The Conspirators

All the ingredients that made CASABLANCA such a mega-hit are present in THE CONSPIRATORS, but not one of the ingredients is able to put the film over the top as a story of intrigue, espionage and romance.

What's surprising is that the film fails to sustain interest despite a great supporting cast that includes PETER LORRE, SYDNEY GREENSTREET and VICTOR FRANCEN. Also surprising is the fact that it's directed by Jean Negulesco, who did such a brilliant job on the direction of JOHNNY BELINDA. The script is a talky, muddled bit of contrivances and clichés, with Henried as a Dutch freedom fighter in Lisbon clashing with the Nazis and falling under the spell of a beautiful woman who guards her secrets.

HEDY LAMARR is lovely, of course, but her characterization is so paper-thin that all we can really see is her exotic glamor, without much passion or feeling below the make-up. Nor is PAUL HENRIED seen at his best, more remote than usual in what should have been a much stronger role but is dulled by a witless script and a co-star with whom he has very little chemistry.

The convoluted plot doesn't give the supporting actors much to do and it's somewhat of a relief when the story comes to downbeat ending.

The greatness of this film lies in its ability to make you feel absorbed in the story, characters' lives, and outcomes. Negulesco's masterful direction and the excellent cast's strong delivery leaves you wanting to follow every move and hear every word.

There is also a nice variety of scenes throughout that engage you in the complexities of the characters' thoughts and lives. It adds to the sense of anxiety they felt during the war, even in neutral Portugal. Through Henreid's early anti-German sabotage in the Netherlands, music at Café Império in Lisbon, barroom conversations and back alley meet-ups, everything feels and moves perfectly, adding depth to the story. No scene, word, or movement is ever out of place.

The entire movie was interesting and enjoyable and I watched it several times in 1 week. Isn't one hallmark of a high quality movie the need to watch it several times to pick up all the nuances? Even so, I never felt like it was on repeat.

One final note - the picture is a little dark, so I increased the screen brightness and turned off the lights in the room and that helped. Also, wish it were available in HD, but otherwise highly recommend!

OK, if you want Casablanca then watch Casablanca!. I could never completely understand the fuss people make over that film. Yes, I know it has many very good qualities, but some shaky ones as well (alright, perhaps it's time I looked at it again). As for this particular movies attempt to capitalise on the success of the earlier film (Hollywood has always followed the proved formula method - and even more so now) so it might also be said, if this film had come along before Casablanca, it may just have received all the accolades. I'm assuming 'Conspirators' would have been given the bigger budget (it has a more expensive look about it) and as it seems Casablanca was not anticipated to be the hit it turned out, so Warner's would then have hoped to follow up with another winner.

Arthur Edeson's standout Cinematography is mesmerizing. The knockout classic lighting coupled with the great Direction of Jean Negulesco (others have called him insensitive and pedestrian - how unobservant they show themselves to be! best look again is all I can say to them) The strong Max Seiner music score is quite unique to many of his other works ~ with the masterful Orchestrations of veteran arranger Leonid Raab giving the score a potent sound that's perfect for this story. If anything, the post production alterations would have contributed to the movies hard to follow moments and contrivances, but this was typical with many films from this otherwise spot on studio. That said, let's face it, Hedy and Paul do make the most of their exhausted and very scared characters...theirs were strained times to be living through.

Look at it on it's own entertainment merits, the script may have some unevenness and some characters a little familiar, but overall this is not nearly as bad as some might have us believe. Some will, some won't.......KenR

Hedy Lamarr is never more beautiful and it is always a pleasure to see Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre together. The story line is fairly good for the era but the on-screen results disappoint. The movie is justifiably compared with the much much better Casablanca. Paul Henreid is escaping from the Nazis in neutral Lisbon. Hedy, Sydney, and Peter all offer help but there are complications. Conspirators abound -- who is to be trusted? All is revealed an a too predictable ending. See this film as an example of movie making during the war or to round out your viewing of its cast. On the other hand, my wife loved it! Go figure.

Others have commented on the (same) awesome cast, many from Casablanca, so I won't spend much time on that. Begins in the netherlands, where Van der Lyn (Henreid) must get from netherlands to portugal quickly to escape. When he arrives, the germans (and others) take notice of him. He meets up with Irene (Hedy Lamarr), who seems friendly enough, but in wartime, one is never sure who they can trust. Van der Lyn hooks up with a rebel group of the underground, and gets caught up in one of their adventures (recover the eagle!) on the way to his own mission. He spends the rest of the film trying to figure out who to trust... and i guess that's the reality for a spy during wartime. It's entertaining enough. Henreid made this right after Casablanca. Directed by Jean Negulesco.