This was the first adaptation of Stefan Zweig's famous (and last story) of an intellectual brainwash procedure conducted by the Gestapo to make a rescuer of Austrian art treasures talk, which procedure fails, since the victim is fortunate enough to get hold of a small booklet of chess games, which prompts him to intellectual training even in solitary confinement without any other intellectual stimulus. Fortunately this film (in black and white) was remade in 2021 (in colour) in a much more elaborate and cinematic outfit, greatly enlarging and developing the material into a consummate masterpiece. This is not bad, but Curd Jurgens overdoes it with violent outbursts which are quite unnecessary and brings the story to a lower level. The action is swift and a little too fast in hurrying up to the crisis, which impedes the credibility. Philipp Stölz' modern version sustains the credibility better. Curiously enough, Hansjörg Felmy as the SS officer is almost exactly reproduced in the same style and character in the modern film, with the same suavity and elegance. What saves the film is Claire Bloom as the ballerina, who tips Jurgens to save what he can in time and later brings him back to life, who always made a fine appearance, but she is not in the book. She saves this film though.