☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Contraband
(1940) – M. Powell
Another early film from Michael Powell,
scripted by Emeric Pressburger and starring Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson,
following on from the group’s earlier The Spy in Black (1939). Again, in a sort of Hitchcockian vein, we
find ourselves following Veidt who is the captain of a neutral Danish ship that
is halted and examined for contraband by the Brits on its way back from
America. While docked, two passengers steal
the Captain’s courtesy landing passes and escape to London – one of them is
Hobson. With his interest piqued, Veidt
follows and soon they are both ensnared by the Nazis (and it is refreshing that
Veidt is not playing one of them).
Things become comic when the staff of a Danish restaurant (headed by Hay
Petrie) are called upon to help. With
his usual flair for the lyrical moment, Michael Powell elevates this spy
thriller into something more deeply enjoyable than the usual run-of-the-mill
thriller and Veidt is excellent in a fun role.
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