Courrier diplomatique

Tyrone Power plays a diplomatic courier called out on a special assignment which seems fairly simple: pick up some documents from an agent and take them to Washington. But of course, in a film like this, things don't work out right the first time. The "drop" doesn't go according to plan, so Power has to improvise, surrounded by an increasing number of characters whose loyalties are questionable. A couple of femmes fatales, a cross-dressing night club entertainer, some MPs, and the obligatory little bald pawnshop owner all liven up the plot, with plenty of twists en route to the finale.

The influence of THE THIRD MAN is clear, with plenty of atmospheric European locations, and even a bit of zither music in a restaurant. Power is an engaging hero, and the two female leads (Neal and Neff) keep him guessing. Early appearances by Karl Malden, Charles Bronson, and Lee Marvin add interest for trivia buffs. Fans of Cold War espionage fiction will find DIPLOMATIC COURIER a great way to spend an evening.

Tyrone Power is obviously, as the title suggests, a diplomatic courier. He is thrown into a new mission just after completing one and changes planes before he is given time to turn around. Exhausted, he promptly falls asleep, taking two seats, but Patricia Neal, the last one on, needs it and he ultimately sleeps on her shoulder.

Right off the bat, they hit it off and have great chemistry. He would love to spend time with her, but he has his mission. This is a thoroughly engrossing espionage film that is a lot of fun and moves at a break-neck pace, with Ty constantly chasing the "bad guys" or being chased by them. Hildegarde Neff is great in a supporting role.

I'm sure this is hard to find. (I taped it some time ago off Fox Movie Channel, and recently watched it.) But if you happen to catch it, you'll be very glad you did. Costarring Stephen MacNally and Karl Malden and with James Coburn and Charles Bronson in small roles, this is one good little film that should be discovered.

This is a superb espionage film set early in the Cold War. Tyrone Power makes the perfect lead, because he always had that quality of looking innocent and puzzled in the trickiest of situations, inevitably summoning plenty of noble resolution while never looking worldly wise about it. In this story, he is a diplomatic courier working for the American State Department. It is his job to carry important diplomatic communications by hand from country to country. He carries them in a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist. He wears two watches at once, one for the time at home and one for the time of his destination. However, Power becomes embroiled in a fantastically complicated espionage affair and ends up being used as a pawn in a complex game of intrigue which few can understand. He become involved with two mysterious women, who may or may not be femmes fatale. One is Patricia Neal, who plays a wealthy American widow on the make. She comes across as too good to be true, and for a while we suspect her of overacting. But then her true nature comes out, and we discover how evil she really is. When she starts playing her character's true self, she is terrifying. The other mysterious woman is played by the German actress Hildegard Neff, a mysterious beauty who was at the peak of her American popularity at this time. The film also features Karl Malden in a supporting role, where he is particularly good and shows the promise of his career which was to come. Much of the film is shot in Trieste, which one of the characters describes as being a hotbed of spies of all kinds, like Lisbon during the War. This film has a great deal of postwar atmosphere and suspense and is only one notch down from the more brilliant works of Hitchcock and Carroll Reed. The director was Henry Hathaway, an old pro who could make the telephone book look interesting, The film is full of double agents, betrayal, duplicity, baffling situations, and murder. The film moves at quite a pace and is never dull for a moment. The availability of this classic now on DVD is a welcome addition to the finer cinematic portrayals of early Cold War paranoia and deception. It is interesting historically as well as cinematically, and we get to see a lot of location shots which evoke the era.

This is one of the best of the post-war intrigue/suspense flicks. What all of these have in common is the gritty black-and-white look of cities that haven't recovered from the war, usually in ruins, to varying degrees. (Think The Third Man, The Search, Berlin Express) There are no ruins in Diplomatic Courier, but you still get that shadowy, melancholy, sinister, exotic atmosphere that marks the genre.

Others, who pick apart the "accuracy" or logic of certain parts of Diplomatic Courier are pedantic prigs who don't know how to watch a movie. Sure, there are a few lapses, but in such a fast-paced movie, with so many plot points, it's amazing that the story holds together so well. This is due, I think, to Henry Hathoway, one of the great line directors of the studio system. Add the cinematography of the great Lucien Ballard, and you have a handsome production.

As for the cast, who cares if Bogart would have been better? Tyrone Power is, well, Tyrone Power. No, he's no Bogart, but who doesn't enjoy just watching him? And he is one of the great action film stars. And we have Patricia Neal, at her most beautiful and vampish, in that mink coat for Ty Power to nestle his face in. I think the Power-Neal thing is essential because it serves as a light-hearted counterpoint to the severe, portentous relationship of Power-Neff.

And speaking of Hildegard Neff, I agree with a previous reviewer, that this film showcases the talent and beauty of one of the finest actresses that Hollywood ever trashed.

I SAW THIS MOVIE IN THE 50s, but I remember that it was well played by Tyrone Power and Hildegarde Neff, with solid direction and good B&W photography.Charles Bronson ( uncredited ), had only a few seconds on the screen, but I remember vividly that he made a tremendous impression, and I was sure he would attain stardom.