morrison-dylan-fan With my 8th IMDb anniversary being on the same day as a bank holiday,I decided take advantage of the day,by taking a look at Boris Karloff in a non-Horror role for the first ever time.The plot:Taking advantage of having recently won a battle which has forced The Allies to retreat,a German army officer decides to send double agent Helene Von Lorbeer undercover to a house that is used for meetings by the UK government.Arriving to the house,Lorbeer is met by a fellow undercover agent called Valdar,who tells Lorbeer that she must watch her step as she gathers information from government minister's.As Helene starts to get deeper into the workings of the government,Lorbeer begins to fear that some minister's may be starting to come suspicious of her true identity.View on the film:Mostly going against the grain of the time, (with the exception of the flag waving ending) in his adaptation of Anthony Paul Kelly's stage play,the screenplay by Lee Katz tells the story of the film from the point of view of the German's,with Katz gradually increasing the tension as he reveals the lengths that the German's will go to for picking up any information on The Allies.Backed by a lively score from Heinz Roemheld and Bernhard Kaun and also having a surprisingly good public domain print,director Terry O. Morse superbly uses candle lights to create a chilling espionage atmosphere,with Boris Karloff emphasising Morse's chilling feel with a very good creepy performance,and the cute Margaret Lindsay giving a good performance which shows Von Lorbeer's increasing fear of her true identity being uncovered by British intelligence.

csteidler As one spy to another, Boris Karloff offers some advice: "The only way to be someone you are not is to be that person always, even in the presence of friends." This is a picture that keeps us guessing—just who is each person? It's a clever and very entertaining wartime thriller in which no one's identity is clear.Set in 1917, the action is presented as directly relevant to the current events of 1940; more than one speech steps aside from the actual plot and appeals to an audience who would know exactly what was meant by references to future wars and to future lunatics who would again want to take over the world. The film's final speaker actually turns straight on to the camera for his inspirational closing sentences—the kind of exhortation that was frequent in WWII era films, that we rarely if ever see in pictures from any other era, and that can be strangely stirring even at this great distance.Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay are both excellent, especially in their scenes together: their eyes are wonderfully expressive as they watch each other, play their roles, calculate loyalties and next moves.Favorite moment: the late scene at the center of which Karloff purrs, "Excellent. But I'm afraid it won't quite do." Definitely a spy vs. spy quickie worth watching.

greenheart For a minor war movie, this wasn't too bad. Cross, double-cross, double, double-cross....well, you get the idea. The whole idea of British intelligence staring Boris Karloff immediately contradicts itself. Karloff plays his usual type of role and looked like he hadn't slept in at least a fortnight. Margaret Lindsay stole the show for me with a charming and well-judged performance.I guess the secret of this movie's success for me, is that I was never entirely sure until the end, just exactly who was on which side. It's all about suspense and tension and this movie just about pulled that off. A few clichés throughout, but this was made in war time and are therefore forgivable. A stirring speech at the end to round off a movie that kept my attention and is worth a view.

Robert J. Maxwell All the combatants seemed to sidle into the First World War crabwise, without really intending to do much other than preserve national pride, and then, before you know it, kaboom. Barbara Tuchman, who wrote the prize-winning history "Guns of August," used to tell the story of a lecture she gave at a famous Midwestern university and being congratulated by a student for making the casus belli so clear. "I'd always wondered why they called the other one World War Two," said the student.Not that "British Intelligence" is about World War I anyway. It's set in 1917 but it was shot in 1940 as a spy mystery that shifted back and forth from Berlin to London. Except for some differences in uniforms and the use of Zeppelins instead of Heinkels, it's really World War II the movie is dealing with. The movie's speeches, which I won't bother repeating, practically hit us over the head with the real conflict. And here the Americans enter the war without having to be bombed into doing so.Boris Karloff is an obsequious French butler in a classy London house where all the British high staff seem to meet and trade secrets in front of open windows and whatnot. Karloff had his hands on some good roles in his time -- "Frankenstein", "The Body Snatchers" -- but this role demonstrates his weaknesses. He overplays it outrageously, fawning and bowing, and saying things like, "Here, let me help you with your coat." And his French accent is execrable. "Zeppelin" comes out "Zepp-lawn." Better he shouldn't have tried at all.The other performances are decent enough and there's nothing awry with the direction but it's rather a long, slow slog through hidden identities and intrigues. On the whole it's like watching a very old screenplay that has been dug up out of a shoe box on the back shelf and refurbished by Second Spin Ltd. It's not insulting -- it's not that bad -- it's just rather routine and dull.