Dark Journey (1937)

Cinema uber villain Conrad Veidt and delicate Vivien Leigh make for an odd but absorbing couple as spies on opposite sides in this suspense romance. Veidt's nefarious allure and usual commitment to cruelty is tempered long enough to get the attention of Miss Leigh and it gives the somewhat convoluted (she's a double agent) story a suspense that sustains itself up until the final moments.Madeline Goddard (Leigh) poses as a Stockholm dress shop owner while spying for Germany in neutral Sweden. Baron Karl Von Marwitz (Veidt) arrives in Stockholm to put the war behind him and live an epicurean existence of wine women and song. He also is merely posing. Goddard and Marwitz eventually become entangled and the passion between the two distracts them momentarily from their assignments which is to expose each other.Veidt and Leigh have some excellent scenes together fraught with suspense and romance as they parry back and forth using charm and suspicion for weapons. In spite of their contrasting stature they display a nice change of pace chemistry with director Victor Seville maintaining a degree of ambiguity with both leads late into the film as they struggle with duty and desire. There's a rousing gun battle between a sub and disguised transport in the finale with a somewhat schmaltzy climax that hinders the film, but Veidt and Leigh create enough fireworks of their own to make Desperate Journey worth the watch.

What we have here with the British film "Dark Journey" is an espionage thriller set in WWI Europe that had this viewer scratching his head. From the nebulous title, to the confusing plot twists, to the dozen or so indistinct supporting characters, eventually makes it similar to a thick London fog.The one reason why anyone would be excited about this movie today is the appearance of the young and delicately beautiful Vivien Leigh. She's cast as a Swiss (or French?) double (or triple?) agent for the British, I guess. Her front is as the proprietor of a swank dress shop, who ships her fashions across the channel to the Brits. When held up against an electric light, the dresses reveal secret intelligence sewn into the patterns. Probably the coolest plot device.Enter Conrad Veidt as a double (or triple?) agent for the Germans, who becomes infatuated with Leigh and ultimately earns her affections. This of course complicates their missions, and causes great upheavals in their respective home offices. I've read that Vivien Leigh herself was confused by the plot, and couldn't fathom what her character's motivations were.So, if you don't try to comprehend the machinations of the plot, there are some nifty scenes contained herein. The sequences set inside Leigh's dress shop are amusing with her two bickering assistants and her old maintenance man who eventually provides a surprise. I also enjoyed the scenes set in a boisterous beer hall complete with about a hundred extras all in character. And there's a great little supporting turn by Joan Gardner as a rival for the affections of Conrad Veidt. She's a beautiful actress with a great catty delivery who was soon to become Mrs. Zoltan Korda in real life and retire to a life in California society.But I failed to buy into the unusual sight of Conrad Veidt and Vivien Leigh as a romantic couple, and the meandering plot becomes yawn-inducing eventually. Between the casting and the script, there's two strikes against the movie that it cannot overcome. But have faith -- greater things lie ahead for Miss Leigh! ** out of *****

Vivien Leigh and Conrad Veidt - what an interesting and unusual pairing! In my opinion, "Dark Journey" is Vivien's greatest pre-GWTW movie. The script is full of memorable lines, but there are also some great romantic moments between the actors. The combination between Vivien and Conrad is just like having fire and ice in love. It's a palpable, strong, glacial romanticism. Conrad said once: "The one thing I look for everywhere is beauty. I find it everywhere, and in almost every person. A lovely painting, a good book, or music moves me. It has a life of its own." In my favorite scene from the movie, which is the kissing scene, you could see that even after the kiss, Conrad is still holding Vivien in his arms, admiring for a few more seconds her beautiful, perfect, feminine, heart-shaped face, with those two big emerald eyes and the sweet, little lips. He is visibly enchanted by Vivien's unique beauty, as she is telling him "Now, I want you to take me away from my friends and the business, from everyone but you"; and he tells her "That's my dream". This is a lovely, unforgettable scene, in which Vivien and the apparently implacable Conrad Veidt make together a wonderful couple of lovers, despite the differences between them. I would recommend to any fan of the two great actors to watch this spy and romantic film. It would be even nicer if they put back the deleted scenes. The original movie is at least 15 minutes longer than the actual version, of 75 minutes. For example, there was a scene where Karl (Veidt) is trying to seduce Madeleine (Leigh) at the first dinner party they meet. There is a famous photo from that deleted scene with Conrad and Vivien smiling at each other, and clinking two glasses of wine. And this is just one of the many deleted and important sequences from the film. But, the latest DVD version is 79 minutes in length, because it contains more sequences. I was very happy when I bought it, not only because I found some extra-sequences, but also because the quality of the picture and sound was far superior to all the versions I had previously seen. All in all, this is an extraordinary movie and it certainly is among my favorites. I give a 10 to this movie because of Vivien Leigh's unusual beauty and talent, Conrad Veidt's outstanding performance and great charm, because of their unique and fascinating chemistry, because of the interesting, complex and realistic plot,the very good dialogue - many lines are really remarkable, because of the lovely costumes (designed by Rene Hubert) and impressive sets (especially the one at the Grand Hotel), because of the wonderful music score, because of the unforgettable atmosphere which combines love, fashion, war and espionage. If Dark Journey were made in Hollywood, it would've been on the top list of classic movies. Do you need any more reasons?P.S.: I would appreciate very much if the fan who posted on IMDb the quotes from Dark Journey would contact me at [email protected]

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.