Nicely paced WW2 spy thriller with George Raft playing an American agent trying to stop a German plan to turn Turkey against Russia. It's an ill-fitting role for Raft but I can't say he was terrible. I always liked him, even if he could be a pretty wooden actor sometimes. This is the kind of role I could easily see Bogart playing, which is ironic considering George Raft notoriously turned down some of the parts that made Bogart's career, such as Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. This movie also marked the end of Raft's contract with Warner Bros, which effectively meant the beginning of the end of his days as an A-lister.

The fairly short runtime helps, as does the great supporting cast. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are always worth watching. Lovely Brenda Marshall and Ona Massen are good, too. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought this was a very enjoyable movie of its type. I'm sure if you dislike Raft you will find it tougher going than I did. If you're a fan of the cast or WW2 movies in general, I definitely recommend you try this one out.

Interesting, intriguing plot here with Nazi Germany trying to provoke trouble between the Soviet Union and Turkey. In other words, they're hoping that Turkey would enter the war on the side of the Axis Powers.

As always, Sydney Greenstreet is up to his old, evil ways in trying to bring this horror about. The interesting thing about the movie is how the newspapers can add to the plot. All you need is a paper to be sympathetic to a movement and there is trouble.

It's a bit confusing, but eventually cleared up who Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall represent in the film. Marshall has an awkward veneer here. She prances around the rooms and is very cold here. This is even true when her supposed brother and aide, Lorre, takes a bullet to the chest.

Joe Barton (George Raft) is traveling to neutral Turkey during WWII. En route, a woman gives him money to hold...as she says she's being followed. He agrees to help...which is a very bad thing. This is because he then finds himself pulled into the world of spies and intrigue...and German and possibly Russian agents are chasing him all about the country trying to beat him up or even kill him. They think he still has the money and is somehow involved in some plot involving a fake story about the Soviet Army invading Turkey! So, much of the film is spent running about the country dodging one problem after another. It sure does suck to be Joe Barton!

In some ways, this is like the more famous "Casablanca". It co- stars Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre but it's also set in an exotic city filled with folks of many nationalities and it all centers on an American who finds himself in the middle of everything. But, in other ways, it reminds me a lot of "The Maltese Falcon"--with lots of folks bashing each other over the head, killing each other and no clear indication as to what motivates some of these folks.

Overall, this is an enjoyable film but one that isn't particularly outstanding. Some of it is because Raft, as usual, was pretty low energy and uninteresting. Some of it is because the film mostly consisted of lots of escapes and a lot of talking. Not bad...but lacking something to make it great.