This is an enjoyable period drama that combines a little history, some action, some romance, some dry and occasionally macabre humor, and most of all plenty of intrigue. It has an interesting historical setting, centering on the devious Cardinal Richelieu, one of history's more interesting (if hardly admirable) figures. While there isn't much here to take seriously, it is good light entertainment.
Conrad Veidt stars as a dreaded duelist under sentence of death, to whom Richelieu offers a pardon if he can bring in a Huguenot duke whose plans for an uprising have the Cardinal in a panic. Raymond Massey is very well cast as the Cardinal, and he does full justice to the role. Veidt is believable as Gil, and his deadpan style works rather well with some of the occasional lines of dry humor.
Veidt's character is accompanied by a slippery servant played with good humor by Romney Brent. The heart of the movie comes in Veidt's interactions with the duke's sister, played by Annabella, who makes her a worthy adversary for the swordsman, both with her beauty and with her brains.
Beyond the basic details of the anticipated conflict, the story relies less on the historical background than on the easily understood human drams among the characters. Veidt finds himself torn between his word, his affection for Annabella, and his fear of death. The servant and the duke's sister likewise have their own dilemmas to face, and these give some depth to the story, which is nothing deep, but is rather entertaining and interesting in its own right.
