Agent Z 1

Constance Bennett shows up at the home of William Holden -- no, not that one -- where she soon contacts the butler, Erich von Stroheim. She is a spy working for Germany, as is he. Soon se has him captivated, as well as Holden's son, Anthony Bushell. But there are other spies in the house, and it soon becomes clear that there are double agents in place. Who is working in who's real interests.

The first thing I noticed about this movie is the slow and stately pace at which the dialogue proceeds. Warner Brothers may have been producing all-talking pictures for a couple of years, but director Roy Del Ruth, working from a stage play, with screen dialogue by Arthur Caesar, clearly wants every word to be understood, so muddled is the situation. By about ten minutes in I knew who everyone was working for. By halfway through, I was utterly confused.

While it is true that not all of these very old early talkies, are wonderful, they are still enjoyable. The picture quality is very high, I did not find the sound to be bad. It is a great opportunity to see how motion pictures are progressing. The fact that this movie was released two weeks after my father was born, and he lived 90 years provided an additional incentive for me. What is also fascinating to me is to see and hear actors born in 1862 on screen. 1862 Lincoln was president. I believe this is worth your time. A spy/counter spy movie circa WWI? And yes, she is beautiful.

This movie looks like it's an earlier version of the Boris Karloff movie "British Intelligence" which was released in 1940, ten years after this one. The Karloff movie was pretty good. In it, a nurse is sent to England to infiltrate the household of a British Cabinet member during the War and she is to make contact with the mysterious "Strengler", who has successfully smuggled information to the German Army about Allied troop movements before the British army even gets a hold of it. Over the course of the film, the nurse/spy must keep her true identity under wraps while spying, but then it turns out that everyone's loyalties may not be to whom they were introduced as being loyal to. While the suspense isn't as taut and thrilling as todays thrillers, it's a competent spy film set during WWI.---and these actors were actually British.

Stars Constance Bennett and the mysterious, talented Erich von Stroheim (Sunset Boulevard!). Made in 1930, it's a period piece of world war I, of spies and treachery. Bennett is an operative for the germans, trying to gain the confidence of the Chamberlain family, specifically, Admiral of the British Navy. Stroheim is is employed at the Chamberlain household, but is not who he seems to be, and plays a large part in the story. while the picture quality is quite good, the sound is pretty bad, but as this is already ninety years old, this can be forgiven. we spend a lot of time watching the servants clean the visitor's guestroom. co-stars Anthony Bushell, as Arthur, brother of the deceased Chamberlain son. it's a bit of an early hollywood version of a spy thriller, but it is what it is. Bennett seems to be more interested in playing the blond bombshell than a low key spy. and even gets one of her high heels stuck in a compromising spot. and dropped a bracelet at the scene. not much of a spy! some surprises, here and there. it's entertaining. directed by Roy delRouth Story by Anthony Kelly; started out as a play, made into a silent film, then remade here. and again in 1940 as British Intelligence, also Warner Brothers.

Archaic, talky but eventually gripping WWI spy thriller, with shifting loyalties and plot twists abound. Constance Bennett plays an unusually powerful female role for 1930, and she has some showstopping closeups. Erich Von Stroheim is commanding as her possible counterpart / ally / enemy. **1/2 out of 4.