Diplomatic Courier

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!

Tyrone Power plays a diplomatic courier called out on a special assignment which seems fairly simple: pick up some documents from an agent and take them to Washington. But of course, in a film like this, things don't work out right the first time. The "drop" doesn't go according to plan, so Power has to improvise, surrounded by an increasing number of characters whose loyalties are questionable. A couple of femmes fatales, a cross-dressing night club entertainer, some MPs, and the obligatory little bald pawnshop owner all liven up the plot, with plenty of twists en route to the finale.

The influence of THE THIRD MAN is clear, with plenty of atmospheric European locations, and even a bit of zither music in a restaurant. Power is an engaging hero, and the two female leads (Neal and Neff) keep him guessing. Early appearances by Karl Malden, Charles Bronson, and Lee Marvin add interest for trivia buffs. Fans of Cold War espionage fiction will find DIPLOMATIC COURIER a great way to spend an evening.

Tyrone Power is obviously, as the title suggests, a diplomatic courier. He is thrown into a new mission just after completing one and changes planes before he is given time to turn around. Exhausted, he promptly falls asleep, taking two seats, but Patricia Neal, the last one on, needs it and he ultimately sleeps on her shoulder.

Right off the bat, they hit it off and have great chemistry. He would love to spend time with her, but he has his mission. This is a thoroughly engrossing espionage film that is a lot of fun and moves at a break-neck pace, with Ty constantly chasing the "bad guys" or being chased by them. Hildegarde Neff is great in a supporting role.

I'm sure this is hard to find. (I taped it some time ago off Fox Movie Channel, and recently watched it.) But if you happen to catch it, you'll be very glad you did. Costarring Stephen MacNally and Karl Malden and with James Coburn and Charles Bronson in small roles, this is one good little film that should be discovered.

I SAW THIS MOVIE IN THE 50s, but I remember that it was well played by Tyrone Power and Hildegarde Neff, with solid direction and good B&W photography.Charles Bronson ( uncredited ), had only a few seconds on the screen, but I remember vividly that he made a tremendous impression, and I was sure he would attain stardom.

Absolutely loved the premise, and when espionage thrillers are done well they are intriguing and enthralling. Henry Hathaway was a gifted director, especially in the Western genre, not everything he did was great ('The Black Rose' for example is a strange film) but when on form his films were great. The cast are also talented, including late career Tyrone Power relatively against type and Lee Marvin, Karl Malden and Charles Bronson pre-stardom.

'Diplomatic Courier' turned out to be a very good film. Not quite great or perfect, but with several fantastic elements and the things that had me worried as to whether they would work (Power for example) did do. It is always interesting when Hathaway does something different from the Western genre that he was best known for and he did show that he was at ease in other genres too, 'Kiss of Death' for example proved that and so does 'Diplomatic Courier'.

Personally do not agree with anybody that says that Power is bland or looks lost. To me the weakest performance came from a rather hammy Malden that jars a bit with the more serious tone of the film.

Would also have liked more development to Patricia Neal's role and more screen time for her. There is the odd bit of credibility straining.

However, Power did a good job on the whole. It is not his usual type of role, am most familiar with him in adventure and swashbucklers, but he does have presence and the weariness works for the role, didn't think he looked lost at all. Neal is wonderfully vampish and really makes the most of her role. Marvin and Bronson show that they had charisma, intensity and big potential pre-stardom. My favourite performance actually came from Hildegarde Neff in understated and touching form.

Furthermore, Hathaway directs expertly and with a real feel for atmosphere. Which has a lot of subtle tension. The story is intricate but not confusing and always engrosses, while the script is clever without being too talky. The score doesn't overbear and at least sounds like Sol Kaplan knew what kind of film he was writing for. 'Diplomatic Courier' looks great, very beautifully and atmospherically photographed with a lot of style and the use of actual locations works in its favour considerably.

In summation, very good and well worth watching. 8/10