edwagreen
C+ Warner Brothers Effort with Hedy Lamarr cast as the femme fatale, a mysterious woman with an aura about herself. She meets up with Paul Henried,in neutral Lisbon, during World War 11. Henried has fled from Holland where he has committed acts of sabotage.The film lacked considerable excitement. You know something is funny when Lamarr was freed from Dachau and married her liberator, the usually evil Victor Francen.The amazing thing about this film is that both Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are good guys. That's why they both, with Lorre in particular, are given little to do here.Naturally, there is leak within the partisan group and Henried, framed for a murder that the Nazis committed, comes up with a plan to uncover the traitor.The ending is pure Warner Brothers, so similar to that of "Casablanca," of 2 years before. In fact, the film is rather a weak imitation of the Oscar winner. Lamarr was no Ingrid Bergman.
richardann
After the success of "Casablanca," Warner Bros. channeled aspects of their mega-hit through other films of the 1940s. "The Conspirators" is a splendid example, including many of the "Casablanca" cast members, moody sets, and even the airport beacon. In "The Conspirators" Paul Henreid recreates the Dutch resistance leader. Hedy Lamarr stands in for Ingrid Bergman as Henreid's love (although not his wife). Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre work together like a well-oiled machine, if the rest of the troupe is a bit too typecast. As with Warner Bros. films of this era, a large part of the entertainment is in the music (although this is in no way a musical), especially the authentic sounding Portuguese songs in the fishing village. Everyone hits their marks and executes their lines well, and the final plot twist will come as a surprise to most viewers.
wrbtu
This was a solid movie with two of the greatest supporting players,Greenstreet & Lorre, in one of the seven films they made together.I love both of them, & wish they had more shared movies & biggerparts. They were both outstanding actors, but due to their looks(one big & obese, the other very short with unique features) weren'tup to the standards of what Hollywood wanted it's leading men tolook like, therefore their roles were limited to supporting parts. I'mnot a big fan of Paul Henreid, I often have trouble recalling just whohe is, so I could do with less of him in this film. And Hedy, well,she's sure great to look at, but her range is limited. More ofGreenstreet & Lorre would have made this a better film. I rate it7/10.
Jim Tritten
Hedy Lamarr is never more beautiful and it is always a pleasure to see Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre together. The story line is fairly good for the era but the on-screen results disappoint. The movie is justifiably compared with the much much better Casablanca. Paul Henreid is escaping from the Nazis in neutral Lisbon. Hedy, Sydney, and Peter all offer help but there are complications. Conspirators abound -- who is to be trusted? All is revealed an a too predictable ending. See this film as an example of movie making during the war or to round out your viewing of its cast. On the other hand, my wife loved it! Go figure.
AD
