User reviews

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.

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.

but is it really fair to downgrade this film because of that? Would you downgrade Star Wars because the creatures were men in rubber suits rather than CGI creations not technologically possible in 1977?

It is WWI, and Constance Bennett plays Frances Hawtree / agent Z-1, assigned to go to England by the Germans. She is to claim that she and the oldest son of Lord Winston Chamberlain and Lady Katherine Chamberlain were in the same POW hospital, fell in love, and that he died before she could escape. (He did actually die.) She brings some of his personal effects back to them. This way she can work her way into their trust, their hearts, and their home and thus abscond with some important allied secrets. Eric Von Stroheim plays Valdar, Frances' superior and contact, and is also masquerading as a butler. "Three Faces East" is the phrase that they use to recognize one another as fellow agents. I can tell you this because Von Stroheim is seen early in the movie receiving a medal from the French army. If he was a soldier there is no way he would now, a short time later, be working as a butler in the Chamberlain estate.

The rest of the movie is a series of double crosses, tricks, and surprises that have stood the test of time as far as keeping you guessing as who is really who and what happens next. Plus one thing that almost trips everything up is a piece of information that was a secret between the dead older Chamberlain son and the younger Chamberlain son, Arthur, who is home recovering from a shoulder wound. I'll let you watch and find out what happens.

Just a couple of things seem a bit silly to me. First, why is this carefully guarded information of Allied troop movements being carried by armed guard via attache case to the Chamberlain estate, then just dumped in the safe where it is completely unguarded at night where anyone could get it? Why isn't it under lock and key and under guard at a military installation, not a private estate which apparently has no security, not even a dog or alarm system? If this is the security set-up, why does Frances/Z-1 even need to be there? Couldn't Valdar sneak downstairs in the middle of the night and get the information himself? Well the answer to the this last question is probably that audiences would much rather look at Constance Bennett for 71 minutes than Erich Von Stroheim.

One more odd thing - Both young Arthur AND Valdar declare their love to Z-1, knowing only the sketchiest details about her. What if the girl has insanity in her family, lay about relatives, or annoying or spendthrift habits? But I digress.

For a well paced tale of wartime intrigue, with good dialogue and good performances, and very good direction that makes you forget that the camera still can't move much at this period in time, I highly recommend it. Plus I just love the final scene - it is not what you are expecting.

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.

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.

I am a huge Constance Bennett fan, and I have two great stories about her that I'll put at the end of the review. "Three Faces East" is from 1930, based on a play, and directed by Roy del Ruth.

Bennett plays a British agent in World War I. She is sent to London to capture a major German spy named Blecher. While staying in the house of one of the government heads near London, she realizes that the butler (von Stroheim) is a German agent, so she identifies herself as one to gain his confidence. He falls for her. He explains to her that the safe needs to be broken into nightly to see the movement of troops. Then one of the sons in the family returns home (she is supposedly the girlfriend of the other son), and he remembers seeing her during one of the conflicts, working as a nurse. Meanwhile, the butler comes under suspicion as a spy, and the circumstances become complicated.

Early sound films like this are often stilted affairs, as this one is, with people over-enunciating (Bennett seems to do this) and speaking more slowly than necessary so that the dialogue has no rhythm. It's almost comical, with the son referring to his parents as Mater and Pater. Today the acting seems overdone in spots, but that was the style; after all, a lot of the talkies actors came from the stage.

My two Constance Bennett stories: one from David Niven, who said that she was so beautiful that she could go into a room in the evening, play cards all night, come out of the room at 6 a.m. and look exactly the same. I believe it.

The other story is a funny one from one of her husbands, who nearly died while drowning. He and Bennett were divorced, but he claimed that Constance saved his life. While drowning, he had an image of her in black, sobbing, and saying, "My poor Henri," very dramatically, and garnering lots of sympathy. He said to himself, "I'm not going to let her get away with it," and managed to save himself.

All in all, "Three Faces East" is a real antique. It was remade with Boris Karloff in 1940.

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.

I saw this movie in the early 1990s, at a screening given by William K Everson at the New School for Social Research in New York City. I usually took detailed notes during all of Mr Everson's screenings, but this time there was a disturbance in the auditorium (no, not my fault, you clever clots) and I didn't keep my notes. I can barely remember the film, which is not a point in its favour.

The action takes place during the Great War in the home of the First Lord of the Admiralty, who has the unfortunate name Sir Winston Chamberlain. (Any relation to Neville Churchill?) His butler Valdar is played by Erich von Stroheim, so it's no spoiler to report that Valdar is a spy for the Kaiser. He does everything but click his heels and wear a monocle.

Into this cosy inglenook comes Frances Hawtree ... played by Constance Bennett, who has never impressed me (except in her off-screen work on behalf of U.S. servicemen). We find out very quickly that Frances is a counterspy. She keeps reporting to Mr Yates of the Secret Service, who addresses her by her code number 'Z-1'. Which reminds me...

Most of the characters in this film are meant to be British, but the (mostly) American actors have the sense not to attempt British accents. Still, it's annoying to hear William Courtenay as Yates addressing Bennett as 'ZEE-one'. Was nobody in this production aware that in Britain the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced 'ZED'? Since Frances Hawtree and her C.O. are allegedly British, it would make sense if they got this detail right.

The film's title is a code phrase that doesn't seem to mean anything in clear. At one point, one of the male characters needs a pretext to leave the room, so he says he has to fetch his pipe ... but the pipe is a mere sham. That's as good as this gets.

I was impressed with the performance of the character actor who played Sir Winston. He gave several good performances in the early talkie era, and he deserves to be better known. Unfortunately, his name was William Holden: the same name as the later Oscar-winning leading man. Although there was a seven-year gap between the end of the older Holden's screen career and the beginning of the younger Holden's, I've seen several references which confuse the two, crediting all of the senior Holden's films to his younger and better-known namesake. Here, the senior Holden speaks his dialogue in his own natural American accent, yet he does an impressive job of conveying a proper upper-class Englishman.

Director Roy Del Ruth also deserves to be better known, but this is not one of his better efforts. I don't remember this film very well, but the fact that I *don't* remember much of it is evidence that it wasn't very good. Even von Stroheim is subdued, for once. I'll go out on a limb and rate it 5 out of 10, largely for William Holden's fine performance.

It's the First World War. German intelligence is sending Frances Hawtree (Constance Bennett) to infiltrate the home of Sir Winston Chamberlain, first Lord of the Admiralty. Their butler Valdar is also a German spy.

This is fine pre-Code early talkie espionage film. It is not that special. It is interesting to name the target Winston Chamberlain. I don't know if it is intended to reference Churchill. I am guessing that he was known at that time or maybe this is pure coincidence. The butler looks sketch, maybe too much. I like Constance Bennett. The story is a little flat and not that compelling.

Three Faces East has Constance Bennett as a British Intelligence agent playing her own Mata Hari game trying to catch a spy. Not just any old spy but the head of the German spy ring in Great Britain.

That would have to be Erich Von Stroheim billed as The Man you love to hate and when he's cast in the film it can't be anybody else. But Von Stroheim does have a libido and that's his downfall.

Both Bennett and Von Stroheim are good and they carry this film on the strength of their talents.

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.

"Three Faces East" is a spy story set during WWI. Constance Bennett and Erich von Stroheim both play spies who are supposedly working for the Central Powers (Germany and its allies)...though either or both of them could be actually working for the Allied Powers (Britain, France, Italy and the United States). Both are sent to a mansion in Britain...where he poses as the family's new butler and she as a woman who knows their son who is in a German prison camp. What follows is a lot of talking....and just a little bit of action.

This film was originally a silent in 1926 and was remade twice...this film and one starring Boris Karloff in 1940. I have seen the two sound films...and neither one is particularly distinguished...mostly because of bad writing and bad dialog. The romance between the pair also is completely nonsensical and dare I say, stupid. All in all, some decent actors hindered by a creaky and dull script.

A couple good actors surrounded by terrible acting and traped in a script dripping with cliche.

During World War I, two determined German spies (Erich von Stroheim and Constance Bennett) manage, as a butler and houseguest, to penetrate the home of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Winston Churchill? Er-no, it's "Sir Winston Chamberlain," played by the original "William Holden." His son, Capt. Arthur Chamberlain, falls for the beautiful Ms. Bennett, as she races through the house to the safe, where intelligence may be found as to the time and place of the landing of American troops in Europe. Is there a way for the writers to arrange for the handsome young man and the lovely young lady to overcome their political differences? Let us hope.

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.

One of the main reasons I viewed this film is because it is one two surviving sound films that William Courtenay appeared in. "Show of Shows" was the other. Courtenay(married to actress Virginia Harned) was a Broadway actor and star who at 20 appeared in the 1894 experimental film "Miss Jerry" and later played the lead in the long running play "Romance"(1913) with Doris Keane, later made into a film with Garbo. He appeared in a slew of silent film which amazingly several survive or survive in incomplete or fragmentary form. Of his five Warner sound films; he appeared in *"Evidence"(1928 with Pauline Frederick)-- lost, *"The Sacred Flame"(1928 again with Pauline Frederick)-- lost, *"Show of Shows"(1929) all-star-- surviving, *"Three Faces East"(1930 Constance Bennett, Eric Von Stroheim)-- surviving, and *"The Way of All Men"(1930)-- lost.

So after viewing "Three Faces East" and after hearing Courtenay(born in Massachusetts), he comes off sounding much like David Niven whom he favors physically. Many Broadway actors of the early 20th century tried to effect English accents as many plays originated in the UK. So you have American actors coming off trying to sound English or cultured with a mix New England accent.

"Three Faces East" had originally been a successful Broadway play later turned into a 1926 silent film produced by Cecil B. DeMille's PDC company and starring Jetta Goudal and Clive Brook.

As for the 1930 "Three Faces East" directed by Roy Del Ruth, it is a well preserved early talkie. It was later remade as "British Intelligence" by Terry O. Morse in 1940 with Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay. Both films were made by Warners and they both run very similarly, as if Warners just dusted off the 1930 script for the 1940 movie. If you've ever watched both versions of Warner's "The Dawn Patrol" (1930 and 1938) the similarity is close to how both "Three Faces East" and "British Intelligence" appear.