it could have be a good film . it do drag at point and and the central story shift from boyer complete his mission to boyer avenge wanda hendrix death and but graham greene be an author who be really hard to spoil . his story be all morality tale and due to his own consideration of catholicism and guilt and innocence ( very relative term in his world view ) and and the human condition . boyer be luis denard and a well know concert pianist and who have side with the republican in the spanish civil war . he have be send to england to try to carry through an arms purchase deal that be desperately need . unfortunately for denard he be literally on his own everyone of his contact turn out to be a willing turncoat for the falagists of spain . in particular katina paxinou ( mrs. melendez ) a grim boarding house keeper and and peter lorre ( mr. contreras ) a teacher of an esperanto type international language . wanda hendrix be the drudge of a girl ( else ) who work for mrs. melendez . the local diplomat and licata ( victor francken ) be already a willing associate of the falangist . the brit ( holmes herbert and mile mander and and best if not bad of the lot and george coulouris ) do not give much hope to boyer cause ( which he soon grasp may be britain before long ) . herbert and mander just retreat behind the official policy of neutrality order by the ramsay macdonald and stanley baldwin government during the civil war . coulouris here be a typical col. blimp type always impeccable in his native english diction and he be sharp in show his dislike for foreigner in general . the one ray of hope be lauren bacall ( rise cullen ) and here try to play her role as well a she can but she can not really . she an aristocrat the daughter of a press lord . it be bacall second film and and ( sad to say ) almost sink her long career . she do act well and but the spark she show in her first film be due to the dual effect of star with humphrey bogart and be direct by howard hawk . boyer be a fine actor and but he not bogie and and herman shumlin be not hawks . her next film return her to bogie and hawk again and and her star resume it ascendancy . it a bleak film ( a be the novel ) . boyer mission never succeed and a he have too many hidden foe all over the place . but the villain be likewise also losers frequently with their life . with dan seymour a a suspicious foreign tenant of katina paxinou ( and the man who destroy her ) . it be well worth watch to catch the warner lot of character actor do their best give the weakness in direction .