The Passing of the Third Floor Back

To demonstrate to anyone that 1930s films could be imaginative without being pompous, clever but still fun, and thought-provoking but not preachy, make them watch this! It's a beautifully made thoroughly entertaining story essentially about being nice to one another!

The script was written by Alma Reville, Mrs Alfred Hitchcock who frequently collaborated with her husband. On this occasion however Gaumont-British used their new Austrian exile, realist avant-garde Berthold Viertel to direct along with another German exile, distinguished cinematographer Curt Courant who both created a perfect blend of gritty realism and surreal expressionism. A lot of time was spent before shooting took place experimenting with different camera angles, with light and shadows to both capture the drudgery of normal life whilst at the same time hinting at something ethereal and mysterious without being too obtrusive about it.

Subtlety is the watchword here in both the story and the presentation. The acting is subtle - there's no early thirties style theatrical gesturing here or ridiculously over-blown clichéd stereotypes. You can believe that these people you're watching are real people and when you watch them you think you notice little tell tale signs which give you a insight into what they're thinking. The story is subtle - although some reviews suggest that the stranger is an angel there's absolutely nothing in the film to back that up. He's just a charismatic force for good. That's what's so good about this picture, it allows your imagination to fill in the gaps. Personally, I'm going with he and MARY POPPINS are both time travellers who have come back to save the world by making various people happy who otherwise would have started World War Three. There is one scene however which alludes to something more spiritual: the stranger intimates that the loathsome, evil Mr Wright recognises him as though this conflict between good and evil, between the angels and demons has being going on for a long, long time.

This is very much an ensemble piece, although Conrad Veidt will ingrain himself forever into your memory, the rest of the cast - all of them are just as authentic. The film's co-star is Réne Ray. She plays Stasia the maid from the slums who is treated with such cruelty and scorn by her "betters" that her life is unbearable. She is one of those characters whom you find totally adorable and instantly likeable - perhaps it's because the rest of the boarders are so unpleasant, perhaps it might even be because she looks a bit like Jessie Matthews? It is Stasia who in desperation cries out into the darkness: Is there not one decent person in the world? .... and it's at that point that Conrad Veidt knocks on the door and the world slowly changes.

I commend the previous comments by users and have added to most an accolade showing I found them useful.As the first comment in particular on IMDb.com is so complete regarding the plot, I will not dwell further on it, however I should like to add my personal comment.

The pianist tenant at the boarding house was heard to play Franz Schubert's Impromptu #3 followed by the first movement (adagio sostenuto) of Beethoven's acclaimed "Moonlight Sonata".I was surprised by his "jazzed-up" version of the Schubert piece in front of the good spirit/angel played by Conrad Veidt.I found the plot of the phantom stranger arriving at the boarding house slightly reminiscent of J.B.Priestley's "An Inspector Calls" when the phantom inspector suddenly arrives at the family home.Renee Ray who plays Stasia the put- upon servant girl also played a beauty queen contestant in "Bank Holiday" (1938).Here she enjoys another Bank holiday but through careless exuberance nearly drowns herself during the Thames boat ride.Jerome K Jerome certainly had a love affair with boats!I thought at first Frank Cellier (Mr Wright) was playing the Devil to Conrad Veidt's Stranger as they seemed to instinctively know each others true characters.

There are many well known actors playing support roles in this film, e.g. the Irish Sara Algood who went on to carve out a career in Hollywood.Mary Clare plays the landlady of the boarding house has to interact with all her tenant characters.She played a similar role in "A Girl Must Live"(1939).Anna Lee who played the attractive blond daughter of a couple ready to pawn her to Mr Wright for financial gain, in some lights reminded me of the beautiful Madeleine Carroll.

A film exploring the moral forces of human frailty, greed, hope, forgiveness & redemption and can be viewed in its' entirety on www.youtube.com as it is in the public domain.I awarded this rare film 8/10.

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.

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.

The Passing On The Third Floor Back was a pretty ancient Edwardian era piece which Gaumont British thought would be a good vehicle for newly arrived Conrad Veidt to their shores. Veidt who had starred in German cinema had to leave because of a part Jewish wife. He hated the Nazis thoroughly, but was so darn good playing them he's best known today for being Major Strosser in Casablanca. Veidt brought a certain amount of continental charm and unworldliness to the part of the mysterious stranger who rents a room from landlady Mary Clare and starts to change the lives of all the people who board at her establishment.

This film really ought to be seen back to back with the modern classic, The Green Mile. To some The Passing Of The Third Floor Back will seem way old fashioned, but see Conrad Veidt's character and contrast it with what Michael Clarke Duncan did in The Green Mile and you'll understand completely what this film is all about.

This is some collection of the British public that Veidt has moved in with. Mary Clare has a maid who was paroled to her whom she treats as a slave who is played by Rene Ray and who Veidt gives some hope to. Another is cynical and hardened spinster Beatrix Loehman who does show she's got more to her with a singular act of heroism. Parents Jack Turnball and Cathleen Nesbit are ready to sell their beautiful daughter Anna Lee over to this fatuous and materialistic property owner Frank Cellier to clear up her father's debts. Lee really loves fellow boarder Ronald Ward, but fears she can't marry him because there's too much she sees in the way.

This film's origins are with a short story by Jerome K. Jerome and an adapted play by the same author that ran a year on Broadway in the 1909- 1910 season. There's one bit of humor that was a political dig at the current British Prime Minister who many thought was self satisfied and fatuous as Cellier's character is in the film. Cellier loudly proclaims as his mantra in life to be 'Safety First' which was the slogan that Stanley Baldwin ran on. There was a lot more to Baldwin than Cellier's character was, but his enemies saw Baldwin smug and self satisfied. Anyone in the British movie-going public seeing this film would have seen the point immediately, but it's lost on today's audience.

Cellier's actually proves to be something more than a fatuous oaf. This guy is so cheap he lives at a boardinghouse because he owns slum property all over the district. Cheap rent and he can keep an eye on things. He also proves to be an adversary for Veidt as he's everything Veidt cannot abide in a human being.

The Passing On The Third Floor Back is probably too old fashioned for some tastes. Still it is a tastefully done antique and if one's seen The Green Mile and liked it, you'll like this one as well.