I would have love to have known what Dr.Goebbels would have made of this incredible piece of wartime propaganda about a patriotic cockney cleaning lady from Camberwell who in a twist similar to 'DOA' is emboldened by the possession of a Magic Eye formerly in the possession of her late husband which she believes makes her indestructible, and thus sets off for Berlin to assassinate Hitler (where everyone conveniently speaks in English and she avoids exposure by passing herself off as a deaf mute).As usual, Hollywood has strange ideas about the way the Nazi hierarchy functioned; and this version would have us believe that Himmler's office was located directly opposite Hitler's in the Chancellery, with Goebbels' cosily adjacent. William Joyce - as portrayed by the ever urbane Gavin Muir - according to this account has the run of the place, but seems to have little time for his Nazi minders nor they for him.It's all complete nonsense, done on a shoestring; but it lifts the spirits to see the gorgeous Elsa Lanchester for her only time in Hollywood cast in the lead (she had starred in a few short silent comedies back in blighty fifteen years earlier) and she rises to the occasion with a gusto that amply makes up for the general shabbiness of the rest of the production.
... View MoreOffbeat and Wild RKO Comedy Starring Elsa Lanchester. Showcasing Her considerable Comedic Talents, makes this Farce a Lot of Fun. Watching the Scrubwoman Foil the Nazis one can't help Think of "The Great Dictator" (1940), "To Be or Not to Be" (1942), and Even the Three Stooges.This little B-Movie Charms its Way through the One Hour Running Time and is Never Boring. Elsa Carries the Show and the Supporting Cast Helps make this a Goofy Gamble that Works its Wonders with its Fantasy Plot, the Assassination of Adolf Hitler, by a Commoner (a Female no less). "Who's a commoner?", says Mrs. Muggins.The Silliness about Her Dead Husband is Overplayed a bit, and the Deal about the "Magic" Eye had to be Debunked because of the Hays Code's "Religion" Clause, but Aside from that, the Movie is quite Entertaining.
... View MoreDuring World War II, London widow Elsa Lanchester (as Ella Muggins) reminisces about her deceased husband Albert. A notorious liar, he claimed to have "magic eye" which protected him from harm. Sadly, Albert wasn't carrying the glassy object when he expired. Locating the magic eye in an attic, Ms. Lanchester carries it safely through a German air raid. Convinced she now possesses a charmed life, Lanchester wisely decides to assassinate Adolf Hitler. She stows away on a ship and makes her way to Germany...In Berlin, Lanchester looks up Hitler in the local phone book. She poses as a deaf mute cleaning woman attending to Nazi officials. These scenes are amusing. In a subplot, resistance officer Gordon Oliver (as Franz von Weber) seeks to rescue his sweetheart Lenore Aubert (as Greta Neuman) from a Gestapo prison. Reliably funny Fritz Feld and effectively villainous Lionel Royce have the best supporting material. The photograph of "Albert" is, as you might suspect, Lanchester's real-life spouse Charles Laughton.***** Passport to Destiny (1/31/44) Ray McCarey ~ Elsa Lanchester, Gordon Oliver, Fritz Feld, Lionel Royce
... View MoreGoogily little wartime fantasy about a cleaning lady who, convinced a lucky charm owned by her late husband (played in two photographs by an uncredited Charles Laughton, Lanchester's real-life husband) will keep her from harm, goes to Berlin to "give that blooming Mr. Hitler what for." Ably supported by a cast of first-rate comics, particularly Lumsdale Hare and Fritz Feld, it still requires Miss Lanchester at her most wide-eyed to pull this one off.
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