I Was an Adventuress (1940)

Writing a review is easy, but rating it isn't that easy. One way to rate a movie is to freeze the brain, and look whether the movie is enjoyable or boring, or could be seen, with portions skipped / fast-forwarded. On this scale this movie is above average (my 7*, may be another half). The pace is good, the story, though quite predictable, has some fresh episodes, for example towards the end, the heroine conning her mentor, or even afterwards, the one upmanship of the same mentor on the heroine to carry out the jewel heist. Of course there is another 'ethical' angle of the heroine. She, though the honey-bait, of the racket, but legally, she did all her transactions purely above board, and in quite an ingenious way. When she sold the false-antique, she declared openly and vociferously that it was not real, but the greedy buyer though otherwise. And in addition to good performance by the heroine, Vera Zorina, and her ballet in the end, there was brilliant comedy by Peter Lorre, the second side-kick, the first being Zorina, of the mastermind, the sinister Stroheim. With above average performance by these three, around which the story revolved, the others didn't matter much, and Richard Greene, the love interest, didn't have much role, than being the eye-candy of the piece, and he didn't hurt. The second way to look at the movie and rate them is through critical analysis, forgetting the enjoyable-ness of it. On this, this movie would be quite below average. It has quite a bit of large loop-holes and gaffs . For example, the society page, declaring the return of the new couple, was in English, in a french news paper, that would have been OK, had it been a notice. But it was the society tit-bits, not the notice put by the family. Similarly, the great mastermind being unaware of his protege marrying, and that too one of the top ten richest men of the continent, in addition any one would have guessed her chances, was a blot on his intelligence, and mine, if I didn't notice it. Similarly, the sudden discovery of the fact too was a bit far-fetched. Which he should have in the beginning itself, when he traced her in the ballet, after all, being the wife of the big-man, she would have been well known. A few days search, and some chance encounter, it would have been alright, but then he would have missed the chance of heist, which was necessary to close the movie.On this scale, naturally the movie, balancing for the plus (the intelligent heist plans, which are actually brilliant, and not fault-able) and the minus (the loopholes), probably it would fall in the 6* or a bit less category. Close the logical portion of the brain, and enjoy, it is enjoyable. .

A fun picture when it was made – and still one of the choicest delights of 1940's cinema – this film is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy/drama (with even a bit of ballet thrown in). Writing, directing and acting always maintain the most perfectly exquisite balance between the story's various elements. For once the efforts of a multitude of writers – in addition to the credited Karl Tunberg, Don Ettinger, John O'Hara, Jacques Companeez, Herbert Jutkee, Hans Jacoby and Michel Duran, Nunnally Johnson also contributed to the script, as did Erich von Stroheim who sketched in most of his own very amusing "business" and contributed to Peter Lorre's as well – have produced a delightfully smooth and energetic comedy of manners that only slows down slightly with the climactic ballet and during some of the moments when Richard Greene is on- screen (not Richard's fault. Except for his rousing opening scene, his role is totally conventional and lacks the sparkle that animates the movie's other main characters. Even Sig Rumann, in a tiny role, makes a greater impression simply because he has the material to do so). Production values are especially lush. Two photographers were employed, but they did not work in tandem, as many people suppose. In general, Cronjager handled the close-ups and the tight shots (like the scenes on the train), while Shamroy did the large group shots, the long shots and the establishing shots. My guess is that Shamroy also photographed the whole of the ballet – but in Cronjager's style. Cronjager was a favorite with female stars because he took infinite care to make them look ravishingly beautiful. On the other hand, he was not well liked by producers, directors and impatient stars because he worked too slowly. Available on a superb Fox DVD,

This film stars Vera Zorina and since she was once an accomplished ballerina, several dance numbers and an allusion to "Swan Lake" was inserted into the film. I'd love to make some humorous comment about a stunt dancer now claiming credit for all this, but Ms. Zorina was a world-famous dancer before she became an actress.This film is set in a weird Europe--one where there is no war at all--even though it came out in 1940--during the German occupation of France, the Battle of Britain and Mussolini--none of which are even mentioned in the movie! Zorina, Erich von Stroheim and Peter Lorre (all three who had strong Germanic roots) are a team of swindlers who prowl the hot-spots of Europe ripping off unsuspecting members of the upper class. However, when Zorina meets sweet Richard Greene, she falls instantly in love and can't continue her wicked ways. She reforms and they soon marry--though she never tells him about her very sordid past. So, when her old 'comrades' show up some time later, she's afraid to say anything--though she knows von Stroheim and Lorre are up to no good.This is a somewhat familiar theme for Hollywood. With films like "Lady Eve", "Jewel Robbery" and "Trouble in Paradise" (just to name a few), it's obvious the public had a great fascination with these 'lady or gentleman criminal' movies. Here, like these other films, there is some comedy and some romance--and the ending is rather predictable as it follows a familiar pattern. Compared to these other films, "I Was An Adventuress", it's about average--not as good as some and a bit better than others. I liked the actors--they were all pretty good choices. The script was decent---not outstanding or as sweet as "Trouble in Paradise" or "Lady Eve"--but still pretty good. Overall, it's worth watching and a nice time-passer.

This was an absolutely miserable film. It's basically the story of 3 thieves-ballet dancer Zorina, who was basically no actress, as she proved when she was replaced by Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca," as well as Erich Von Stroheim and Peter Lorre. They use all sorts of tactics to woo their victims and then steal from them, primarily jewelry. Of course, one of the victims is Richard Greene, but love follows between Zorina and Greene, and they wed.The film fails to explain why Lorre took the actions he did in the end. Was he really a good natured guy?The most exciting scene of this dull film was the car chase, but that literally loses gas as well.Suddenly, Zorina is performing "Swan Lake." The whole film is one big mystery, and badly made at that. There is definitely a problem of continuity and lack of interest here.