Espionne aux enchères

Cub reporter Paulette Goddard is sent to Lisbon, where she is assigned to work under a fiery news service editor who has a reputation for scaring off one reporter after another. It's not too surprising when we see that said editor is Ray Milland; he is indeed a bit of a grump but—again not too surprising—before long he and his new reporter are working together fine.

The "plans" in the movie's title have been etched in invisible ink across the back of a spy whose original scheme called for her to usurp Goddard's place in the Lisbon hotel and then sell the plans to the highest bidder. Roland Young is lots of fun as a British agent dispatched to the hotel to acquire the plans; his counterpart is Albert Dekker, leading a gang of Nazis who must have the plans themselves. Of course, Goddard is confused and annoyed when her hotel neighbors immediately start asking to take a look at her back.

The plot is clever if nothing spectacular—it moves along fast and builds to a rather exciting climax involving a daring escape and a phone booth.

Also of note, I thought—this picture was made right toward the end of that two year period during which Europe was at war but the U.S. wasn't in it yet. Our heroes' sympathies are certainly with the Brits here, but the American patriotism isn't over the top; starting right about the time this movie hit the theaters—January of 1942— Hollywood movies took on a much more aggressive part in the war effort. The Nazis portrayed here are bad guys, but they're not quite as purely evil as they soon would be.

Overall, it's pleasant rather than profound. Milland and Goddard make a good team, and they both look great too.

I loved this film. It's hard to get and/or see on TV these days, as many 40s films are. It stars, once again, the unbeatable combination of two of Paramount's top comedy stars, Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard. Goddard the gorgeous, I call her. She wears very luscious clothes and looks fantastic in them. The plot is mistaken identity and Paulette is the one who is being sought. She supposedly has plans of some sort of government secret tattooed in invisible ink on her back. The fun of the film is in all those villains attempting to get Goddard unrobed and catch a gander at the plans, as though that were what the audience was casting their eyes on. As in all screwball comedies, this has a happy ending with our hero and heroine swearing their love for each other in of all places, a turkish bath house.

Bad girl Margaret Hayes (Rita) assumes the identity of reporter Paulette Goddard (Sidney) in order to pass on secrets to her Nazi contact Albert Dekker (The Baron) in Lisbon. She has some plans tattooed onto her back and then covered in invisible ink so nothing shows up. The information can be retrieved by applying another fluid onto her back. She is destined to meet up with Dekker at a Lisbon hotel, but, in a mix-up, it is Goddard who shows up at the hotel and is pursued for the information that she knows nothing about. Fellow reporter Ray Milland (Kenneth) is there to help solve the mystery as all are chased around the hotel.

The film plays out straight-forwardly with no real suspense and far too much comedy that isn't necessarily funny. Especially from the dithering Roland Young (Ronald) as a British envoy. There is an amusing sequence of events that involves Goddard, Dekker and Young at the beginning of the film when both Dekker and Young ask Goddard to remove her clothing. But that is the only stand-out scene apart from the beginning when Hayes gets her tattoo. The film also scores points for the hotel rooms and Goddard's outfits. However, the film is nothing more than an OK time-passer.

This is a rather weird spy thriller comedy with a lot of confusion into it, and not until towards the end the actions begin to make some sense and be interesting. Ray Milland and Paulette Goddard are always good and reliable as actors, they seldom disappointed any audience, and without them the film would have been nothing. Roland Young adds to the comedy, he is always an amusing success, but for the story, it is far-fetched and nonsensical and as far from any hint at realism as any constructed fiction yarn about spying could be. The finale is great, but before that there are just a tremendous lot of confusing loose ends of intrigue that stink of being just constructed to make some entertainment.

"The Lady Has Plans" is interesting for its content and timing alone. It's an American film that premiered on January 20, 1942. The U.S. had been in World War II just six weeks. That was two years after the start of WW II in Europe. Which means that this movie had been in the making since early in the war. Yet, some or much of its filming was done after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

While there's no indication that America was yet at war, this clearly is a WW II espionage film. It's part thriller and part comedy. A band of thieves steals military secrets to sell to the highest bidder. Nazi Germany is interested. So too is Great Britain. And, Japan is mentioned.

There is no presence of armed forces and no battles or military operations here. Rather, the action takes place mostly in neutral Portugal. Lisbon truly did become a city of spies and intrigue during WW II. This film gives an early peek at what Lisbon would become during the war. Several films during and after the war show the city as a hotbed of intrigue and espionage. It also was the great escape hatch for many who fled Nazi Europe for the Americas. That point is made in "Casablanca" and other films during and after the war.

The plot seems a little hokey - the smuggling of a secret plan drawn with invisible ink on a woman's back. But, it was certainly possible. A number of older movies were made about the use of invisible ink. In this case, the design of a secret American weapon is drawn with invisible ink on the back of an attractive woman spy. She has taken the identity of an American newswoman, Sidney Royce, who is being sent to Lisbon. The story doesn't divulge how the thieves knew about a reporter's transfer in time to hatch their plan and make fake passports and documents. But, the story unfolds with intrigue, occasional doses of humor, and some action when the real Royce gets to Lisbon ahead of the spy.

The cast all give fine performances. Ray Milland plays Kenneth Harper, head of the American news outfit. Paulette Goddard is Royce, the new reporter sent to help him. Roland Young is the British embassy intelligence officer and Albert Dekker plays the German embassy gestapo leader, Baron von Kemp. Margaret Hayes plays the female spy, Rita Lenox, and Addison Richards is the chief of the espionage thieves, Paul Baker.

Most viewers should enjoy this film. Collectors of war films and those interested in espionage films may want to add it to their film collections.