The Passing of the Third Floor Back

This film is about a boarding house in England that rents rooms to a variety of people. One day a tall, older man wishes to rent a room. At first the landlady does not wish to rent the room, but due to his mesmerizing eyes, she allows him to be her tenant. At the beginning, the house he enters is full of selfish, problem-ridden people who are fairly miserable with their lives and can't have any fun. After a few weeks of living and talking individually with this mysterious stranger, they begin to ease up and live their lives more happily. However, a rich, old scrooge (who looks like Hitler minus the moustache) lives in the house, too. He has evil intentions to destroy everything the stranger has mended in the house by tempting the contented tenants with his dirty money.

This movie had good characters. I especially liked Miss Kite and the stranger. Miss Kite looks a lot like a prettier/smarter Tori Spelling and is quite an intriguing and gutsy character. The stranger is so calm and shaman-like, it's very soothing to see him on screen. He almost mesmerizes YOU!

The character Vivian looks a lot like Drew Barrymore. It's funny how female movie stars seem to keep the same basic aesthetics throughout film history - at least in this film.

I liked the English cynicism presented in this film. For example, while two men are arguing, they are offering each other sugar in their tea, or milk, and being ultra polite to each other. More polite than usual. It is funny to see how polite they are to each other while they are discussing how each will screw the other over. It's like the more polite you are to your enemy, the more points you get towards conquering them.

The only downfall to this movie is, as an American, it was rather difficult for me to understand the 1930's British accents. But this has nothing to do with the film and plot itself. Overall is was an quirky and oddly entertaining film that you would probably enjoy!

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 is a really interesting film, based on a Victorian play by Jerome K. Jerome, famous for his humorous Three Man in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) ca 1890.

Its director, Viertel, had left Germany for England, where he made several films. The Stranger is played by Conrad Veidt, famous for his roles in Dr. Caligari, and Casablanca. It is an allegory of the struggle between good and evil. I especially enjoyed the performances of Conrad Veidt and Mary Clare, and it amused me to note that the builder, Mr. Wright, also appears in The 39 Steps as the Sheriff.

It is not an easy film to find, but I think it is one of my favourite British films of the 30's, except for Hitchcock. Even so, I think's it better than some of his minor works, like Rich and Strange. It may be one of Veidt's best portrayals, which says a lot, especially if you are familiar with his work in The Thief of Bagdad, The Spy in Black and Casablanca.

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.