Diplomatic Courier

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.

Tyrone Power stars as a courier put in an awkward situation by the U. S. government in "Diplomatic Courier," which also stars Patricia Neal and Hildegarde Knef. Neal has a small but showy role as a society widow who chases Power around Europe.

The film was shot on location in Europe, possibly using post-war blocked funds that caused so many films to be made there in the '50s and beyond.

I first saw this film on TV as a kid, and like one of the other posters, it stuck in my mind, possibly because even back then, I was a Tyrone Power fan.

The early '50s were a transition time for him. Unlike some actors - Bogart, Mitchum, Gable, to name a few - Power changed dramatically over the years.

By the time this film was made, he had lost the last vestige of his boyishness and was thoroughly disillusioned with movies and undoubtedly the master he had served since 1936, 20th Century Fox.

In the few years he had left, he would turn more and more to theater and form his own movie production company. Some of his best work lay ahead of him.

Power is supported in the film with a vigorous performance by Karl Malden and from newcomer Hildegarde Knef.

Talented and beautiful, Knef, like many other European actresses who came to Hollywood after the war, never found a niche in Hollywood. She went on to great success on Broadway, however, with "Silk Stockings," the musical version of "Ninotchka," costarring Don Ameche, and remained friends with Power.

Patricia Neal plays a widow that Power meets on an airplane. He keeps standing her up when they're supposed to get together but the story takes it a little further. Neal was an ardent fan of Power's and when they met, she asked him why it was that he hadn't answered her fan letter.

Diplomatic Courier is a fast-moving, atmospheric film where you can't tell the good guys from the bad, and it holds interest. Watch for a Lee Marvin in a small role and an uncredited moment by Charles Bronson.

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.

In the Cold War, Mike Kells (Tyrone Power) is a courier, who has the mission to meet his friend Sam Carew (James Millican) in a train in Europe and bring some documents back to Washington. However, Sam is killed in the train, and Mike finds a hint in his pocket, indicating he should go to Trieste to find Janine (Hildegard Knef), the last contact of Sam before he dies. Meanwhile, Joan Ross (Patricia Neal), an American widow that Mike met in the plane, shows a great interest in Mike. Mike does not know, but he is used by American government as a bait. This movie has aged a lot, by remains very attractive. The story, full of plot points, is still very good. In Brazil, it is only available on cable television. The DVD and the VHS have not been released. My vote is seven

Title (Brazil): `Missão Perigosa em Trieste' (`Dangerous Mission in Trieste')

As my summary suggests, I was taken aback by H. Neff's moving portrayal as the double agent in post-war Trieste. No gussied-up over emoting from her, just honest, gut-wrenching outpouring of uncontrived emotion delivered with articulation and intensity. When watching her explain herself to Mr. Power and others, I actually felt she must have been an agent in real life at some point. Those tears she shed while she delivered her rationale for her actions were the genuine type, not some Hollywood "tear-squirting" job. Why she never became a more sought-after actor, I'll never know. Maybe she was a little too deep and maybe too foreign for the superficially driven 1950's Hollywood system. Also impressive was Patricia Neal's interpretation of her femme fatale role.

Also, I'll take exception to those who criticized T. Power's role. As I see it, he excelled in his performance as a world-weary, cynical Cold War courier. What do people expect? A rerun as a younger, pseudo-swashbuckling Caribbean pirate? I for one am glad he took a less glamorous and more substantive role such as this.

On a somewhat sentimental note, it was nice to see some cameo-ish work from Lee Marvin, Michael Ansara and Chuck Buchinski (Bronson!) before their careers took off in the ensuing years. It made the film more fun to watch!