I found the establishing scenes at the beginning of this film to be the weakest point (in particular the inexplicable decision to shoot just a handful of voice-over scenes using a narrator's-eye camera), but from there on it grows from strength to strength, climaxing in a real humdinger of an ending.
An astute decision which adds to the tension is to use an opening scene which makes it clear that the protagonist's escape attempt is ultimately foiled, and treat the rest of the picture in flashback from there; we are constantly, almost subliminally aware that disaster awaits in some unknown form just around the bend, which lends a sense of brooding menace to what might otherwise be a lighthearted caper. (It also makes it entirely plausible, for a few moments, that the whole adventure *will* end very badly indeed, thus delivering considerable emotional punch to an ending which does not insult the audience's intelligence.)
The romantic interest is subtly -- no saccharine speeches are ever delivered, save in the most literal sense! -- and effectively indicated, and both Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Glynis Johns perform competently as the innocents on the run with a dangerous state secret. But the real show-stealers lie among the supporting cast, in particular Herbert Lom in an outstanding minor role as as Theodor the smuggler, and Jack Hawkins as the urbane Colonel who masterminds our hero's liquidation without personal rancour in an entirely disinterested spirit.
As one would expect from a Gilliat/Launder production, the film boasts a sharp script, and the setting in a dictatorial Balkanesque state provides the opportunity for many mordant observations. The picture, however, is less a comedy than an intelligent thriller/chase scenario enlivened with flashes of black humour. Gilliat's original plot concept dates back as far as 1938, but the post-war setting proves equally apt. Production values are generally high (perhaps the greatest proof of that is that an entire mythical 'Vosnian' language was concocted for the use of the film, elements of which can be picked up by the attentive listener!) and the film is an effective piece of entertainment.
An astute decision which adds to the tension is to use an opening scene which makes it clear that the protagonist's escape attempt is ultimately foiled, and treat the rest of the picture in flashback from there; we are constantly, almost subliminally aware that disaster awaits in some unknown form just around the bend, which lends a sense of brooding menace to what might otherwise be a lighthearted caper. (It also makes it entirely plausible, for a few moments, that the whole adventure *will* end very badly indeed, thus delivering considerable emotional punch to an ending which does not insult the audience's intelligence.)
The romantic interest is subtly -- no saccharine speeches are ever delivered, save in the most literal sense! -- and effectively indicated, and both Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Glynis Johns perform competently as the innocents on the run with a dangerous state secret. But the real show-stealers lie among the supporting cast, in particular Herbert Lom in an outstanding minor role as as Theodor the smuggler, and Jack Hawkins as the urbane Colonel who masterminds our hero's liquidation without personal rancour in an entirely disinterested spirit.
As one would expect from a Gilliat/Launder production, the film boasts a sharp script, and the setting in a dictatorial Balkanesque state provides the opportunity for many mordant observations. The picture, however, is less a comedy than an intelligent thriller/chase scenario enlivened with flashes of black humour. Gilliat's original plot concept dates back as far as 1938, but the post-war setting proves equally apt. Production values are generally high (perhaps the greatest proof of that is that an entire mythical 'Vosnian' language was concocted for the use of the film, elements of which can be picked up by the attentive listener!) and the film is an effective piece of entertainment.