(2 of 2)
The war is over now, but in certain South American capitals, determined Nazis are still plotting and spying. However this state of affairs may affect U.S. security, it is a godsend to moviegoing fans of Alfred Hitchcock, who is always at his best with spies. Thriller-expert Hitchcock takes his time about uncorking his thrills. Moving at a casual, almost leisurely pace, he waits until he is certain of a hard, tight grip on his audience. Then he runs away with it.
U.S. Secret Agents Bergman and Grant fly down to Rio and look into the suspicious activities of a German-controlled cartel. They barely have time to discover their love for each other when patriotism intervenes and demands that Ingrid marry Boss Nazi Claude Rains. Marriage lands her right into a Nazi nest and the threat of slow poison in her morning coffee. If anyone in the audience is not sitting up in his theater chair by this time he is Hitchcock-proof.
Besides making audiences uneasy about the safety of hero and heroine, this picture may also make people a bit uneasy about the efficiency of U.S. intelligence services. The inept way G-Agents Bergman and Grant fumble around with Mr. Rains's key ring and his cellar, clumsily knocking over bottles of uranium samples, may make audiences conclude that the pair would have tough going with the simplest civil service exam. But with Messrs. Hecht and Hitchcock on their side, no mere Nazi is quick enough for them at the finish.