the serial was repeated only a few years later, David O. Selznick, then connected with R.K.O., saw the movie as a showcase for his beautiful Danish import Gwili Andre, who bore a striking resemblance to Marlene Dietrich. Gwili had the least spectacular career of any of the foreign imports (even worse than Anna Sten). She wasn't an actress, she had been a model and it showed in her wooden acting. She only made a handful of films and was still hoping to make it when she died in a fire in the late 1950s.
A couple of actors played against type and showed how versatile they were - Frank Morgan was an excellent dramatic actor before he became typecast as amiable buffoons (he did have a scene in this one as an eccentric when he went under cover) and Gregory Ratoff, usually cast as kindly or bumbling ethnic characters, had the role of the chilling plotter and murderer.
Leon Renault (John Warburton) a lovable pickpocket is engaged to flower seller Eugenie Dorain (Andre) but her father is opposed to the union. Meanwhile head of the secret police Francois St. Cyr (Morgan) is investigating the death of one of their top operatives. He is on the hunt for arch criminal General Moloff (Ratoff) who has just kidnapped Eugenie. He plans to pass her off as the missing Russian princess Anastasia and through her, claim the missing millions from the estate. Doran is not her real father, she was entrusted to him by his friend - you guessed it - the murdered French operative. Doran is then killed and when "someone" is very eager to put the blame on Leon, Leon quickly joins forces with St. Cyr, often putting himself in some dangerous situations.
Like 1931's "Behind the Mask" (which began life as "In the Secret Service") this movie was loaded with derring do and improbable situations - evil Moloff has a passion for taxidermy, he has embalmed several of his mistresses. St. Cyr is obviously uneasy among a room full of nude statues and when one of them moves!!! he investigates by scraping away some plaster!!! In another scene when Grand Duke Maxim leaves the house after realising that Eugenie is a fake, he and his driver hurtle over a cliff after coming face to face with a low flying plane. It turns out it is just a film projected onto an advertising board by Moloff's henchmen.
The mansion was the same one used in "The Most Dangerous Game", filmed a short while before. Selznick was a complete autocrat who not only bought in Robert Benchley to add more pizazz to the dialogue but also took the film over budget as he demanded numerous retakes of Gwili to boost her glamorous image. An influenza epidemic almost closed the movie down. Rod La Rocque was set for the lead, he fell ill then Nils Asther was borrowed as a last minute replacement. When he fell ill, the role was given to a young British actor, John Warburton, whose main claim to fame was as part of the Alice White sex scandal!!
A couple of actors played against type and showed how versatile they were - Frank Morgan was an excellent dramatic actor before he became typecast as amiable buffoons (he did have a scene in this one as an eccentric when he went under cover) and Gregory Ratoff, usually cast as kindly or bumbling ethnic characters, had the role of the chilling plotter and murderer.
Leon Renault (John Warburton) a lovable pickpocket is engaged to flower seller Eugenie Dorain (Andre) but her father is opposed to the union. Meanwhile head of the secret police Francois St. Cyr (Morgan) is investigating the death of one of their top operatives. He is on the hunt for arch criminal General Moloff (Ratoff) who has just kidnapped Eugenie. He plans to pass her off as the missing Russian princess Anastasia and through her, claim the missing millions from the estate. Doran is not her real father, she was entrusted to him by his friend - you guessed it - the murdered French operative. Doran is then killed and when "someone" is very eager to put the blame on Leon, Leon quickly joins forces with St. Cyr, often putting himself in some dangerous situations.
Like 1931's "Behind the Mask" (which began life as "In the Secret Service") this movie was loaded with derring do and improbable situations - evil Moloff has a passion for taxidermy, he has embalmed several of his mistresses. St. Cyr is obviously uneasy among a room full of nude statues and when one of them moves!!! he investigates by scraping away some plaster!!! In another scene when Grand Duke Maxim leaves the house after realising that Eugenie is a fake, he and his driver hurtle over a cliff after coming face to face with a low flying plane. It turns out it is just a film projected onto an advertising board by Moloff's henchmen.
The mansion was the same one used in "The Most Dangerous Game", filmed a short while before. Selznick was a complete autocrat who not only bought in Robert Benchley to add more pizazz to the dialogue but also took the film over budget as he demanded numerous retakes of Gwili to boost her glamorous image. An influenza epidemic almost closed the movie down. Rod La Rocque was set for the lead, he fell ill then Nils Asther was borrowed as a last minute replacement. When he fell ill, the role was given to a young British actor, John Warburton, whose main claim to fame was as part of the Alice White sex scandal!!
Smoke 'em if you got 'em
Sycotron4 October 2002
My favorite moments in this film are:
With this kind of law enforcement it's a wonder France didn't descend into criminal anarchy.
- While the Inspector awaits the results of an examination of cigarette ash found at a crime scene he stands a few feet away from this delicate process, smoking his own cigarette dropping who knows how much ash.
- At a murder scene he once again lights up a cigarette and even flicks his spent match onto the floor.
With this kind of law enforcement it's a wonder France didn't descend into criminal anarchy.
Fascinating!
JohnHowardReid13 May 2018
Warning: Spoilers
Copyright by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc., 11 November 1932. New York opening at the Mayfair: 11 December 1932. U.K. release: 27 May 1933. Australian release: August 1933. 6 reels. 59 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: An unscrupulous, utterly ruthless Wax Museum Svengali, plans to pass off a poor Parisian flower girl as the Crown Princess Anastasia.
NOTES: Other versions of the story include Anastasia (1956), Is Anna Anderson Anastasia (1956) and Anastasia (1997).
COMMENT: A fascinatingly film-noirish thriller, skilfully and often inventively directed at a stirringly driving pace by Edward Sutherland, who makes dazzling use of Carroll Clark's many wonderfully bizarre sets and exotic set-pieces. John Warburton (whatever happened to him?) is most appealing as the heroic anti-hero (a difficult role which Warburton brings off beautifully), while Miss Andre is almost equally engaging as the unwittingly benumbed innocent. Our old friend, Gregory Ratoff, is in there pitching (perhaps just a little too hard) as the brutal heavy. Not to be outdone, Frank Morgan seizes every opportunity (especially in disguise) to make the film his own.
Aside from Arnold Korff, Christian Rub and Kendall Lee, the rest of the players have little to do, though it is nice to spot Murray Kinnell as the famous Bertillon and Rochelle Hudson as a police operative. A few pleasing touches of humor lighten an otherwise horrifying story, and it's surprising to find such blatant anti-German sentiments in a movie as late (or early) as 1932.
Photographically, the film is most attractive. Every set-up is superbly lit, and at least one sequence is so electrifyingly imaginative as to give the lie to the bad press Gilks was later to receive from director Vincente Minnelli who described his work on An American in Paris as meticulous but stodgy.
SYNOPSIS: An unscrupulous, utterly ruthless Wax Museum Svengali, plans to pass off a poor Parisian flower girl as the Crown Princess Anastasia.
NOTES: Other versions of the story include Anastasia (1956), Is Anna Anderson Anastasia (1956) and Anastasia (1997).
COMMENT: A fascinatingly film-noirish thriller, skilfully and often inventively directed at a stirringly driving pace by Edward Sutherland, who makes dazzling use of Carroll Clark's many wonderfully bizarre sets and exotic set-pieces. John Warburton (whatever happened to him?) is most appealing as the heroic anti-hero (a difficult role which Warburton brings off beautifully), while Miss Andre is almost equally engaging as the unwittingly benumbed innocent. Our old friend, Gregory Ratoff, is in there pitching (perhaps just a little too hard) as the brutal heavy. Not to be outdone, Frank Morgan seizes every opportunity (especially in disguise) to make the film his own.
Aside from Arnold Korff, Christian Rub and Kendall Lee, the rest of the players have little to do, though it is nice to spot Murray Kinnell as the famous Bertillon and Rochelle Hudson as a police operative. A few pleasing touches of humor lighten an otherwise horrifying story, and it's surprising to find such blatant anti-German sentiments in a movie as late (or early) as 1932.
Photographically, the film is most attractive. Every set-up is superbly lit, and at least one sequence is so electrifyingly imaginative as to give the lie to the bad press Gilks was later to receive from director Vincente Minnelli who described his work on An American in Paris as meticulous but stodgy.
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