Lancer Spy

Missing Footage
Let me begin by saying how thrilled I am that 20th Century Fox has joined the bandwagon by releasing many of their old classics in a new MOD series. They had stopped releasing all of their golden gems on DVD, which was disappointing to me, since their library is one of the best from the Goldne Age of Hollywood. I've purchased a number of these films in the MOD format, and I was looking forward to "Lancer Spy," which I hadn't seen in over 45 years (when I was in my early teens). It's a complicated espionage thriller in which George Sanders made his Hollywood debut, and he's excellent in a dual role. Now, here comes my complaint. I don't know the movie by frame-by-frame, because it's been so long since my last viewing, but while watching it, I found the plot rather disjointed, and some scenes were jumping to the next scenes with no transitions whatsover. The running time of this MOD release is just about 75 minutes, so I decided to do a little research. First, I checked my very worn...

In the dark
I've waited years to see this movie, and I'm not sure I have seen all of it yet - between the obvious breaks/cuts and a transfer so dark I couldn't even read the titles. Enjoyed what I could see, but it's such a shame MGM are charging top dollar for such poor quality.

Good WW I espionage thriller
George Sanders plays a British spy in WW I who resembles in appearance a German officer; when the officer is captured, Sanders doubles for him and returns to Berlin to get information on an invasion plan. But Peter Lorre as a German major becomes suspicious of Sanders and assigns spy Delores Del Rio ("cleverly" named Dolores Daria) to learn what he's up to. She and Sanders fall in love and she helps him get the secret plans. She's caught and killed, but Sanders escapes to Switzerland with the plans to Britain's advantage. Sanders, who had played only bit parts up to this point, became a star with this picture, and he is superb. The espionage story moves along dramatically, and the climax is exciting and compelling. To show that Sanders was not just a heartless patriot, at the end we see that he returned to Berlin every year after the war to pay his respects at Del Rio's grave. Well done all around.

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