CinemaSerf
9/11/2022
James Mason ("Diello") is great in this superior WWII espionage story. He portrays the ostensibly obliging valet to the British Ambassador in Turkey. He has a bit of a sideline in secrets, though, and when he hooks up with the recently penniless Polish "Countess Anna" (Danielle Darrieux) to launder the ill-gotten gains, he begins to proceed with his cunning plan: to amass enough funds from the Nazis to retire to a millionaire's lifestyle in South America. When the British start to suspect, they bring Michael Rennie ("Travers") out from London to investigate. Not only does this put pressure on our treacherous friend, but when his partner absconds with all of the loot he has to think fast to survive... The story begins with a question in Parliament about the authenticity of a newspaper article suggesting this fantastic plot, so there is some truth to it. Add to that, the fact that the Nazis were so keen to get the information, but not trusting enough of their source to actually use and it gives our story an extra potency, too. Mason injects quite a bit of panache into his likeable, if totally duplicitous, character and the remainder of the tightly-knitted cast keep the pot boiling really well. Joseph Mankiewicz took the production to Istanbul which, again, assists with the realism of this really quite gripping drama with a suitably fitting conclusion. It's good, this film!
