Customer Reviews
A war-time thriller that's romantic and funny - By: C. O. DeRiemer, 27 Jul 2007 
This is one of a series of first-rate British movies Frank Launder & Sidney Gilliat wrote and, in a number of cases, directed starting in the 1930s.
Deborah Kerr plays Bridie Quilty, a young Irish woman who was brought up to despise the British. Its 1944 & Ireland has stayed neutral in WWII. When she reaches her majority she is determined to join the IRA & fight against the Brits. She travels to Dublin to seek out the IRA & is rebuffed, but is recruited by, unknown to her, a German spy. Raymond Huntley, a great English character actor, plays the spy. He has her finding out information as a worker in a pub, next to a British army base just across the border. Unexpectedly, she meets a young Army offficer (Trevor Howard) who is in counter-intelligence, & then comes across a great secret which, she is told, must be delivered to an agent she thinks is fighting against the Brits on behalf of the Irish, but is actuallly a sleeper Nazi. Bridie's adventures are many, some romantic (although she can't stand the idea of fallling for a British officer), some funny, some dangerous. The conclusion, where if Bridie is caught on the Northern Ireland side of the border she'll be hanged, but if she can cross the border to Ireland she'll be safe, is a nice little drama of its own. It causes a quandry of conscience for Howard, & is resolved neatly.
This is a charming & expertly made movie. Deborah Kerr, at 24, brings glowing naivete to the part. After Kerr made this & Black Narcissus (1947), she was off to the USA.
Launder & Gilliat's films read like a roster of quality & craftsmanship. Among them are The Lady Vanishes, Night Train to Munich, The Rake's Progress, Green for Danger, The Belles of St. Trinian's, The Green Man, Geordie & Young Mr. Pitt. Except for The Lady Vanishes, none are out on DVD in the U.S. & should be.
