User reviews

Erich von Stroheim is the captain of an Austrian border guard. One day American gangster Leslie Fenton crashes through from Italy and is detained. Wera Engels is likewise detained on her way from Hungary to the United States. Soon a triangle develops among the three of them.

There are claims that von Stroheim co-directed this without credit. Well, Perhaps. Von was famous for taking over any production he was appearing in, and his role is his standard lecherous officer that he had been playing since the First World War. In fact, except for the streak of sadness, it's almost identical with his performance in the second half of GRAND ILLUSION minus the back brace. Although he may have directed the bits where Hank Mann plays his orderly, official director Frank Strayer was one of those efficient B directors with a knack for comedy, broad and subtle. Just as Renoir would with his masterpiece, I'm sure Strayer was happy to let Von do whatever he wanted. However, von Stroheim was done as a director, and would shortly be on his way to Europe. The result is a sprightly comedy of lust under the production code, enlivened by von Stroheim's performance and the echoes of his aristocratic perverts.

Over the years, my main exposure to Erich von Stroheim have been his performances in "Grand Illusion" as a general, and in "Sunset Boulevard" as the servant. I haven't seen most of Stroheim's movies, but from the aforementioned ones and now Frank Strayer's "Fugitive Road", it seems that he had a tendency to play authoritative figures. Here he plays a guard in an Austrian border facility involved in a love triangle between a gangster from the United States and an immigrant from Hungary.

The movie doesn't have the most interesting plot. In a way, it seems like one of those movies that someone made just because they could, and I found the music too flowery. I guess that it's worth seeing if you're looking for obscure movies from the '30s, but don't go out of your way to see it.

In addition to co-stars Wera Engels and Leslie Fenton, also appearing is Charlie Chaplin's occasional co-star Hank Mann.