Tres de cara a Oriente

Adapted from a successful play, "Three Faces East" is a clever spy thriller set during WWI. Constance Bennett plays the role of Frances Hawtree aka Agent Z-1, undercover spy for the German Intelligence Service. She is assigned to infiltrate the estate of Sir Winston Chamberlain--First Lord of the Admiralty--and meet with her contact there, where her mission will be explained.

The mansion is populated with a butler of ambiguous intentions named Valdar (Erich von Stroheim), two maids, Lady Chamberlain, their son Arthur, and two members of Chamberlain's staff.

I found the very beginning of the film to be overly dramatic, but the story quickly becomes more believable, and more interesting, when Frances arrives at the Chamberlain estate. What follows is a cat and mouse game, with twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing. The contents of Lord Chamberlain's safe may hold the key to victory in Europe. Try to guess the truth as alliances change and the lines between romance and duty become blurred.

The acting is fine and Erich von Stroheim is delightful. The script is tightly written, moving along at a brisk pace.

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.

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.

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.

Remade Ten Years Later and Updated from WWI to WWII as "British Intelligence" with Boris Karloff in the Erich Von Stroheim Role. Nothing Much has Changed. The World is at War (yes again with Germany) and both Actors are Superb in a Complicated Plot of Agents, Double Agents, and Secret Plans.

Von Stroheim Steals the Picture and is Remarkable in a Tailor Made Part where He can Stroke Constance Bennett's Underwear and be Even Creepier than the Role would Assume. Everyone Else Stands Around with a lot of "Harrumphing" and Suspicion.

Not a Bad Early Sound Movie with an Opening that Intrigues and an Ending that Delivers with Some Power. The Story is More Confusing than it Needs to be (so is the remake) but Overall it is Worth a Watch for Erich and Bennett does Look Quite Beautiful. Some Miniature Work is Interesting and the Costumes are Striking.