Vera Miles is engaged to George Sanders, but rakish Commander James Mason develops a passion for her. He decides that she won't dump Sanders for him because he is not rich, but fortunately he has a plan. He will make things appear as if he has sold secrets to the Russians, disappear, and when he reappears, will sue the newspapers for libel.
It's a low-key comedy, with everyone playing their roles as if it is a straight drama, and suffers from it; George Sanders comes off as a dull stinker (justifying the inevitable happy ending when Miss Miles dumps him); Mason could play things amusingly, but doesn't. The result had me waiting for a moment when I could crack a smile, but even a couple of scenes which clearly could have been pitched for comic relief -- Mason goes to his office to drop some files behind behind a cabinet while he annoys the staff; Sanders makes drinks amidst tadpoles in mayonnaise jars, collected by his childish father -- and no one ever utters the line about the gutter press deserving to be taken for a boodle. Perhaps that's the responsibility of director and co-screenwriter Guy Hamilton, whose idea of comedy seem to be a lot chillier than mine.
It's a low-key comedy, with everyone playing their roles as if it is a straight drama, and suffers from it; George Sanders comes off as a dull stinker (justifying the inevitable happy ending when Miss Miles dumps him); Mason could play things amusingly, but doesn't. The result had me waiting for a moment when I could crack a smile, but even a couple of scenes which clearly could have been pitched for comic relief -- Mason goes to his office to drop some files behind behind a cabinet while he annoys the staff; Sanders makes drinks amidst tadpoles in mayonnaise jars, collected by his childish father -- and no one ever utters the line about the gutter press deserving to be taken for a boodle. Perhaps that's the responsibility of director and co-screenwriter Guy Hamilton, whose idea of comedy seem to be a lot chillier than mine.