To me, this movie is perfection.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

One of director Alfred Hitchcock's weaker, early films loosely based on two of W. Somerset Maugham's Ashenden stories and a play by Campbell Dixon based on a third; Charles Bennett adapted them for the screen, Ian Hay and Jesse Lasky Jr. provided additional dialogue, and the director's wife Alma Reville also contributed.It's a mystery thriller with a romance drama angle between John Gielgud's and Madeleine Carroll's characters; Peter Lorre plays a typically unique character, a womanizing assassin. Robert Young plays a debonair American gentleman; his role is additionally against type for the actor (as is Gielgud's).Richard Ashenden is a British novelist who's just returned from World War I a hero. However, his death is reported by his country's government so that they can utilize his talents as a spy. He's to travel to Switzerland to stop a spy working for the opposition from making it into Germany. His cover includes a wife, Elsa (Carroll), and he's assigned an attache who's to do the dirty work (e.g. execute the foreign agent), the General (Lorre). In the process, they (actually, the General) accidentally kill the wrong man (Percy Marmont), a kindly old man. This so sickens Ashenden and Elsa, who'd only been looking for adventure, that they decide to quit the service and make a life together for themselves.But just as the couple's about to leave, the General informs Brodie, Ashenden's undercover name, that he's made a valuable contact (through Lilli Palmer's character) in a chocolate factory. While the two of them are chasing around those environs, flaky Elsa decides to run off with an American, Robert Marvin (Young), who'd been flirting with her.Brodie and the General discover that Marvin is the foreign spy and assume, when they Elsa boarding a train for Germany with him, that she's somehow figured it out too. They board the train as well, and the truth is revealed a short time before the train is attacked by the British, who weren't taking any chances in letting Marvin cross the border. A spectacular train crash kills the spy and his intended assassin, while Ashenden and Elsa survive to be together in the end.

It's Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud)'s funeral. The movie flashes back to WWI. Edgar returns home on leave to find his obituary in the papers. R recruits him in a secret mission to intercept a German agent on his way to the Middle East. Edgar is given the fake identity Richard Ashenden. A weird man called The General (Peter Lorre) assists him. He arrives in Switzerland and meets his eager pretend wife Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll). There is an unknown enemy agent given instructions to stop Edgar.It's Alfred Hitchcock while he's still in Britain. It's a spy adventure thriller yarn. The best thing about this is the little Hitchcock touches. I wouldn't call this exciting. I wouldn't call this a compelling mystery either. It's good enough to follow. Peter Lorre is really hamming it up as if he expects to be in a comedy duo with John Gielgud. It's a necessary watch for Hitchcock fans.

To me, I just love watching Peter Lorre in anything. His unforgettable voice and his villainous demeanor just adds to delight in watching his performance. Sure the film starred the legendary Shakespearean actor Sir John Gielgud who is fine but not a true standout. Madeleine Carroll also acts in the film as the leading lady. The movie is based on a novel and is set during World War I about espionage and intrigue. I really didn't find this film as one of my favorites. Peter Lorre was one of the director's favorites. It is clear to see why he was unique in voice and talent. Lorre always stole the spotlight. The film's story isn't so clear to me even until the ending.

***SPOILERS*** Having been reported killed in the fighting on the western front British Army officer Edger Brodie, John Gielgud, is brought back to life not by a Doctor Frankenstein but by the top British intelligence officer known only as "N" played by Charles Carson.Given a new identity as Richard Ashenden Brodie is told to travel to neutral Switzerland and with the help of his fellow British Agents The General, Peter Lorre, and his now new wife Elsa Carrington, Medeleine Carroll, to assassinate a German undercover agent. The German Secret Agent is trying to start up trouble in the Middle-East against the British troops fighting the Turks, Germany's ally, in Palestine.In Switzerland both Asherden and the General contact the third member of the British assassination team Elas Carrington who's masquerading around as Mrs. Asherden. To both Asherden and the Generals surprise Elsa is having an affair with this American tourist playboy Robert Marvin, Robert Young, which greatly complicates matters. Not only don't Asherden and the General know who this German Secret Agent is but their fellow British Agent Elsa is now, by being in love with Marvin, not at all interested in finding and terminating him!The attempt in tracking down and offing the shadowy German Agent falls completely apart when British mountain climbing tourist Caypor, Prcy Marmont, is mistaken for him and murdered by the General pushing Caypor off a snowy cliff in the Alps. This has both Asherden and his "wife" Elsa totally lose interest in finding and killing the German Agent even if letting him stay alive and get to German's ally Turkey, with his secret plans or a full scale Arab revolt, will cost thousand of British lives! That's by causing the neutral, at the time, Arabs to rise up against the British in Palestine in support of the Turks and Germans.***SPOILERS*** Very contrive and unbelievable ending with the RAF, if that's what it was called back then in WWI, doing the job that both Ashenden and Elsa didn't have the heart to do. As for the General he did the best he could to knock off the German Agent but his best wasn't good enough. It's later that both Ashenden and Elsa did in fact tie the knot after all this, spying running shooting and killing, was over and quit the British Secret Service finding that they just weren't quite cut out, in the assassination business, for it.