Madeleine Carroll plays Martha Cnockhaert, a Belgian nurse who spied for the British during the First World War.
The movie is based on Miss Cnockhaert's memoirs of the same title .... ghost-written by her husband, John 'Jock' McKenna. It's a highly romantic view of the trade, with Herbert Marshall as her lover and fellow spy, Edmund Gwenn as the town's mayor, and Conrad Veidt giving a very creepy performance as the commander of the German occupying forces. Miss Carroll gives a fine, layered performance, and while it is clear this was a major production for Gaumont British, with a large cast of extras, director Victor Saville focuses the camera on her. She's worth it.
There was a spate of women-spies-of-the-Great-War movies about this time from Hollywood. The best remembered one is probably MATA HARI, starring Greta Garbo. Hollywood offered a sexy, Pre-Code vision of espionage. This movie offers a less baroque, more intimate view.
The movie is based on Miss Cnockhaert's memoirs of the same title .... ghost-written by her husband, John 'Jock' McKenna. It's a highly romantic view of the trade, with Herbert Marshall as her lover and fellow spy, Edmund Gwenn as the town's mayor, and Conrad Veidt giving a very creepy performance as the commander of the German occupying forces. Miss Carroll gives a fine, layered performance, and while it is clear this was a major production for Gaumont British, with a large cast of extras, director Victor Saville focuses the camera on her. She's worth it.
There was a spate of women-spies-of-the-Great-War movies about this time from Hollywood. The best remembered one is probably MATA HARI, starring Greta Garbo. Hollywood offered a sexy, Pre-Code vision of espionage. This movie offers a less baroque, more intimate view.