British Intelligence (1940)
During WWI pretty German master spy Helene von Lorbeer is sent undercover to London to live with the family of a high-placed British official where she is to rendezvous with the butler Valdar, also a spy, and help him transmit secret war plans back to Germany.
Now it can be told...the 'inside story' that shook the world!
[last lines]
Arthur Benneft: But, tell me, Yeats, these sacrifices we are all making - do you think they will eventually mean something to mankind?
Colonel James Yeats: I wish I were able to answer that question. We want to help humanity. We fight wars only because we crave peace so ardently and pray that each war will be the last. But always in the strange scheme of things some maniac with a lust for power arises and, in one moment, destroys the peace and tranquility we've created through the years. We hate war! We despise it, but when war comes, we must and will fight on and on.
Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
(Studio)
In the vestibule of Bennett's home hangs a well-known [reproduction] painting by Rembrandt, called 'An Old Man in Military Costume.' Dating from c.1631, it is a portrait of an old man posing in an outfit featuring a metal breastplate and a plumed hat. The original has been owned by the Getty Center in Los Angeles since 1978.
The play upon which this film is based, "Three Faces East", opened in New York City on 13 August 1918, first at the Cohan and Harris Theatre, 226 W. 42nd St. and then it moved on 17 February 1919 to the Longacre Theatre, 220 W. 48th St. and had a total of 335 performances. It was produced by George M. Cohan and the cast included Frank Sheridan and Cora Witherspoon.
Some cast members in studio records/casting call lists did not appear or were not identifiable in the movie. These were (with their character names): Sidney Bracey (Crowder), Jack Mower (Morton), Gordon Hart (Doctor) and John Sutton (Officer). The voice of the man in the car bringing home Frank Bennett sounded a bit like Sutton, but he was not fully on camera and could not be identified.
Factual errors
The automobile bringing Helene to the Bennett home is incorrect - an American model that has its steering wheel on left when England uses right-side steering. Later, the limousine delivering Frank Bennett is correct, with the steering wheel on the right.
Anachronisms
When in London in a taxi, Helene says to Henry Thompson "Wasn't there a son?" Thompson replies "Frank, I think his name is. He's in France in the Air Force." The Royal Air Force did not come into existence until 1st April 1918 and was at that time The Royal Flying Corps.