This pre-War film foreshadows the coming renewed conflict with Germany by telling a story of espionage and intrigue involving Germans and the Allies from the First World War, set specifically in 'Spring 1918' for some reason. Conrad Veidt is, as usual, superb as a high-ranking German, in this case Freiherr von Marwitz, the head of 'Section 8 of German Intelligence'. Vivien Leigh is cast as the heroine, a French girl who impersonates a Swiss girl (but who has a British accent, inexplicably) who pretends to be a German spy whilst really being a French spy and working with the British in Stockholm. Yes, that's a bit complicated, but then all the best spy stories are. The main problem with this film is Vivien Leigh. She is just so wrong for the part. You would never imagine from this that she even knew how to act. She is clearly so conscious of her looks and her pert little face looking ever so perfect and her eyelashes and her eyes and the whole 'look at me aren't I beautiful?' syndrome that she forgets she is supposed to be a French spy pretending to be a German spy pretending to be Swiss, and just settles for being Little Miss Cute. It is not at all convincing, and her narcissism is intensely irritating. What a waste for poor Veidt, who has to pretend to fall for her, but since she is so busy falling for herself instead, the lack of chemistry between them is total. With a different lead actress, this film would have been a real gem, but instead it is a flawed gem with a hairline crack running right through it. Still, the film is entertaining and worth watching, and perhaps I am being too harsh on the big-eyed British-Swiss-French-German 'gorgeous pouting' Leigh. However, all these faults which I have pointed out in Vivien Leigh are precisely why she was just right for the part of Scarlett O'Hara in GONE WITH THE WIND, a character who was vain, simpering, narcissistic, spoilt, stuck on herself, and – well, that's what they call type-casting, folks.
Review of Dark Journey
