arthur_tafero Now I know why David O Selznik picked Vivien Leigh for Scarlett O'Hara. He must have seen this film and was impressed by her screen persona and torrid sex appeal. She was a queen of cat and mouse in this film, and would repeat that persona in GWTW as well. As for Conrad Veidt; I have no idea why any woman would be attracted to him in real life or in this film. The second strike against the film was the costuming, which though very fashionable for the 1930s, had nothing to do with actual time period of the film; 1918. With two strikes, however, the rest of the film, the actors and actresses all hit a home run and kept you riveted to the screen for the duration. A true WW 1 spy classic, as good as the legendary WW 1 spy, Mata Hari ever was. Recommended.

pepe4u22 Watched this movie and I found it absolutely delightful. The story is about a double agent played by Vivien Leigh who is a dress shop owner in Sweden. I enjoyed the ingenious manner they used dresses to provide spy information and how the first part of the movie you believe the Vivien Leigh character to be a German spy. During her travels she meets Conrad Veidts character and we also she their courtship. Yes I have seen this movie with the drama and romance before but what makes it wonderful is the performances of the leads. You can see Ms Leighs beauty and how she commands ones attention every moment she is in the scene as her on camera presence is electrifying. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and so should you.

Applause Meter For a spy thriller—there are no thrills or suspense in this poorly scripted and directed film. None of the espionage operatives appear to be in mortal danger and only demonstrate a tepid apprehension of exposure. The dialogue lacks finesse, wit, excitement or urgency forcing the actors to deliver their lines as drab exposition. The suave, villainous screen persona of Conrad Veidt, usually played to excellent effect, is totally obscured in his portrayal of the German agent, Baron Karl Von Marwitz, who is the head of the intelligence ring. Vivien Leigh is the "traveling" dress designer Madeleine Goddard, working undercover, shuttling sensitive military information back and forth on behalf of the French cause. Her delicate beauty is showcased in too few close-ups. On whole, throughout the entire film, the cinema photographer relies on medium and long shots, cancelling out any possibility of conveying any subtlety of character development in the players. This misstep is especially detrimental to the progression of the romance between the two agents working for opposing sides. The audience gets no comprehension of what attracts one to the other. There is no heat, no longing desire. What do these two "lovers" see in each other? If the screenwriter knew, it certainly isn't on the screen for the viewer to see. The art production values in this movie are egregiously inept. The story is set during World War I, yet the women are coiffed and dressed in exquisite style epitomizing 1930s soigné glamour.

st-shot Cinema uber villain Conrad Veidt and delicate Vivien Leigh make for an odd but absorbing couple as spies on opposite sides in this suspense romance. Veidt's nefarious allure and usual commitment to cruelty is tempered long enough to get the attention of Miss Leigh and it gives the somewhat convoluted (she's a double agent) story a suspense that sustains itself up until the final moments.Madeline Goddard (Leigh) poses as a Stockholm dress shop owner while spying for Germany in neutral Sweden. Baron Karl Von Marwitz (Veidt) arrives in Stockholm to put the war behind him and live an epicurean existence of wine women and song. He also is merely posing. Goddard and Marwitz eventually become entangled and the passion between the two distracts them momentarily from their assignments which is to expose each other.Veidt and Leigh have some excellent scenes together fraught with suspense and romance as they parry back and forth using charm and suspicion for weapons. In spite of their contrasting stature they display a nice change of pace chemistry with director Victor Seville maintaining a degree of ambiguity with both leads late into the film as they struggle with duty and desire. There's a rousing gun battle between a sub and disguised transport in the finale with a somewhat schmaltzy climax that hinders the film, but Veidt and Leigh create enough fireworks of their own to make Desperate Journey worth the watch.