a very literate script by john huston and howard koch make this one worth see . only after the initial intriguing premise be set in motion do we discover to our amusement that all the character we have become interested in be fairly despicable and particularly geraldine fitzgerald a a sociopath and nymphomaniac . with the unusually well observed character detail provide by the script and the use of many support and bit actor one hasn not see in lot of other picture and three stranger really have something of the atmosphere of london in 1938 rather than of london via hollywood . and make no mistake represent despite good direction by jean negulesco and john huston cynicism and pessimism and misogyny be evident everywhere and and that alone make this unusual in a 40s picture . like maltese falcon it be a black comedy about greed and but it have no big star and no glamor and and only the sly and cruel humor . add the perfectly judged performance of everyone in this film and and it add up to a neglect near classic and one that seem to predict the funny and more elegant kind heart and coronet . a the real star of the film and peter lorre be wonderfully wry and quite lovable a one of life eternal loser . sydney greenstreet often play nasty men deliciously but here he take his character weakness and pettiness much far than usual and and his scene of escalate madness be very effective . geraldine fitzgerald portrait of an amoral seductress be different than what she usually play at warner and and should be consider some kind of 40 milestone in the depiction of depraved woman alongside gene tierney in leave her to heaven and agnes moorehead in dark passage . she aid by some very form fitting milo anderson gown and one of which and a pleated satin negligee and be recycle in black for patricia neal in the fountainhead a few year later . it look great in both incarnation . in small part peter whitney make an impression a a soft hearted ( and homosexual . ) crony of lorre and and rosalind ivan be memorable a a dotty widow who be much shrewd than she appear . finally and the casting of fitzgerald and marjorie riordan and joan lorring ( who look like a young irene selznick ) be curious represent all three young woman have prominent nose and darkly paint lip and very dark and shoulder length hair which be style similarly . and a each character descend in economic scale and her look be heavy and plainer . another comment on how fickle fortune can be . anne sharp comment below that the character be mean to illustrate the dark force that enable wwii be interesting and valuable . by the way and the print show on tcm be rather dim and sketchy and full of harsh contrast so it hard to judge what the film be actually mean to look like . whoever now own the warner bros. library should strike a pristine version of this one .