Reading through a few of the comments on "Dark Journey", I'm struck by one reviewer in particular who states that Vivien Leigh is better here than in "Gone With The Wind". Granted, the guy's a big Leigh fan, bit what was he thinking?? I too am a huge Leigh fan (she's my favourite actress), but I am not so biased as to not acknowledge that this is a bad film. "Dark Journey" is probably the dullest film Leigh ever starred in, and definitely the least incoherent.
The film revolves around a British spy (Leigh) falling in love with a German (Conrad Veidt) at the height of WW1. From there on in the plot is extremely confusing, clumsily plotted and of little interest. Directed by Victor Saville, it is obviously low budget, and I don't hold that against the film, but the writing is all over the shop. A less puzzling, simpler screenplay instead of trying to create a huge complex plot would have worked wonders for this little film. Vivien Leigh herself admitted she had no idea what was going on in the film, so how the heck are we meant to know? Veidt and Leigh are pretty good, getting the best out of the material they can, but they just don't work together as a couple (i.e they have no chemistry). Leigh looks gorgeous in the costumes and is pleasingly focused and quiet, yet intense, her professional attitude and lack of posing setting her apart from all the other young ingénues at that point. There are a few nice action sequences in the film, but it's all just so confusing that you'll just want to give up on it.
The film revolves around a British spy (Leigh) falling in love with a German (Conrad Veidt) at the height of WW1. From there on in the plot is extremely confusing, clumsily plotted and of little interest. Directed by Victor Saville, it is obviously low budget, and I don't hold that against the film, but the writing is all over the shop. A less puzzling, simpler screenplay instead of trying to create a huge complex plot would have worked wonders for this little film. Vivien Leigh herself admitted she had no idea what was going on in the film, so how the heck are we meant to know? Veidt and Leigh are pretty good, getting the best out of the material they can, but they just don't work together as a couple (i.e they have no chemistry). Leigh looks gorgeous in the costumes and is pleasingly focused and quiet, yet intense, her professional attitude and lack of posing setting her apart from all the other young ingénues at that point. There are a few nice action sequences in the film, but it's all just so confusing that you'll just want to give up on it.