The Passing of the Third Floor Back

The Passing On The Third Floor Back was a pretty ancient Edwardian era piece which Gaumont British thought would be a good vehicle for newly arrived Conrad Veidt to their shores. Veidt who had starred in German cinema had to leave because of a part Jewish wife. He hated the Nazis thoroughly, but was so darn good playing them he's best known today for being Major Strosser in Casablanca. Veidt brought a certain amount of continental charm and unworldliness to the part of the mysterious stranger who rents a room from landlady Mary Clare and starts to change the lives of all the people who board at her establishment.

This film really ought to be seen back to back with the modern classic, The Green Mile. To some The Passing Of The Third Floor Back will seem way old fashioned, but see Conrad Veidt's character and contrast it with what Michael Clarke Duncan did in The Green Mile and you'll understand completely what this film is all about.

This is some collection of the British public that Veidt has moved in with. Mary Clare has a maid who was paroled to her whom she treats as a slave who is played by Rene Ray and who Veidt gives some hope to. Another is cynical and hardened spinster Beatrix Loehman who does show she's got more to her with a singular act of heroism. Parents Jack Turnball and Cathleen Nesbit are ready to sell their beautiful daughter Anna Lee over to this fatuous and materialistic property owner Frank Cellier to clear up her father's debts. Lee really loves fellow boarder Ronald Ward, but fears she can't marry him because there's too much she sees in the way.

This film's origins are with a short story by Jerome K. Jerome and an adapted play by the same author that ran a year on Broadway in the 1909- 1910 season. There's one bit of humor that was a political dig at the current British Prime Minister who many thought was self satisfied and fatuous as Cellier's character is in the film. Cellier loudly proclaims as his mantra in life to be 'Safety First' which was the slogan that Stanley Baldwin ran on. There was a lot more to Baldwin than Cellier's character was, but his enemies saw Baldwin smug and self satisfied. Anyone in the British movie-going public seeing this film would have seen the point immediately, but it's lost on today's audience.

Cellier's actually proves to be something more than a fatuous oaf. This guy is so cheap he lives at a boardinghouse because he owns slum property all over the district. Cheap rent and he can keep an eye on things. He also proves to be an adversary for Veidt as he's everything Veidt cannot abide in a human being.

The Passing On The Third Floor Back is probably too old fashioned for some tastes. Still it is a tastefully done antique and if one's seen The Green Mile and liked it, you'll like this one as well.

To demonstrate to anyone that 1930s films could be imaginative without being pompous, clever but still fun, and thought-provoking but not preachy, make them watch this! It's a beautifully made thoroughly entertaining story essentially about being nice to one another!

The script was written by Alma Reville, Mrs Alfred Hitchcock who frequently collaborated with her husband. On this occasion however Gaumont-British used their new Austrian exile, realist avant-garde Berthold Viertel to direct along with another German exile, distinguished cinematographer Curt Courant who both created a perfect blend of gritty realism and surreal expressionism. A lot of time was spent before shooting took place experimenting with different camera angles, with light and shadows to both capture the drudgery of normal life whilst at the same time hinting at something ethereal and mysterious without being too obtrusive about it.

Subtlety is the watchword here in both the story and the presentation. The acting is subtle - there's no early thirties style theatrical gesturing here or ridiculously over-blown clichéd stereotypes. You can believe that these people you're watching are real people and when you watch them you think you notice little tell tale signs which give you a insight into what they're thinking. The story is subtle - although some reviews suggest that the stranger is an angel there's absolutely nothing in the film to back that up. He's just a charismatic force for good. That's what's so good about this picture, it allows your imagination to fill in the gaps. Personally, I'm going with he and MARY POPPINS are both time travellers who have come back to save the world by making various people happy who otherwise would have started World War Three. There is one scene however which alludes to something more spiritual: the stranger intimates that the loathsome, evil Mr Wright recognises him as though this conflict between good and evil, between the angels and demons has being going on for a long, long time.

This is very much an ensemble piece, although Conrad Veidt will ingrain himself forever into your memory, the rest of the cast - all of them are just as authentic. The film's co-star is Réne Ray. She plays Stasia the maid from the slums who is treated with such cruelty and scorn by her "betters" that her life is unbearable. She is one of those characters whom you find totally adorable and instantly likeable - perhaps it's because the rest of the boarders are so unpleasant, perhaps it might even be because she looks a bit like Jessie Matthews? It is Stasia who in desperation cries out into the darkness: Is there not one decent person in the world? .... and it's at that point that Conrad Veidt knocks on the door and the world slowly changes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film the first time I saw it. I have seen it twice in about the last 10 years on late night TV. It's been a while since my last viewing of the film.

It has a powerful message and has elements of the hero-flick, in the personal presence, and apparent infallibility of Mr Veidt's character.

The sinfulness of our human character, in several of its guises, is on display in this film; lust, greed, folly, etc.

What is compelling is Veidt's character's dealing with such realities of our nature. Rather than blasting all the evildoers away with bullets as one might expect in a "hero-flick", he expresses patience, acceptance of their frailties and love to the unlovable house guests.

The film might prompt you to ask the question, who in history has loved humanity in such a sacrificially way?

This movie is very clearly a play turned into a film--all the action except one sequence takes place in a 3-story boarding house, and during three days. Each of the characters is very distinctive. The poor "reform school" girl Stasia working in the kitchen, on whom everyone else takes out their frustrations, is the main figure. Her boss, Mrs. Sharpe, is sharp--always happy to accuse Stasia of stealing, call her a slut, and tell her to work harder. Vivian is the lovely daughter of a retired military man and his wife; they haven't paid the rent in months, because Dad can't stand the idea of taking a job in sales, and their only capital is Vivian. Vivian however is in love with an idealistic architect, Chris, who wants to design hospitals. Mr. Wright is Vivian's prospective husband, an unlovable, self-made man. Miss Kite is a genteel, snobbish, catty working woman on the wrong side of thirty; Mr. Larkcom is a pianist who works playing jazz in a record store, but can play classical music if requested.

The story begins with preparations for the engagement party. Stasia is driven to consider suicide by the general cruelty, but running out the door she runs into a stranger. The stranger wants a room, even though the only one available is quite undesirable. His politeness, and promptness in paying in advance, calm everyone down instantly. However, as he watches Vivian and Chris in the speeches leading up to the engagement, he is the catalyst in her leaving the table without putting on the diamond ring.

The next day is a bank holiday, and the stranger invites everyone to take a ride on the steamer down to Margate. As he listens to the various characters talking, or simply touches their shoulders or arms, they find their sense of themselves changing. Suddenly love seems possible. The third day, however, is Mr. Wright's day. He plants suspicions and temptations in everyone's way, and by the end of the day is close to making everyone meaner and unhappier than they were when they began.

The stranger is, basically, an angel. Mr. Wright is Mr. Wrong; he is a mortal man, with an experience and appetites, but as he says he does not want to be happy, which he could only accomplish by being generous. He sneers at the stranger that the latter is "not allowed to interfere," to solve the various characters' problems by simply giving them money (which would indeed help Vivian and her parents, Chris, and Stasia). So it seems that angels, like the Star Trek travelers, must follow the Prime Directive: just to help what's already going on in each person. The last day is a struggle between Good and Evil.

The movie is full of wonderful goofy little roles and moments, played by charming actors and actresses. Conrad Veidt is the reason I bothered to get hold of the film and he does not disappoint in the role of the angelic stranger. He radiates goodness and a kind of healing sensuality as he walks among these disappointed people. One really feels that a man like this, by paying attention to people and speaking gently to them, could wake them up to their own better selves; he's a bit like an ideal psychotherapist. At the same time, he suffers to see them suffering. Apparently he himself was fond of this role, which exploits his magnetism in such a different way from his many romantic villains.

Mr. Wright makes a little speech explaining how he has made a fortune building housing for the poor--"and don't let anyone tell you you can't collect rents from the poor. You can! It just takes character." I must admit I find this definition of "character" helpful in following the rhetoric of presidential elections.

René Ray is wonderful as Stasia, servant girl at a London boarding house occupied by a nasty landlady and a wicked bunch of boarders. Stasia was hired on the cheap from a reformatory and receives nothing but scorn and cruelty from the boarders. She longs for escape, or at least a bit of kindness: "If only there was one decent person…." Pushed to her limit, Stasia heads for the door, where—

Conrad Veidt walks in and immediately the girl senses something different in him. It's a beautiful, surprising scene: She is suddenly smiling.

Veidt is a very polite, extremely soft-spoken and apparently nameless stranger. He leases a tiny third floor apartment in the house and quickly and quietly changes the atmosphere, the relationships, the attitudes of the other boarders.

Among the group, Beatrix Lehmann stands out as Miss Kite, a not-so-old spinster who is bitter that time is passing her by—and in whom the spark of energy and love of life is perhaps re-lit. Anna Lee gives a strong performance as the beautiful young woman who is her impoverished parents' only valuable possession. Must she marry the wealthy Mr. Wright, thus solving their financial problems? It's a heartbreaking dilemma; Lee makes it seem real.

Frank Cellier is the slimy Mr. Wright, a businessman whose success is achieved through laying others low. Alone among the boarders, Mr. Wright is not affected by the stranger's mysterious presence. The action will eventually build toward a showdown of sorts…but not one in any way conventional or expected.

Although most of the action takes place in the boarding house, a joyous sequence in the film's midsection shows the group taking a boat trip down the Thames. The characters loosen up, find enjoyment, begin friendships. The wonder in Stasia's face when the boat goes under the Tower Bridge as it opens for them! It's a glorious moment.

Conrad Veidt is mesmerizing and intense; René Ray is full of fear and joy and excitement. Their scenes together are quite wonderful.

It's an oddball movie, not particularly easy to watch; it looks evil and human weakness pretty directly in the face. But it's also positively moving—it's certainly left me thinking and wondering what it's all about.