"I say old chap have you ever thought about joining the secret service?"Paraphrased, that's how Robert Donat gets involved in spy work for the Brits in pre-revolutionary Russia. Unfortunately for him he goes undercover in a revolutionary organisation and after a botched assassination attempt winds up in Siberia. Don't worry, Donat - World War I comes along, then the revolution, so he's out in time to help beautiful noble Marlene Dietrich. (NB he's actually not much of a spy - helping her is all he seems to do)
Every scene involving Dietrich is choreographed so she can be as beautiful as possible - she's always striking a pose, looking off into the middle distance, whether on a train, in a forest, or walking down stairs. Donat remains an excellent adventure hero - handsome, cheery, heroic in an unshowy way... no wonder he was so in demand in the 1930s and its a shame asthma limited his appearances.
This steers a mostly neutral course politically - it is sympathetic to aristocrat Dietrich, but the White Russians are depicted as just execution-happy as the Reds. (The Whites are cleaner and slightly more disciplined, though whereas the Reds are all dirty and scowly). No one looks remotely Russian but there are good performances from Peter Bull as a scowling Red (it's a shame his part isn't bigger) and John Clemens is very effective as a shrewd young Red who is captivated by Dietrich (it's a showy part and helped him be cast in The Four Feathers).
It is most memorable for its images: Dietrich waking up to find her mansion deserted, then stumbling upon a mass of Reds; the train station conductor who has gone insane and keeps announcing that the trains have arrived; Donat and Dietrich's ridiculous fur hats in the forest. The finale seems to have been short separately out of sequence by Donat and Dietrich, which is really annoying when you want a final clinch. But its an entertaining adventure tale.
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