The year 1917. Helene Von Lorbeer, a British secret agent infiltrating German intelligence & posing as one of their spies, is given the task of supporting one of their top agents, the shadowy Franz Steindler, who is working in British territory. Steindler has been responsible for the death of a British spy & has been highly successful in spilling British military secrets to the Germans. Going under the name of Frances Hautry, Helene arrives in Britain as a French refugee from German territory. Settling into the household of Arthur Bennett, a lawyer working with the British war cabinet, Hautry is contacted by Bennett's butler Valdar, who is actually a German agent posing as a British spy, although what nobody in the house knows is actually Steindler himself. Valdar & Hautry team up to attempt to assassinate the entire British cabinet but the local police, under the command of Colonel Yeats, are closing in on them fast.British Intelligence (known in some places as Enemy Agent) is a British wartime spy thriller made in 1940 – in the midst of World War II – but actually set in World War I. It is a remake of a 1930 film, which in turn was based on a play named Three Faces East.Not much of a fan of WWII-era spy thrillers, I was expecting this to be an average affair. But the film surprised me. It is taut, very suspenseful & had more twists than a bag of pretzels. The film is also filled with good acting, particularly from Boris Karloff, who plays a triple agent working for the Germans. The film might have been set in WWI but there are tell-tale signs of its era – at the end Leonard Mudie delivers a monologue claiming to hate war but saying that it is necessary in case any tyrant arises who threatens world peace – a clear reference to Nazi Germany & its evil tyrant Hitler.The film is quite unusual in that its pace is quite fast for a spy thriller – at little over an hour long it doesn't overstay its welcome & the climax with Karloff caught & trying to escape, only to become a victim of his own side's Zeppelin bombs, is exciting enough to make this a good example of the 1940s wartime spy thrillers. It might not be a masterpiece but it is definitely better than something like Submarine Alert, which came out around the same time.

Fine WWI spy thriller featuring two of my favorites, the great Boris Karloff and lovely Margaret Lindsay. The story centers around a German secret agent (Lindsay) going undercover at the home of a British cabinet minister (Holmes Herbert), whose scar-faced butler (Karloff) is really a double agent. A few twists & turns keep this one interesting. Set in WWI, the plot and dialogue is applicable to WWII as well. No doubt that was intentional. It's a fine B movie with a crisp pace, short runtime, and great cast. Try not to read too much about it or you're sure to come across some spoilers that might ruin some of it for you.

this film is just terrible to watch. from the very beginning to the end, every character and his or her intention is so obvious. the British military and government officials are simply stupid, so stupid that they would discuss every important secret plan at home or any place, they never suspect the people around them might be a German spy, albeit a spy ring surrounding them. how could it possible that some important war plan papers would kept their homes, discuss so openly? the screenplay writer and the director seem to treat viewers like on an elementary basis, everything is right in the open and in front your eyes. those German spies, well, they are so conveniently inserted into British military base, British government officials, and there are high ranking person in the German spy ring and those naive British military and bureaucrats simply trust them without any alert. this film is just too stupid to be praised like most of the viewers here. i only see couple of the viewers who are conscious enough to consider this film stupid and boring. this film's weakest point is allowing all the German spies to be introduced to the viewers one by one, and allowing the viewers to know how stupid is on the British side. there's no suspenses, no guessing, no surprises at all throughout the whole film, so lame and so shallow. i should not waste my time to write a review for such lousy movie, but by seeing so many blind praises and so many viewers so easily to be satisfied and pleased, i have to speak out against them.

With my 8th IMDb anniversary being on the same day as a bank holiday,I decided take advantage of the day,by taking a look at Boris Karloff in a non-Horror role for the first ever time.The plot:Taking advantage of having recently won a battle which has forced The Allies to retreat,a German army officer decides to send double agent Helene Von Lorbeer undercover to a house that is used for meetings by the UK government.Arriving to the house,Lorbeer is met by a fellow undercover agent called Valdar,who tells Lorbeer that she must watch her step as she gathers information from government minister's.As Helene starts to get deeper into the workings of the government,Lorbeer begins to fear that some minister's may be starting to come suspicious of her true identity.View on the film:Mostly going against the grain of the time, (with the exception of the flag waving ending) in his adaptation of Anthony Paul Kelly's stage play,the screenplay by Lee Katz tells the story of the film from the point of view of the German's,with Katz gradually increasing the tension as he reveals the lengths that the German's will go to for picking up any information on The Allies.Backed by a lively score from Heinz Roemheld and Bernhard Kaun and also having a surprisingly good public domain print,director Terry O. Morse superbly uses candle lights to create a chilling espionage atmosphere,with Boris Karloff emphasising Morse's chilling feel with a very good creepy performance,and the cute Margaret Lindsay giving a good performance which shows Von Lorbeer's increasing fear of her true identity being uncovered by British intelligence.