Original at
Films of the Golden Age
Contraband (1940)
Directed by Michael Powell
Screenplay by Emeric Pressburger
Cinematography by Freddie Young
Production design by Alfred Junge
Starring Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Esmond Knight, and Leo Genn
Running Time: 88 minutes, B&W
Released by Kino on Video
Described as "a comedy thriller in the vein of Hitchcock's The 39 Steps
and The Lady Vanishes", Contraband is a rather pale imitation of those immortal
works, but this low-key Powell-Pressburger production sparkles with wit,
charm, and an irrepressible elan. Set during the early days of WWII and
ranging from a Danish ship to the blackout streets of London (its original
US release title was Blackout), the relationship between sea captain Conrad
Veidt and provocative passenger Valerie Hobson is so intriguing that memories
of Madeline Carroll and Robert Donat reverberate in our brain.
This untrusting couple are kidnapped by a cell of Nazi spies operating out
of a basement adjoining a cinema. Shadowy lighting and the wartime restrictions
allow Academy Award-winning cinematographer Freddie Young to craft a film
noir so dark that when Veidt tries to distract his pursuers by turning on
the lights in a murky building, the effect is truly shocking (and nearly
blinding!).
The tortured Veidt-Hobson dueling is another reason to savor this underlooked
treasure. When Miss Hobson refuses to wear her life jacket, Veidt threatens
to put her in irons. Later, believing her to be a spy, he sneaks into her
stateroom. Coming upon her dressing table, he disdains searching for encrypted
messages. Instead, he caresses her hosiery, smells her perfume, and fingers
her ... cigar.
An additional eight minutes added to the theatrical release is probably
due to an extensive and wildly grotesque Watusi-white goddess dance number
set in an offbeat nightclub. Those cinephile Sherlock Holmes curious to
trace the voyeuristic perversity leading to director Powell's notorious
Peeping Tom are advised to begin here.
Also of interest is a sequence where our antagonistic duo are hog tied to
a post in the Nazi hideaway. As Miss Hobson writhes and Mr. Veidt grimaces,
they exchange understated pleasantries that British audiences would translate
as love talk.
After an absurd donnybrook between Brits and Nazis in yet another nightclub
and a rousing shootout in a storeroom populated by ceramic busts, Veidt
and Hobson go into their clinch. With such rapprochement, how could the
Germans stand a chance?
This clever artifice is $24.95 from Kino Video, 333 W. 39th St., New York,
NY 10018, (800) 562-3330.
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