mark.waltz A phony slap-happy countess (ballet legend Vera Zorina) is fooling the social elite of the most upscale of European hotels, walking up to total strangers (whom she's researched, of course), clobbering them and then profusely apologizing for mistaking who they were. Of course, she then cons them and quickly disappears, that is if she isn't selling them a valuable piece of jewelry for much more than its worth (and having the victim of the con sign a statement indicating that they were told that the piece of jewelry that they overpaid on was a copy). She's not the mastermind behind these schemes; That falls to the autocrat Erich Von Stroheim and his somewhat dimwitted sidekick (Peter Lorre) who took Ms. Zorina under their wing from the streets.When her attempt to fleece a handsome stranger (Richard Greene), fails, she finds herself falling in love and decides to leave her con-game with Von Stroheim and Lorre behind. All it takes is for Greene to slap Ms. Zorina back to get her to change her fleecing ways and wake her up. But that can't get Von Stroheim and Lorre off her back; Once a beautiful meal ticket, always a beautiful meal ticket, but she's gone onto become a ballet star and become Greene's loyal wife. With her past ready to come back and haunt her, she's got some pretty quick thinking and scheming to do, and her intended victims are pretty formidable.Beautifully filmed and acted with a delightful tongue-in-cheek, this shows Von Stroheim in a light he rarely had an opportunity to take on. He seems to enjoy being less serious than normal, although he does play the role totally seriously. There's a sparkle in his eye in this one, and his pairing with Lorre is equivalent to what Lorre would do over at Warner Brothers with Sydney Greenstreet. Zorina (as she is billed) makes an enticing heroine, and if not given a terribly difficult role to play, she does so beautifully, and when she dances, she's magnetic. Greene is a handsome, feisty hero, giving as much to Zorina as she gives to him. This is a film which deserves higher recognition, as sophisticated a comedy as other more well known films.

JohnHowardReid A fun picture when it was made – and still one of the choicest delights of 1940's cinema – this film is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy/drama (with even a bit of ballet thrown in). Writing, directing and acting always maintain the most perfectly exquisite balance between the story's various elements. For once the efforts of a multitude of writers – in addition to the credited Karl Tunberg, Don Ettinger, John O'Hara, Jacques Companeez, Herbert Jutkee, Hans Jacoby and Michel Duran, Nunnally Johnson also contributed to the script, as did Erich von Stroheim who sketched in most of his own very amusing "business" and contributed to Peter Lorre's as well – have produced a delightfully smooth and energetic comedy of manners that only slows down slightly with the climactic ballet and during some of the moments when Richard Greene is on- screen (not Richard's fault. Except for his rousing opening scene, his role is totally conventional and lacks the sparkle that animates the movie's other main characters. Even Sig Rumann, in a tiny role, makes a greater impression simply because he has the material to do so). Production values are especially lush. Two photographers were employed, but they did not work in tandem, as many people suppose. In general, Cronjager handled the close-ups and the tight shots (like the scenes on the train), while Shamroy did the large group shots, the long shots and the establishing shots. My guess is that Shamroy also photographed the whole of the ballet – but in Cronjager's style. Cronjager was a favorite with female stars because he took infinite care to make them look ravishingly beautiful. On the other hand, he was not well liked by producers, directors and impatient stars because he worked too slowly. Available on a superb Fox DVD,

edwagreen This was an absolutely miserable film. It's basically the story of 3 thieves-ballet dancer Zorina, who was basically no actress, as she proved when she was replaced by Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca," as well as Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre. They use all sorts of tactics to woo their victims and then steal from them, primarily jewelry. Of course, one of the victims is Richard Greene, but love follows between Zorina and Greene, and they wed.The film fails to explain why Lorre took the actions he did in the end. Was he really a good natured guy?The most exciting scene of this dull film was the car chase, but that literally loses gas as well.Suddenly, Zorina is performing "Swan Lake." The whole film is one big mystery, and badly made at that. There is definitely a problem of continuity and lack of interest here.

Anne_Sharp "Lubitsch lite" might be the best description of this beguiling romantic comedy. Its charm relies to a surprising extent on the effervescent chemistry between its two male stars, Peter Lorre and Erich von Stroheim. These are not the most likely of sidekicks, but you'd be surprised how deftly these two play off one another, like a Mittel European Laurel and Hardy, as the cherubic kleptomaniac Polo (Lorre) and his sly con-artist buddy Andre (Stroheim). It's easy to imagine a series of comedy adventures based on Polo and Andre--actually, Stroheim and Lorre make a more entertaining duo than Lorre and Greenstreet. The lovely Zorina keeps up with them beautifully, as well as delivering a very photogenic performance in the "Swan Lake" ballet sequence (choreographed by her husband, George Balanchine) which anticipates "The Red Shoes" in its dynamically cinematic, semi-surreal style.