Candlelight in Algeria

1944 "Come With Us To The Mysterious Casbah, But Don't Expect To Come out Alive"
6.2| 1h22m| NR| en
Details

Candlelight in Algeria is a 1944 British war film directed by George King and starring James Mason, Carla Lehmann and Raymond Lovell. This drama follows the exploits of Eisenhower's top aide, Mark Clark, and other important Allies as they journey to an important meeting held on Algeria's coast. The precise location of this vital secret gathering is upon a piece of film which must not fall into enemy hands

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Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.
Console best movie i've ever seen.
Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
JohnHowardReid Producer/director: GEORGE KING. Screenplay: Katherine Strueby, Brock Williams. Additional dialogue: John Clements. Story: Dorothy Hope. Photography: Otto Heller. Camera operator: Gus Drisse. Exterior photography: Patrick Gay. Supervising film editor: Terence Fisher. Film editor: Winifred Cooper. Art director: Norman Arnold. Music composed by Roy Douglas and James Turner, directed by Jack Beaver. Songs by Jack Denby, Hans May, Alan Stranks, Muriel Watson, G. Arbib. Songs sung by Christiane De Murin. Sound recording: Ernest A. Royles, Cecil W. Thornton. Associate producer: John Stafford. Executive producer: S. W. Smith. (Available on an 8/10 Odeon DVD).A George King Production for British Aviation Pictures, released in the U.K. by British Lion: 20 March 1944. In the U.S.A. by 20th Century- Fox. Registered: December 1943. "U" certificate. New York opening at the Victoria: 29 July 1944. Australian release through G.B.D./20th Century-Fox: 8 February 1945. 7,904 feet. 87½ minutes.SYNOPSIS: A British spy outwits Nazi agents in Algiers.COMMENT: Aside from three sequences (the rescue from the hotel with a neatly-timed bit of impersonation by James Mason as the villains confer in the middle of an enormous vestibule while vacuum cleaners whirr in the foreground; the beautifully-lit confrontation and escape from the Casbah; the climactic car chase), this is a routine slice of war- time nonsense, routinely and even poorly acted (especially by the heroine who is not very attractively photographed either) and very routinely and uninspiredly directed. Lots of close- ups are used, because the film is largely stage-bound with lots of banal additional dialogue and familiar clichés of plot and characterization. Rilla does what he can with the part of the villain, but much of his effort is dissipated by King's heavy-handed direction.
MartinHafer I noticed a discrepancy with the running time of the version of this film I downloaded for free at archive.org--it runs 81 minutes, not 86. IMDb says there's a severely truncated version at 65 minutes...but this one I saw was missing only five minutes or the running time listed on IMDb is incorrect.When the film begins, Susan (Carla Lehmann) awakens in a hospital bed as there are celebrations for the combined Allied landing in North Africa. The film then jumps back to before this and explains what exactly had happened to Susan.A desperate escaped POW takes shelter in Susan's home in Algeria. At this point, the Vichy French and Americans were not at war with each other and so despite the Vichy being essentially a vassal state to the Nazis, American nationals are allowed in this part of France even though the US and Germany are at war. So, if Susan wanted to, she simply could have turned in Alan (James Mason) and been safe. But instead he soon convinces her to help him obtain a camera filled with important film...film which COULD hamper the Americans and Free French from invading North Africa. And, as a result of her choice, Susan is in almost constant peril.This is a pretty exciting war film--one obviously meant to drum up sentiment in favor of the Allied cause. While technically this is a propaganda film, it's a good one and doesn't come off as jingoistic or which depicts the Germans as monsters like many other films. Because of this, it holds up pretty well, though most viewers today might not understand the context for the film--such as what was Vichy France and how were the Free French very different. Still, an enjoyable little film. Oh, and although it doesn't matter, the American lady, Susan, was played by a Canadian. And, there also is a bit of a plot hole as the film really did NOT explain why Susan was in the hospital--particularly as just before this she seemed healthy and just fine on the ship. Odd...as was the ending, though that was odd in an enjoyable sense.
gordonl56 CANDLELIGHT IN ALGERIA 1944This wartime thriller is both a spy adventure, and a film noir. The headliners are played by James Mason, Carla Lehmann, Walter Rilla, Enid Stamp-Taylor, Pamela Stirling and Leslie Bradley. The film is directed by the under-rated George King. The film is set just before the US/UK invasion of Vichy Algeria in Nov 1942. American Carla Lehmann gets herself mixed up with British secret agent James Mason. Mason is on the lam from the Nazis who are dogging his every step. It is all about a camera and film both sides want. Mason breaks into Lehman's house looking for some food and a place to lay low. Lehman, in Algeria visiting her aunt, pulls a pistol on Mason and prepares to summon the Police. Mason tells her a tale of needing help evading the Nazi types chasing him. Mason appeals to her patriotism and asks for her help. Lehmann agrees and stashes Mason under some stairs just as the Nazi's arrive. The chief villain here, played brilliantly by Walter Rilla, is a smooth talking killer in a nice suit. Lehmann pretends to know nothing about any "prowler" in the area. Rilla does not buy her act for a moment, but begs her pardon and leaves. Mason, rested up and fed, asks Lehmann to meet him in 2 days in Casablanca. He wants her to visit a woman, Enid Stamp-Taylor, there. This is where the all-important camera and film are hidden. Along the way Lehman notices she has picked up a Gestapo tail. Once Lehmann gets hold of the camera, the hi-jinks start, with Lehmann, Mason and the Germans in a cat and mouse game through the night time alleys etc of Casablanca. Mason gets the film developed and they discover that it is a map showing a secret meeting location on the Algerian coast. At the meeting will be American, UK and Vichy French military types. This is all to lay out the times and places for the Allied Invasion of North Africa. The Germans want the meeting location so they can swoop in and capture everyone. Also in the mix here, is Pamela Stirling as a French barmaid, and Leslie Bradley as a Vichy officer helping the Allies. Rilla nearly puts the grab on Mason but is interrupted by Miss Lehmann. There is a quick exchange of blows with the Nazi being laid low. The pair then swipe Rilla's car and speed off to the now, not so secret location. Mason wants to warn whoever about the German plot. And as it would so happens, the meeting is in full bloom with Allied and Vichy types settling the invasion details. Speed is of the essence here, as Rilla has recovered from his thumping and is in hot pursuit. Mason and Lehmann reach the house and deliver the warning. And just in time as some Vichy French Policemen are snooping around nearby. The meeting is wrapped up and the Allied officers retreat to a waiting submarine. Mason and Lehmann now lead Rilla and company on a wild car chase along the coast. Lehman is shoved out of the car and Mason roars off into the night. Lehmann wakes up in a hospital wondering if Mason made it to safety. Needless to say he now puts in an appearance. Plenty of pace here with director King keeping things hopping. King was best known for a string of Tod Slaughter films such as, SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, THE FACE AT THE WINDOW and THE CRIMES OF STEPHEN HAWKE. King also helmed a pair of first rate film noir, THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER and FORBIDDEN. The look of the film is excellent with two time BAFTA nominated (one time winner) Otto Heller handling the cinematography duties. Heller's work includes, THEY MADE ME A FUGITIVE, NOOSE, QUEEN OF SPADES, THE CRIMSON PIRATE, THE SQUARE RING, THE LADYKILLERS, RICHARD III, THE SILENT ENEMY, ALFIE and his BAFTA winner, THE IPCRESS FILE. There is some real witty dialogue supplied by screenplay writers, Brock Williams, Kate Strueby and John Clements working from a Dorothy Hope story. Several of the better cracks are, Miss Lehmann telling a Nazi officer to try some "prairie oysters" (bull testicles) Villain Rilla has a great line when he tells Vichy officer, Bradley, "The French are good at appearing to be Brave."A much better film than I was expecting. Canadian Carla Lehmann was in several wartime thrillers such as, SECRET MISSION and COTTAGE TO LET
silverscreen888 "Candlelight in Algeria" is, by my standards, a superior noir adventure which concerns a secret conference being held, despite danger, in Algeria during WWII. The protagonist is an American girl from Kansas--a reference to Dorothy's line in the"Wizard of Oz" (1939) "I guess we're not in Kansas any more." She is staying with relatives and falls in with a spy, ably played by the powerful James Mason. The body of this brilliantly suspenseful film then falls into important episodes, involving a dangerous theft, misunderstandings, a major confrontation with the Nazi's chief investigator, and a thrilling flight leading to the final action--one in which Mason risks his life to divert the Nazis and their coerced French partners from disrupting the conference. The film is told in an envelope flashback by the heroine, Lehman, in a hospital, wondering whether Mason is alive or dead. George King directed most skillfully, from a script by Dorothy Hope, John Clements, Katharine Strueby and Brock Williams. The film was produced by John Stafford with original music by Roy Douglas and James Turner and award- level cinematography by Otto Heller. The fine art direction was done by Norman G. Arnold. In the above-average cast, Carla Lehman was charismatic and intelligent as the American girl, and James Mason more than excellent as the solider-spy who enlists her before falling in love with her. Walter Rilla plays a most intelligent spy master, Dr, Muller; Raymond Lovell and Enid Stamp-Taylor are used for comedy. Offbeat Pamela Stirling as Yvette and the rest of the cast are all more than adequate. A classic chase and hiding out in the Casbah is given touches of humor, without ever losing its interesting edge as it pits suave Brit Mason against brave but naive neo-puritan USer, Lehman. Look for the interrogation scenes, the Algiers' hideout scenes and the climactic, intelligent chase sequence, among others. This is a film worth watching many times, and for many values, I suggest. It was often imitated afterward but seldom equaled.