Certainly if you're able to have ways of preventing safe from being broken into, you are able to figure out a way to make that system not work. That's what Ray Milland gets into trouble for, given a ten year sentence, which after two is interrupted so he can use his law breaking past to get into a safe over in Nazi controlled Belgium. The first half of the film surrounds his criminal activities, and the second part deals with a war espionage subplot. Seems like two unrelated stories, but the way it plays out gels both parts together.
The first part of the movie is dominated by an excellent performance by veteran character actor Barry Jones as an antique dealer who uses Milland's abilities to break the law, but unwilling to pay for his part in the crimes taking the desperate way out. The chase sequence of the police following Milland and Jones is very intense, with a truly gruesome conclusion. Jones gives a scene stealing performance that was a combination of light comedy and pathos, and the audience certainly doesn't forget about his character just because he's not in the second half of the film.
That begins with Milland being pulled out of prison, trained with younger men for his assignment (flinching the idea of being pulled in a parachute down a free fall), then heading to Belgium where things don't go as planned. So it's sort of a combination of Raffles and James Bond with Milland (who also directed) having one of his best later parts before he started doing campy horror films. Jeanette Sterke is pretty but bland as a member of the British resistance who Milland encounters and is lectured by in the importance of his mission which up until then he had been flippant about. Not a bad film, but slow at times. The exciting moments outweigh those however, so it's enjoyable if not great.
The first part of the movie is dominated by an excellent performance by veteran character actor Barry Jones as an antique dealer who uses Milland's abilities to break the law, but unwilling to pay for his part in the crimes taking the desperate way out. The chase sequence of the police following Milland and Jones is very intense, with a truly gruesome conclusion. Jones gives a scene stealing performance that was a combination of light comedy and pathos, and the audience certainly doesn't forget about his character just because he's not in the second half of the film.
That begins with Milland being pulled out of prison, trained with younger men for his assignment (flinching the idea of being pulled in a parachute down a free fall), then heading to Belgium where things don't go as planned. So it's sort of a combination of Raffles and James Bond with Milland (who also directed) having one of his best later parts before he started doing campy horror films. Jeanette Sterke is pretty but bland as a member of the British resistance who Milland encounters and is lectured by in the importance of his mission which up until then he had been flippant about. Not a bad film, but slow at times. The exciting moments outweigh those however, so it's enjoyable if not great.