Well, a film starring Leslie Howard and Kay Francis and directed by Michael Curtiz could never be a complete disaster. "British Agent" from 1934 is far from that, but because of the script, it's a little strange.
This film is based on the memoirs of R.C. Lockhart. "British Agent" is only 80 minutes long and it packs in a tremendous amount of plot. Leslie Howard is Steven Locke, who works for the British embassy in Russia at the time of the revolution. He falls for Elena Moura (Francis), a woman he saves. This is the first problem because they meet in one scene and are madly in love in practically the next.
Locke is instructed to keep Russia from signing a separate peace with Germany, which would be harmful to England. Elena holds to a different ideology, being a follower of Lenin. The two clash, and when Elena finds out Locke's assignment, she's quick to tell the other side. That's the second problem -- in the midst of a revolution, Locke receives a dispatch from London and reads it out loud while Elena is in the house.
Elena continues to be in love with Locke, betraying him at the same time.
The acting is very good, and Howard and Francis have wonderful chemistry. It's just not very plausible. Possibly if the love story had been developed more, it would have been more believable.
It's always a delight to see Leslie Howard in a film, as well as Kay Francis. I'll take them any way I can get them, and here, it's in "British Agent."
This film is based on the memoirs of R.C. Lockhart. "British Agent" is only 80 minutes long and it packs in a tremendous amount of plot. Leslie Howard is Steven Locke, who works for the British embassy in Russia at the time of the revolution. He falls for Elena Moura (Francis), a woman he saves. This is the first problem because they meet in one scene and are madly in love in practically the next.
Locke is instructed to keep Russia from signing a separate peace with Germany, which would be harmful to England. Elena holds to a different ideology, being a follower of Lenin. The two clash, and when Elena finds out Locke's assignment, she's quick to tell the other side. That's the second problem -- in the midst of a revolution, Locke receives a dispatch from London and reads it out loud while Elena is in the house.
Elena continues to be in love with Locke, betraying him at the same time.
The acting is very good, and Howard and Francis have wonderful chemistry. It's just not very plausible. Possibly if the love story had been developed more, it would have been more believable.
It's always a delight to see Leslie Howard in a film, as well as Kay Francis. I'll take them any way I can get them, and here, it's in "British Agent."