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Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

C Boyer and his THICK french accent is a Spaniard on a mission from his home country traveling to London during the Spanish Civil War. Lauren Bacall (Love. Her.) is supposed to be a British Lord's daughter, who becomes Boyer's sidekick. who knows WHAT accents P. Lorre & D. Seymour were supposed to have... interesting flick, in spite of the bad accents. the script kind of goes all over the place, kind of like The Big Sleep. Almost two hours, but fun to watch, except for when they smack the maid around over and over... was a little disturbing. A thin Dan Seymour (was Inspector Renard in To Have and Have Not) comes in to investigate. Written by Grahame Greene, who wrote TONS of stuff.. check it out!

Lauren Bacall went to great lengths in her memoirs to come up with why she got such bad reviews in Confidential Agent. I put it down simply to she's way to American to cast well as the daughter of an English lord. Additionally as she says her director gave her no direction. A pity because Herman Shumlin the director had just come off doing Watch On The Rhine and this has similar subject matter.Confidential Agent taken from a Graham Greene novel from 1939 and not one of his better ones. It casts Charles Boyer in the title role as just that, an agent for the Spanish government when it was clear it was already a losing cause. He's in a last minute attempt to stop English coal mine owners from consummating a deal with the new Falangist forces for coal. The miners just want to get back to work which won't make it an easy sell.When you come right down to it Boyer is really inept. So much happens to him including his credentials being stolen that you wonder why they'd pick this guy. Still he muddles through some how. One thing that the film has going for it is an incredible cast of character actors, most of whom have played villainous roles. Just the names of Peter Lorre, Victor Francen, George Coulouris, Katina Paxinou, Dan Seymour, Miles Mander and the nature of the story where Boyer does not know friend from foe for a lot of the film gives the story a boost. All these folks have essayed villainy well on the screen so you really can't tell who's good and who's evil.One I will note is George Coulouris who in this film plays a real oaf and well. Usually he's smooth and evil, this was a new aspect to him and he carries it off well. And Katina Paxinou fresh from her Oscar for For Whom The Bells Toll lights the screen up with her brand of intensity.But most of the time the story is slow and sluggish. Maybe Michael Curtiz could have gotten more from this cast. And Lauren Bacall got right back on track with The Big Sleep her next film.

Bacall does well here - especially considering this is only her 2nd film. This one is often overshadowed because it falls between 2 great successes: "To Have and To Have Not" (1944) and "The Big Sleep" (1945), both of which paired her with Humphrey Bogart. Granted this one is not up to par to the other movies but I think through no fault of her own. I think there was some miscasting in having her portray a British upper-crust lady. No accent whatsoever. I think all the strange accents were distracting - Boyer was certainly no Spaniard. It was hard to keep straight which country people were from.I really liked the black and white cinematography. Mood is used to great affect - I especially liked the fog scene. The lighting also does a great job of adding to the intrigue and tension.Bacall is just gorgeous. Boyer just doesn't fit the romantic leading man role for me - so he and Bacall together was a little strange. Not great chemistry - and certainly no Bogie and Bacall magic. But I still really liked this picture. There is great tension and it moves along well enough. I must say I found the murder of the little girl quite bold for this period film.Katina Paxinou and Peter Lorre stand out as supporting cast. Paxinou as the hotel keeper is absolutely villainous and evil in her portrayal. Her one scene where she laughs maniacally as Mr. Muckerji is leaving after exposing her as the child's murderer is quite disturbing. Lorre also does quite well in his slimy, snake portrayal of Conteras - a sleazy coward to the end. Wanda Bendrix also does quite well in portraying the child Else - especially considering this was her first picture and she was only 16 at the time (though she appears much younger). Turns out she later married Auie Murphy which proved to be a short lived, tempestuous marriage.

Never realized that Charles Boyer, (Luis Denard) appeared with Lauren Bacall,(Rose Cullen) in a film together and enjoyed their great acting together. Even Peter Lorre, (Contreras) had a role in this film and had a bad misfortune in his bathroom that caused him to faint. This story deals with a Republican Courier, Luis Denard who visits England during the Spanish Civil War and tries to disrupt a coal mining contract that will cause great harm to other nations. Lauren Bacall, (Rose Cullen) comes to the aid of Luis Denard by picking him up and at the same time falling in love with him and then proceeds to help him escape from an angry crowd of English Mine Workers who threaten his life. The real bad guy in this film is Victor Francen, (Licata) "Beast with Five Fingers" who gives an outstanding performance. Great Classic 1945 film without Humphrey Bogart.