BRITISH INTELLIGENCE (1940) Boris Karloff, Margaret Lindsay & Bruce Lester | Thriller, War | B&W

British Intelligence is a 1940 spy film set in World War I. It was directed by Terry O. Morse and stars Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay. The film, also known as Enemy Agent, was released in the United States in January 1940. The Warner Bros. B picture was based on a 1918 play Three Faces East written by Anthony Paul Kelly and produced on the stage by George M. Cohan. Two film adaptations of Three Faces East in 1926 and 1930 preceded British Intelligence.

SYNOPSIS
During World War I, the British are plagued by the elusive German spymaster Franz Strendler, whose espionage has caused significant damage. Desperate to turn the tide, British Intelligence enlists their top undercover agent, who is picked up by pilot Frank Bennett. However, the mission goes awry when Bennett is shot down by the Germans. Surviving the crash, Bennett is rescued and taken to a hospital where he falls for a nurse named Helene Von Lorbeer, unaware of her true identity as a German spy.

Helene, later revealed as a master spy herself, returns to Germany to receive a prestigious honor and is assigned a new mission. She infiltrates the London home of cabinet minister Arthur Bennett, who is also Frank’s father, under the alias Frances Hautry. There, she poses as a refugee and takes orders from the household’s butler, Valdar, who is secretly working for British Intelligence under Colonel Yeats.

The plot thickens as British Intelligence closes in on the spy network within Bennett’s home. When Frank unexpectedly arrives and recognizes Hautry as his former nurse, she is forced to reveal that she is working for the British, although Valdar overhears the exchange.

As the British cabinet convenes at Bennett’s home, Valdar seizes the opportunity to destroy them, forcing Hautry into the cellar where he has planted a bomb timed to explode during a Zeppelin raid. Hautry convinces Valdar that she is still loyal to the German cause by showing him her award from the Kaiser. Satisfied, Valdar finally reveals his true identity as Strendler.

In a dramatic turn, British agents, who have been monitoring Valdar, rush to the scene just in time. Valdar escapes through a coal chute, but Hautry alerts the agents to the bomb, revealing herself as a double agent. The chase ends tragically for Strendler when a Zeppelin inadvertently bombs

CAST & CREW
Boris Karloff as Valdar
Margaret Lindsay as Helene Von Lorbeer
Bruce Lester as Frank Bennett
Leonard Mudie as James Yeats
Holmes Herbert as Arthur Bennett
Austin Fairman as George Bennett

Director: Terry O. Morse
Screenplay by: Lee Katz
Based on: Three Faces East (1918 play by Anthony Paul Kelly)
Starring: Boris Karloff, Margaret Lindsay
Cinematography: Sid Hickox
Edited by: Thomas Pratt
Music by: H. Roemheld
Production Company: Warner Bros.
Distributed by: Warner Bros.
Release Date: January 29, 1940
Running Time: 60 minutes
Country: United States

NOTES
Production
Warner Bros. began principal photography on British Intelligence in mid-March 1939. Morse's remake of Three Faces East "... is clearly one of those cheap and fast quickies the studios - in this instance, Warner - ground out at the onset of war, as the sheerest propaganda." Aerial sequences from the 1930 film The Dawn Patrol were used in the film.

Reception
British Intelligence was typical of prewar American propaganda films, similar to other Warner Bros. productions. Some later reviewers saw it as a clumsy attempt to portray German aggression in Europe at the start of World War II. "As a balm to 1940 audiences, the film includes an early comedy scene in which German military protocol is upset by a clumsy corporal (Willy Kaufman) who bears a startling resemblance to a certain Nazi dictator." Other reviewers have been more positive. The Radio Times notes that "this is an intriguing thriller... the wilful obscurity of the storyline is part of its appeal, along with Karloff's sinister geniality."