I give this a 7 or 8. 'Espionage' focuses on two opposing reporters on a train secretly trying to get a story and their suspicious/quirky fellow passengers who think they're a pair of newlyweds. It's 1937 and an informant leaks the European train schedule of a munitions mogul, Kronsky, to two rival newspapers. The first paper's star reporter is Patricia (Madge Evans) but her passport won't be valid because of a previous story angering many countries and to quote her editor they'd 'throw you in a concentration camp' (I found this an interesting line given the time and place of production). So she steals her boss' passport (which is a dual passport picturing him and his wife). The other paper's star reporter just began his vacation and only wants to spend it with his girl. However the editor finds at his house (in his bed, no less!) a violin-playing author named Ken (Edmund Lowe) whom he sends in his place. Patricia (who dislikes Ken's books) and Ken (who dislikes Patricia's column) meet on the train without revealing who they really are and why they're really there.
Ken has his passport stolen so he pretends to be Patricia's husband (via the passport photo of her boss). Soon the whole trains thinks they're newlyweds due in part to a friendly/busybody passenger from Missouri. When Kronsky's private carriage connects to the train and he visits the dining car everyone on the train becomes interested in him (except for the man from Missouri). Soon there's an assassination attempt..
This movie moves at a fast pace and has some minor mysteries to it in figuring out everyone's motivations but mostly it's a nice comedy with a few clever twists. It's not hilarious but I enjoyed myself while watching it. With about 20 minutes left they get off the train and all mysteries are gone and replaced with mild hijinks (alcohol, impersonations, and fake moustaches). The word 'mild' should mean I was bored and hitting the ffwd button but the script keeps things moving along (the movie's a little over an hour long). The ending is very upbeat and a little flat and the movie definitely loses some of its enjoyment once they get off the train. Performance-wise Ken hams it up a bit but Patricia was pretty good, if a little too straight in a scene or two. It made me wish it was Myrna Loy and William Powell together in this film. I'm surprised I'm rating it so high but I had a good time watching it.
Here are a couple examples of some of the humor. Ken goes to his original car and finds his roommate is a large Turk stifling the room with smoke from his hookah (helps his allergies) and Ken sniffs the air and says 'Oh, vanilla.' Or when Patricia and Ken are dining together and the Turk's sipping soup from his plate Patricia notes 'He's using the wrong spoon.' It's cute but not hilarious.
Ken has his passport stolen so he pretends to be Patricia's husband (via the passport photo of her boss). Soon the whole trains thinks they're newlyweds due in part to a friendly/busybody passenger from Missouri. When Kronsky's private carriage connects to the train and he visits the dining car everyone on the train becomes interested in him (except for the man from Missouri). Soon there's an assassination attempt..
This movie moves at a fast pace and has some minor mysteries to it in figuring out everyone's motivations but mostly it's a nice comedy with a few clever twists. It's not hilarious but I enjoyed myself while watching it. With about 20 minutes left they get off the train and all mysteries are gone and replaced with mild hijinks (alcohol, impersonations, and fake moustaches). The word 'mild' should mean I was bored and hitting the ffwd button but the script keeps things moving along (the movie's a little over an hour long). The ending is very upbeat and a little flat and the movie definitely loses some of its enjoyment once they get off the train. Performance-wise Ken hams it up a bit but Patricia was pretty good, if a little too straight in a scene or two. It made me wish it was Myrna Loy and William Powell together in this film. I'm surprised I'm rating it so high but I had a good time watching it.
Here are a couple examples of some of the humor. Ken goes to his original car and finds his roommate is a large Turk stifling the room with smoke from his hookah (helps his allergies) and Ken sniffs the air and says 'Oh, vanilla.' Or when Patricia and Ken are dining together and the Turk's sipping soup from his plate Patricia notes 'He's using the wrong spoon.' It's cute but not hilarious.