The idea of a spy falling in love with one of the enemy is a literary cliché and has been used in the movies since the silent era. It is full of dramatic possibilities, but always faces the difficulty of resolving in the end the contest between loyalty and love. In this film, the problems are compounded by having Mexican-American Gilbert Roland portraying the Austrian counterintelligence agent with his Spanish accent intact, up against the all-American Constance Bennett as a Russian spy during what appears to be WW1. The two gradually fall in love without knowing each other's true identity. Despite the obvious drawbacks, all involved carry it off very well.There are really two ending. The first, when they finally confront each other and reveal their true identities is dramatic, exciting and with a final surprising twist. The second is far-fetched and less satisfying. If you eliminate the final 5 minutes, the film is well-worth watching.

Constance Bennett was sublime in this. This film, unlike some others in which she starred, made it easy to see why she was a star. The plot is intriguing, if not overwhelmingly original, and the film is made very well. The theme song of the film, which Bennett sings (well), is memorable and sweet. Bennett is a glamour queen throughout and acts skillfully and pleasingly. The direction is overall excellent, the film moves at a brisk pace, and the sets and situations are not too stagy. It compares remarkably well to another spy melodrama of the period, Garbo's MATA HARI, and of the two, Bennett surprisingly comes out the winner (no disservice to the great Garbo intended, just some praise to the underrated and forgotten Bennett).

I would rate this film as a competent time killer, something that Depression audiences went to see to forget about their troubles for an hour or so and which we small screen home viewers can watch to slip out of contemporary reality and give our brains a break. Constance Bennett occupies space attractively and goes through the motions of "acting" in her role as a coolheaded (and well dressed) spy operating behind Austro-Hungarian lines for the Russians in World War I. It's fun and intriguing to watch her collect and pass on her secret messages, all the while growing ever closer romantically to a spy-hunting Austrian military official (Gilbert Roland). An extremely contrived ending perfectly suits this confection.

This is not a great film by any means, but is certainly worth seeing for the fine performance by Constance Bennett. The camera loves her and all the romance scenes play very well. Most viewers will find the ending kind of phoney but one has to assume that so much war time sex, romance and spying was more than the Code would allow, so a "wonderful coincidence" of an ending was almost a given!