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Johnny Vickers is a US government agent operating in London. Vickers puts a tail on the double agent Marcel Grandet with whom he'd worked during World War II. Grandet stole a fortune in jewels during the war, and with these jewels he intends to finance a neo-Nazi movement. Posing as a fellow fascist, Travis is able to infiltrate the villains. But will Vickers be able to return the stolen jewels and save his own skin?

Micheline Cheirel and Richard Travis in Jewels of Brandenburg (1947)

From music professor to government agent: Sounds like Indiana Jones to me.

JEWELS OF BRANDENBURG – 1947 This is another of what I call the exotic location noir. The more famous of these would be CALCUTTA, SAIGON, SINGAPORE, THUNDER IN THE EAST, CAPTAIN CAREY USA, TANGIER etc. This one takes place in Europe just after WW2. A jewel thief makes off with the Crown Jewels of Brandenburg. The clues point to Leonard Strong, a less than savoury club owner. Strong&#39;s club is in Lisbon, and is known as a place of back room deals, where various shady items can be bought and sold. The US government sends ex intelligence agent Richard Travis to investigate. Travis and Strong know each other from the war. Strong had sold information to both the Allies and the Nazis during the war. Travis had worked undercover as a piano player in Strong&#39;s club in order to keep an eye on Strong&#39;s information sources. Travis knows he needs a cover to explain his reappearance in Lisbon. What better than a jewel smuggler taking jewels to South America. Once in Lisbon, Travis rounds up the members of his war-time spy ring. He needs them for the sting he has planned in-order to retrieve the jewels. Travis then hits Strong&#39;s place and is quickly hired back as the club ivory pounder. Strong is curious what happened to Travis when the war had ended. &quot;I got a new offer in Rio and just left.&quot; answers Travis. Strong is still a bit suspicious of his return and sends his wife, Micheline Cheivel to cozy up to Travis. Cheivel learns nothing, so Strong sends Louis Mercier to burgle Travis&#39;s rooms. There he finds a small cache of jewels that he of course pockets. This is all part of Travis and his group&#39;s ploy to convince Strong as to Travis&#39;s cover. While all this is going on, Strong has met with the man he hired to steal the Brandenburg Crown jewels. He takes possession of said swag after which he has his bodyguard, Harro Mellor, &quot;pay off&quot; the man with an ounce or two of lead. Strong now informs Travis that a business arrangement beneficial to both parties should be set up. Now we have the mandatory falling out among the gang members. They all want the jewels for their own. This leads to a general free for all which results in Cheivel, Mercier and Mellor joining the growing list of stiffs. A further round of flying fists and bullets are needed before Strong is finally under lock and key and the jewels returned. Not a great film by any means. But for a Sol Wurtzel low renter with only a 64 minute run time, it does not overstay its welcome. The director was Eugene Forde whose work included, MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE EYE, DRESSED TO KILL, SHADOWS IN THE NIGHT, THE CRIMSON KEY and the rather decent low budget noir, THE INVISIBLE WALL. Forde is best known for a string of CHARLIE CHAN films he helmed in the 1930&#39;s. The d of p was Benjamin Kline. His work in films include , STRANGE ILLUSION, ARSON SQUAD, SHOOT TO KILL, THE CRIMSON KEY, THE INVISIBLE WALL, ROSES ARE RED, HALF PAST MIDNIGHT, THE JUDGE, TOUGH ASSIGNMENT, NO ESCAPE, Miami EXPOSE, ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN, RUMBLE ON THE DOCKS, TREASURE OF MONTE CRISTO and of course, DETOUR . Richard Travis had roles in OUT OF THE STORM, MOTOR PATROL, FINGERPRINTS DON&#39;T LIE, MASK OF THE DRAGON, DANGER ZONE, ROARING CITY, PIER 23 and CITY OF SHADOWS. Strong was in BACKFIRE and CARGO TO CAPETOWN. Some will recall Micheline Cheirel from SO DARK THE NIGHT and CORNERED.

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Jewels of Brandenburg

This intriguing film more features Richard Travis as the character I described above, discussing the first and violence in Beethoven&#39;s 5th symphony in the first scene, and searching for missing jewels once owned by Marie Antoinette in the next. This is an intelligently written thriller that takes him from the United States to Lisbon where he becomes involved with a group of Jewel smuggler who want to break down the necklace and sell the pieces of it individually. Travis becomes involved with two women, cabaret singer Micheline Cheirel and bar girl Carrol Thurston, a hot-tempered little senorita who threatens violence towards Travis for abandoning her on a previous trip. Travis finds all sorts of danger in the search for the gems and discover&#39;s mixed loyalties among the sordid characters he encounters. The most loyal character he encounters is the 11 year old Fernando Alvarado, playing brother to Thurston who aids Travis in his search for the jewels by playing messenger and information collector, and in several situations, risking his life. I am surprised to discover how many films I had seen him in, usually in minor unbilled cards, but here, he is a major character and quite the charmer. Cheirel shows a mysterious demeanor as the sophisticated femme fatale who would sooner give her life then see something once owned by Marie Antoinette destroyed. It&#39;s enjoyable and fast-paced, yet lacks the real tension to make it a classic.

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In Europe just after WW2 a jewel thief makes off with the Crown Jewels of Brandenburg. The clues point to Leonard Strong, a less than friendly club owner. Strong&#39;s club is in Lisbon, and is known as a place of back room deals where various shady items can be bought and sold. The US government sends ex-intelligence agent Richard Travis to investigate. Travis and Strong know each other from the war, with the later selling information to both the Allies and the Nazis. Knowing he needs a cover to explain his reappearance in Lisbon, Travis plays the role of a fascist / jewel smuggler taking jewels to South America. Once in Lisbon he reassembles his war-time spy ring and he infiltrate the villains who have stolen the gems (in order to finance a neo-Nazi movement). Will Travis get the goods before the jewel gang gets him? Directed by Eugene Forde (MICHAEL SHAYNE, PRIVATE EYE, DRESSED TO KILL, SHADOWS IN THE NIGHT, THE CRIMSON KEY, THE INVISIBLE WALL) with photography by Benjamin Kline (STRANGE ILLUSION, ARSON SQUAD, SHOOT TO KILL, THE CRIMSON KEY, THE INVISIBLE WALL, ROSES ARE RED, HALF PAST MIDNIGHT, THE JUDGE, TOUGH ASSIGNMENT, NO ESCAPE, Miami EXPOSE, ESCAPE FROM SAN QUENTIN, RUMBLE ON THE DOCKS, TREASURE OF MONTE CRISTO , DETOUR .

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User reviews

Jewels of Brandenburg

Watchable low rent stab at noir.

From music professor to government agent: Sounds like Indiana Jones to me.

Noir on the Cheap

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