Background to Danger (1943) User Reviews (41)

No prize winner but a more than rewarding WWII adventure.

[bill-790 · 7/10 · 22 May 2008]

It seems that most IMDb reviewers have a pretty low opinion of "Background to Danger." Well, I admit that many of the criticisms of this film have merit. First of all, George Raft was decidedly not near the top of Hollywood actors. Second, there is, as many have observed, more than a little resemblance between this film and some others, such as "Casablanca." And I keep wondering what the film would have been like with Bogart, Cagney, or Garfield in the lead role.

Nevertheless, this is a film I have enjoyed many times and probably will again. Some of Raft's lines probably would not have worked with Cagney or Garfield, but they are okay coming from Raft. And, of course, the supporting cast is really excellent.

All in all, I think you will enjoy this film if you don't go in expecting something on the level of "Casablanca" or even that of "Sahara," a Columbia film of the same year starring Humphrey Bogart. In short, enjoy the fast pace and the really great support from Greenstreet, Lorre, Brenda Marshall and the others.

Suspect Everyone

[ROCKY-19 · 7/10 · 2 June 2007]

International intrigue in hot spot Ankara, Turkey, during World War II is the center of this secret agent tail. Nasty Nazi Dr. Robinson (Sydney Greenstreet) plots to use lies in the press to push Turkey to ally itself with Germany against Russia. American Joe Barton (George Raft) is posing as a businessman when he falls into possession of falsified documents the Germans want printed in a sympathizing newspaper. Barton is soon mixed up with the Zaleshoffs (Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall), a brother and sister claiming to be Russian spies who are after the same documents. Barton has trouble believing anyone, because they all attack him at various times and at least one of them is a cold-blooded killer. The plot had potential, but director Raoul Walsh did not seem to know quite what to do with a story of this nature and there is a complete lack of real emotion in the proceedings. He also seemed to be saddled with a low budget (the miniature train is painfully obvious). His three male stars all but play caricatures of themselves. Raft is all buttoned up and monosyllabic, Greenstreet is almost a cartoon, and Lorre chews the scenery and comes out best. Yet it is still a pretty good movie (if you can withstand being yelled out for the first five minutes and the overcooked musical scoring.) There is a great aura of suspicion over everyone, which leaves you guessing at everyone's connection with everyone else. There is also a great car chase, noir cinematography from Tony Gaudio that caresses Raft's closeups fondly, and some good visual bits that will make you smile.

"We're gonna cement Russian-American relations."

[utgard14 · 7/10 · 4 July 2014]

Nicely paced WW2 spy thriller with George Raft playing an American agent trying to stop a German plan to turn Turkey against Russia. It's an ill-fitting role for Raft but I can't say he was terrible. I always liked him, even if he could be a pretty wooden actor sometimes. This is the kind of role I could easily see Bogart playing, which is ironic considering George Raft notoriously turned down some of the parts that made Bogart's career, such as Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. This movie also marked the end of Raft's contract with Warner Bros, which effectively meant the beginning of the end of his days as an A-lister.

The fairly short runtime helps, as does the great supporting cast. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet are always worth watching. Lovely Brenda Marshall and Ona Massen are good, too. Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I thought this was a very enjoyable movie of its type. I'm sure if you dislike Raft you will find it tougher going than I did. If you're a fan of the cast or WW2 movies in general, I definitely recommend you try this one out.

Ambler's intrigue turned into pro-Allies propaganda with decent enough cast

[bmacv · 7/10 · 14 November 2002]

During the Second World War years, Hollywood found in the European-intrigue novels of Eric Ambler a pliable resource for converting into thrillers that beat drums for the anti-Axis cause. So, like tanks off an assembly line, rolled Journey into Fear (1942), Background to Danger (1943) and The Mask of Dimitrios (1944). They benefitted from name directors – respectively, Orson Welles (at least in part), Raoul Walsh and Jean Negulesco – but none of them is particularly remarkable; they're not much more than shortish propaganda programmers.

Background to Danger reunites the sinister but winning Warner Bros. team of Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, but, instead of the expected Humphrey Bogart as plucky hero, plunks George Raft down in a strange land, this time Turkey, strategically situated at the convergence of the Middle East, the Balkans and the Soviet Union. The plot involves forged maps which Nazi agent Greenstreet hopes to use to foment a panic about plans to invade Turkey by the U.S.S.R., then an Ally, hence destabilizing the region and the balance of power. But Walsh forgoes the depth that a geopolitical perspective might have lent in favor of bombs and handguns, captures and hair's-breadth escapes.

Raft's wooden affect sometimes paid off in the noir cycle (Noctune, Red Light) but here his gaudy patter only makes viewers wish for Bogart. And while Greenstreet reprises his polished, blustering heavy, Lorre gives a droll, airy performance that verges on the comic (clearly, unlike his Gargantuan partner, he didn't take to type-casting). Raft's love interest, playing Lorre's sister, is Brenda Marshall, a.k.a. Mrs. William Holden or Ardis Ankerson, by all accounts a difficult woman but, judging by Strange Impersonation and her few other movies, not a negligible presence. Turhan Bey shows up as Raft's native sidekick, à la From Russia With Love. He brings a final touch of authenticity to the back-lot Ankara and Istanbul, which Walsh, to his credit, takes care to make more vivid than just generically exotic.

Background to Danger- Needs More Background ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 3 May 2010]

Interesting, intriguing plot here with Nazi Germany trying to provoke trouble between the Soviet Union and Turkey. In other words, they're hoping that Turkey would enter the war on the side of the Axis Powers.

As always, Sydney Greenstreet is up to his old, evil ways in trying to bring this horror about. The interesting thing about the movie is how the newspapers can add to the plot. All you need is a paper to be sympathetic to a movement and there is trouble.

It's a bit confusing, but eventually cleared up who Peter Lorre and Brenda Marshall represent in the film. Marshall has an awkward veneer here. She prances around the rooms and is very cold here. This is even true when her supposed brother and aide, Lorre, takes a bullet to the chest.

Completely fun and well done action espionage film set and filmed during WWII

[secondtake · 7/10 · 3 May 2014]

Background to Danger (1943)

On the uncertain fringes of the European War are countries like Morocco, Syria, and Turkey, where the intrigues of diplomats and expatriates can become complicated and colorful, several movies were made about WWII. One of those, obviously, is "Casablanca," released to full distribution in 1943. And in this one we have Peter Lorre (as a shadowy character of course), Sydney Greenstreet (as a Nazi leader), and Bogart-wannabe George Raft, who takes the leading role.

Unlike Casablanca, however, this one, set in Syria and Turkey, is filled with action, chasing, fear, and trickery. The shadows are not glamorous and romantic, but dangerous. It's a Warner crime film adapted to the war. Raft plays an American archetype a little like Bogart would have, independent and a little sassy, though he is always more eager to be liked, both by the other characters and the audience.

Director Raoul Walsh is one of the greats of early Hollywood (he even assisted Griffith on "Birth of a Nation"). He makes this story intense, fluid, dramatic, and physical in the best ways. In particular, the huge range of sets and scenes (almost entirely on the studio lot) is impressive and effective. The camera moves, the light is harsh when it isn't pure shadow, and music swells and twirls, and most of all the characters are always on the movie.

The kinetic essence of the whole enterprise is in keeping with the first scary years of the real war, and that's on every audience member's mind. Unlike "Casablanca," set in the days before Pearl Harbor (though filmed after), this movie was planned and shot as the U.S. was already sending troops to Europe. The message here is clearly anti-Nazi, and desperate. Lorre is duplicitous and fabulous in his large role. The leading woman, Brenda Marshall, is no Ingrid Bergman, nor quite an effective action figure.

"I'm American. America's at war," Raft's character says halfway through. And Lorre lays out for him some of the complications of the real war, and how Russia is an ally with complicated intentions. And in a slightly opportunistic way, the movie makes clear that Russia (which is rarely called the Soviet Union, its real name) is a friend. It becomes clearer and clearer as it goes, until the last line of the movie nails it down.

A great movie this is not, but it's actually really good, worth seeing, a thrilling ride even if you have to swallow the kind of facile way the plot is kept intact at times. You can almost watch it for ambiance alone, as cinematographer Tony Gaudio pulls out the stops in the same way (visually) he famously did for Wyler in "The Letter." What Raft lacks in intensity Lorre makes up for in brilliance. Give it a chance.

Lorre's the man

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 2 September 2020]

It's 1942. The main powers are trying to persuade neutral Turkey on their side. There is a bomb attempt on German ambassador Franz von Papen. It's actually a scheme by Nazi Colonel Robinson and it fails when the Russians show their airtight alibis. Now, he comes up with another scheme. Meanwhile on a train to Turkey, American businessman Joe Barton (George Raft) is taken with mysterious stranger Ana Remzi who pulls him into a world of espionage with Soviet spy Nikolai Zaleshoff (Peter Lorre) and his sister Tamara Zaleshoff (Brenda Marshall).

I love that I can't trust or distrust Peter Lorre at any time. The only thing that I can trust is that everybody has their own interest at heart. Lorre is the best part of this movie. He is stealing every scene he's in. There are evil Nazis. Raft is a functional everyman. The action could be better but it's par for the course in its time. The scheme is not nearly complicated enough. Quite frankly, fake news could be done in many ways. Overall, it's a solid wartime spy thriller.

Good Escapism: I liked it a lot!!!

[Dave Banks · 8/10 · 2 November 2002]

Yes, it's definitely not a work of art. It doesn't spend much time on character development. However, it moves very fast, never staying in one place for too long. Some good action sequences and scenes on a fast moving train, hotel rooms, in a German headquarters, etc. make this a fun film. The acting is not at all bad despite what you may have read elsewhere. Of course, Sidney Greenstreet plays his usual pompous rearend character that seems to be his one and only characterization but, he pulls it off well, causing the audience to dislike him appropriately. Peter Lorre obviously had fun with his role and George Raft was much better than I expected. Turhan Bey did a great job and his character was very welcomed indeed. All in all, if the viewers don't expect this movie to be the second coming of Casablanca and just sit back and watch the action, they will be rewarded with approximately 80 minutes of a suspenseful and fun movie.

Greenstreet is Magnetic

[u4775 · 6/10 · 21 August 2008]

I liked this film although there were certainly many better for the time. It is the usual war time movie without being too much like the rest.

How can you go wrong watching Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre together? Greenstreet is simply magnetic, and I was stunned to find out he debuted in films with Casablanca only a year before.

I kept thinking during the movie how much better it would have been with someone else besides Raft in the title role, he is pretty wooden. I am not sure where his performance ranks with his other roles. I hope they were better but doubt that they were. I don't watch many of them normally.

Brenda Marshall provides window dressing mostly and the ending smacks of a cheap knockoff attempt, but the rest wasn't too bad.

Ankara, City of a Thousand Plots

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 19 November 2006]

It's now part of Hollywood lore how George Raft immeasurably aided the career of Humphrey Bogart by turning down High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon and Casablanca. After the last one I guess Raft thought he'd go for a Casablanca type story and the film of Eric Ambler's Background to Danger seemed like a good bet. If working with Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre worked for Bogey...........

Background to Danger only confirmed Raft's wisdom about trying to stick to what he could handle. Had he been in Casablanca, the film today would be a routine action adventure picture not the cinema classic it is.

According to a biography of Raft, Peter Lorre was stealing scenes all over the place and blew cigarette smoke in Raft's face causing him to lose concentration. After repeated requests to stop doing it, Raft clocked Lorre on the chin and that settled the problems they had. On the set that is, on screen Raft registers no presence at all with his fabled co-stars.

Raft is an American agent, Greenstreet a Nazi, and Brenda Marshall and Lorre are a brother and sister team of Soviet agents all looking for a forged document about false Soviet invasion plans for Turkey. The action starts in Turkey's capital of Ankara and ends up in the city of Istanbul.

Background to Danger had to be the first American made film based in Ankara. Before the overthrow of the Ottoman Empire, Ankara barely passed for an oasis. Mustapha Kemal selected it for his capital because of its central location on the Anatolian peninsula. The city grew exponentially between the wars and Turkish neutrality in World War II kept up the growth rate though the Ankara we see here is depicted on the back lot of Warner Brothers studio.

All the neutral capitals in the World War II years were good subjects for espionage films. Everyone of them could have been described like Ankara as a city of a thousand plots. Too bad a better film couldn't have been done here.

Well-Made, Well-Acted Formula Spy Thriller Is Good But Not Memorable.

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 15 June 2008]

The central character in "Background to Danger" was an American agent operating outside neutral Turkey. Warner Brothers purchased the film rights to Eric Ambler's 1937 mystery thriller Background to Danger and assigned "Little Caesar" scenarist W.R. Burnett, along with two uncredited writers, William Faulkner and Daniel Fuchs, to change the location of the novel from Austria and Czechoslovakia to Turkey and the Syrian border. The hero in the novel, Kenyon, earns his money as a free-lance journalist, does not carry a gun, but suffers from a gambling addiction that keeps him short of money. For the film, Burnett and company turned Kenyon into Joe Barton, a gun-chewing American agent masquerading as an equipment salesman passing through Turkey. Burnett remembers rewriting the story to suit actor George Raft who played the lead character. Burnett said: "I was always afraid that I'd have to face Eric Ambler after what we did to that (his novel). The point of "Background to Danger" was that this man was a salesman, an outsider, and suddenly things begin to happen to him that he can't understand. And he gets involved in all this espionage. But Raft wouldn't do it unless he was an FBI man. The whole story went out the window."

In the novel, the Soviets and the Nazis clash over Rumanian oil rather than the issue of Turkish neutrality. Essentially, Burnett updated the action and exploited Turkey's precarious neutrality. In the film, ruthless Colonel Robinson (Sidney Greenstreet of "Casablanca") tells one of his Nazi subordinates, "We must create an incident, any kind of incident, to convince Turkey, that Russia is about to attack her. How we accomplish this makes no matter." Robinson forges a number of maps and strategic documents that appear to be the Russian General Staff's master plan for the invasion of Turkey, and he intends to pay a newspaper to publish this ersatz material to cause a Turkish uprising. The scene shifts to a train depot in Aleppo, Syria, as Joe Barton spots a beautiful but mysterious woman, Ana Remzi (Osa Messen of "Tokyo Rose") , on the Bagdad-to-Istanbul express en route to Ankara. He has the porter seat him in the same compartment with Ana, and they strike up a conversation. While Barton departs momentarily to get Ana a pillow, she spots Ivor Rashenko, a tall, mustached man who has been following her. When Barton returns, she explains her predicament. She offers to pay him handsomely if he will hold $5000 worth of securities for her, because she fears that the authorities may search her and confiscate them. Since Barton is an American, she informs him, nobody has the authority to search him. Barton accepts the securities without question or money. In the book, a Jewish man confronted Kenyon on the train and gave the nearly broke journalist a tidy sum to conceal the documents should anything happen to him.

After they detrain in Ankara, Barton goes to Ana's hotel in the seedy section of town, and she staggers out of her bedroom to meet him with a knife in her back. As Barton tries to leave, he crosses paths with two Russians agents, Nicolai Zaleshoff (Peter Lorre of "Casablanca") and his sister Tamara (Brenda Marshall of "The Constant Nymph") who want the sheaf of securities that Ana entrusted to Barton. Barton returns to his hotel, examines the envelope, and learns its contents' true value. The Nazis bang on his door, identify themselves as the police, and escort him away to their headquarters. Colonel Robinson introduces himself and tries to buy the documents from Barton. He knows that Barton has the documents because Ana Remzi was one of his agents. Barton refuses to sell them, so Robinson's henchmen take him down to the cellar to beat him with a blackjack. Before Robinson's sadistic henchman, Mailler (Kurt Katch of "The Pharaoh's Curse"), can get the information out of Barton, Nicolai intervenes. Nicolai and Tamara explain to Barton that they are Soviet agents, and they want the forged documents. Suspicious of Nicolai and Tamara, Barton agrees to turn the documents over to them at the Soviet Embassy. Unfortunately for Barton, when he returns to his hotel room, he finds the documents missing. Meanwhile, Robinson recovered the documents, went to Istanbul, and bribed a newspaper publisher to print them. Barton catches up with Robinson and agrees to switch sides and join the Nazis. As a test of his loyalty, Robinson asks Barton to shoot Nicolai, but the gun that Robinson gives Barton has no bullets in it. A fight ensues, Nicolai dies, but Barton escapes and prevents the newspaper publisher from printing the documents. He captures Robinson and turns him over to the Turkish authorities. He and Tamara drive off to Cairo "to cement Russian/American relations."

Raoul Walsh keeps "Background to Danger" moving at a breezy clip. George Raft is perfectly cast with solid support, especially from Lorre and Marshall. Nevertheless, "Background to Danger" cannot compare with Walsh's earlier Errol Flynn epic "Desperate Journey," one of the best propaganda action comedies to come out of the war. "Background to Danger" is worth watching, but it isn't particularly memorable, just efficiently made and acted.

Nice Cast, Familiar Story

[Michael_Elliott · 3 July 2010]

Background to Danger (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Propaganda piece from Warner with an all-star cast to take us home. George Raft plays an American who meets a strange woman (Brenda Marshall) on a train and soon finds himself being chased by Nazi agents. Turns out there's a German (Sydney Greenstreet) in Turkey who is trying to get the neutral country to join the Nazi party and it's up to Raft to try and stop it. Considering the fact that our country was at war, all these WWII pieces coming from Hollywood was understandable but one wishes a little more time was spent on their screenplays. This one here was apparently written in 1937 but then updated to add in the Nazi plot but very little else was actually done. There were times when the story seemed to forget where it was going as it's pretty much all over the place and the actual going ons are rather boring and not that believable. The "background" in the title is exactly what the film needed because it's like we're put in the middle of a story yet we're never given any idea of how it started or why. In the end, the story comes off rather weak and rushed. Another problem is that the producer's were obviously trying to cash-in on the recently released CASABLANCA. Thanks to TCM you can watch countless movies that have been forgotten or overlooked the past few decades and it's rather amazing to see how many times Warner went to the CASABLANCA well in such a short period of time. The film does benefit from a rather short running time, which helps keep things moving. The main reason to watch the film is because of its attractive cast with Raft leading the way as our tough talking hero. Raft is pretty much what you'd expect from him as he walks hard and punches even tougher. The screenplay does allow him a couple good one-liners, which he puts to go use. Greenstreet is brilliant as usual and even though he's playing a Nazi you just want to love the guy. Peter Lorre plays a Russian spy and manages to mix it up with the rest of the cast quite nicely. Marshall, on the other hand, left me pretty cold as I never cared for her character or the performance. I'm not sure if she was just bored by the material or if Walsh wanted her to act this way just there's just no life to her. This is far from a horrible movie but there's just not enough heart and soul to carry the thing and in the end you'll feel as if you've seen this story several times before and in much better quality.

Wow...it sure sucks to be Joe Barton!

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 21 September 2016]

Joe Barton (George Raft) is traveling to neutral Turkey during WWII. En route, a woman gives him money to hold...as she says she's being followed. He agrees to help...which is a very bad thing. This is because he then finds himself pulled into the world of spies and intrigue...and German and possibly Russian agents are chasing him all about the country trying to beat him up or even kill him. They think he still has the money and is somehow involved in some plot involving a fake story about the Soviet Army invading Turkey! So, much of the film is spent running about the country dodging one problem after another. It sure does suck to be Joe Barton!

In some ways, this is like the more famous "Casablanca". It co- stars Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre but it's also set in an exotic city filled with folks of many nationalities and it all centers on an American who finds himself in the middle of everything. But, in other ways, it reminds me a lot of "The Maltese Falcon"--with lots of folks bashing each other over the head, killing each other and no clear indication as to what motivates some of these folks.

Overall, this is an enjoyable film but one that isn't particularly outstanding. Some of it is because Raft, as usual, was pretty low energy and uninteresting. Some of it is because the film mostly consisted of lots of escapes and a lot of talking. Not bad...but lacking something to make it great.

The Ruin of an Interesting, if minor Eric Ambler story

[theowinthrop · 4/10 · 8 January 2007]

It hurts to give any film with Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre less than "5" on a scale of "1" to "10", but BACKGROUND TO DANGER (despite their presence) is not a good World War II espionage piece. It may be the weakest movie ever made from an Eric Ambler novel.

Between 1938 and 1945 Ambler wrote five spy or international crime novels that (with his contemporary, and master, Graham Greene) reshaped the whole genre. Ambler's books were CAUSE FOR ALARM, BACKGROUND TO DANGER, JOUNRNEY INTO FEAR, THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS, and EPITAPH FOR A SPY. The greatest of these was the last that he wrote - THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS (also called A COFFIN FOR DEMETRIOS) which Greenstreet, Lorre, and Zachary Scott turned into one of the best portraits of a totally amoral criminal in cinema. Orson Welles helped direct (and supported Joseph Cotton in) JOURNEY INTO FEAR. I'm not sure by I believe that EPITAPH FOR A SPY (set in France in 1938) and CAUSE FOR ALARM (dealing with economic rivalries between somewhat allied axis countries) were not made into films. Someone may correct me on that.

CAUSE FOR ALARM introduced a Communist Russian agent and his sister to Ambler's readers. Tamara and Nicolai Zarashoff are (when not pursuing espionage for their government in Moscow) bickering all the time. Ambler liked to humanize his characters (such as his masterpiece, Arthur Abdul Simpson, in THE LIGHT OF DAY / "TOPKAPI"), so his villain Demetrios Talat turns out to be a determined social climber, using his talents for evil in THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS to assist a bank, the Eurasian Credit Trust, on which he ends up a director. The Zarashoffs and their unwitting ally in CAUSE FOR ALARM manage to cause a brief split in the interests of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy in early 1939. One would have known this when reading BACKGROUND TO DANGER a few years later, when they reappeared.

When talking about the film FIVE FINGERS I gave the background of Turkish neutrality in World War II. Ambler tackled this in the novels BACKGROUND TO DANGER and JOUNRNEY INTO FEAR, pointing out that Turkey's police and army were scrupulously looking out to protect that neutrality (Col. Haki, who helps tell the introductory part of the story of Demetrios in THE MASK OF DEMETRIOS - played by Kurt Katch there - reappears as Orson Welles, protecting American engineer Joseph Cotton in JOURNEY INTO FEAR: to make sure Cotton finishes his job in arming Turkish naval craft). In BACKGROUND TO DANGER, Ambler (correctly) shows that German agents were more likely to try to push Turkey into the Axis camp by underhanded means. The villain is the ambiguously named Col. Robinson (Greenstreet, of course) sent to contact those anti-British Turkish nationalists who would join the Germans. The problem is that the novel demonstrated Ambler's tricks with Robinson in a way the film didn't. Robinson is German, and speaks with a German accent (in fact one of the characters says that he could not possibly be English!). Greenstreet had one of the finest English speaking voices in film.

The Zolashoffs are here again (in the novel bickering again) but here working with the American played by George Raft. But in the novel, Raft's American is very naive - and they are educating this new ally in the "background to danger" to Turkish neutrality very quickly. This is not the story as W. R. Burnett made it in his screenplay, making Raft's character an American agent (which he wasn't). I can only guess that he did this to make the no nonsense Raft more believable - who could imagine Raft as a chump?

It doesn't work - the novel is constructed for the Raft character to gradually realize the dangers of the Nazis and their allies, and the fact that (dubious as it is to us) the Communist agents were a better bet for allies. Instead the story makes Raft's character become a typical World War II propaganda hero - he can handle these Nazis with a blindfold on!

There are some nice moments (due to Sidney and Peter). Greenstreet in particular has two nice ones that come to mind: when he notes his favorite set up (a Strauss waltz on a gramophone and a dead body on the floor), and later when his plans have all collapsed, and he is informed he must return to Berlin (his quick look of horror at hearing what will be his death sentence is done very well). But such moments are few and far between. The rest of this film sinks those few moments one recalls with fondness.

Background To Danger

[mrbill-23 · 18 September 2006]

I recorded the film "Background To Danger" on TCM a while ago and I like this movie. I like George Raft, too... I also thought that the other cast members were excellent as well. You know, Peter Lorre, Turhan Bey & Sydney Greenstreet were all very good or great actors of our past... I admit, this film doesn't generally get the credit that I feel it deserves, but it was a good effort on the part of Hollywood. George Raft may not have had the same impact that a "Humphrey Bogart" had as a full on star, but I thought George Raft held his own pretty good in this 1943 film. After this film, George Raft kind of slipped into the "B" rated feature film roles of Hollywood, and that was kind of sad to see. Again, I thought the late George Raft was a good/decent actor and I liked his work. To my knowledge, George died back in 1980 of some form of cancer, however, he was at or about 85 years old at the time of his death.... Cheerio...

MR.BILL

EXTRA:

Many of the "Golden Era" film greats like "Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Humphrey Bogart & George Raft" slipped down a notch or two by the late 1940s/early '50s... I, always enjoyed it most when some of these stars teamed up to do a film like they use to back in the 1930s... Basically, to me, it was best when they teamed up or squared off against one another in the same film..... Again, last but not least, "Background To Danger" was a good 1943 picture, and I'm glad I have it on video.... Peace....

It's actually kinda fun

[jcravens42 · 7/10 · 26 August 2020]

On the one hand, it's a B movie with cringe-worthy "special effects" (the train model is embarrassing, the "car chases" are just sped-up drives), stock footage and bad editing (in one seen, it's clearly NOT George Raft jumping down from a wall and the jump cut to Raft is so painfully bad it should be studied in film school as what NOT to do), plus Raft is about as good as a wooden board at times and apparently no one worked with Sydney Greenstreet on his German (he ends a phone call with Nazis back in Berlin by saying "Have a good trip!"). On the other hand, Peter Lorre is absolutely delightful and not like his other roles and I wish he had more roles like this, Turhan Bey (Hassan) is truly The Turkish Delight, and there's an Indiana Jones quality to it that I adore. Honestly, it's kind of fun!

Peter Lorre wants the envelope...and vodka!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 17 February 2021]

Probably not the right film to have a sip of vodka every time Peter Lorre demands some, this World War II thriller may not be along the lines of "Casablanca" (or my particular favorite, "All Through the Night"), but it is filled with intrigue and creepy characters and a bit of comedy, some intentional, some not. George Raft is an American agent in Turkey who becomes involved in a conspiracy involving start a war between Turkey and Germany.

A panicked young woman (Osa Massen) gives Raft securities to transfer for her, and when she is murdered, he is the main suspect. Joining up with Russian brother and sister agents Boris and Natasha (just kidding, actually just Peter Lorre and sister Brenda Marshall), Raft is perplexed by both Lorre's constant vodka craving and their sudden betrayal.

No studio in Hollywood did war thrillers better than Warner Brothers. Whether it was a country resisting German occupation ("Edge of Darkness") or battle epics ("Air Force"), they were tops in war films, and along with the two I mention above and the commercial release of "Casablanca", 1943 was a terrific year along with several patriotic musicals they produced.

Leading the band of nasty Nazis here is none other than Sydney Greenstreet, commanding as always but not quite convincing as a German (to the point where you wonder if he's actually a quisling, a slang term for traitor), and unfortunately, he's not paired with Lorre here. Every Warner Brothers minor contract player with a harsh look was cast as an evil agent of some kind here, making you sort of feel sorry for them.

Under the direction of Raoul Walsh, this thriller is sly and sophisticated, a bit campy and filled with so many puzzle pieces that it's fun to see if you can put them all together. The handsome Turhan Bey stands out in a small role as a Turkish shopkeeper, his striking looks making you do a double take. His early appearance in the film doesn't mean he's gone though. Ona Massen, a young actress whose characters I often found annoying, avoids that here, and I truly felt sorry for her.

Raft, maybe not Bogart or Flynn when it comes to the number of classics, does a decent job here, and I found myself truly rooting for him. A fun reminder of the type of intelligent espionage drama where you could figure enough out on your own and didn't get angry when it became a good convoluted, unlike many more recent films of similar subject matter

lots going on here

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 12 January 2013]

Ankara Turkey is a "Background to Danger" in this 1943 spy film starring George Raft, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, and Brenda Marshall.

Like others on this site, you'll be happy after seeing this that George Raft turned down all those films that made Humphrey Bogart an icon.

Raft plays Joe Barton, who meets Ana Renzi (Osa Massen) on a train. She gives him money to hold for her - she will be searched upon leaving the train, but because he's an American, he won't be. The envelope she gives him is actually a series of plans sought by the Russians and the Germans, and both factions know Barton has them.

Normally the presence of Lorre and Greenstreet was enough to lift a film out of mediocrity, but unfortunately here they don't have enough to do to really help. Lorre and Marshall play a Russian brother and sister after the documents, and Greenstreet is on the side of the Nazis. The Germans are trying to convince the Turks that Russia is about to invade them in order to destroy their neutrality and bring them over to the Nazis. These plans apparently outline a false attack about to take place.

This is one of those films that you forget as soon as it's over. It's a lot of deadpan delivery by Raft as everyone chases him. It was nice to see Turhan Bey in a small role. Raft could be fine in a role that suited his tough look and monotone delivery - I liked Nocturne, for instance - but here he misses.

Directed by the reliable Raoul Walsh, this could have been one of the films Jack Warner asked him to do as a favor. Apparently Warner was always bringing Walsh to his office and saying, you have to do film script for me. Walsh would ask, who's in it? Warner would say, "I don't know. Some bums."

Proves Accidents Don't Happen Twice

[DKosty123 · 6/10 · 30 April 2010]

This film shares several things with Casablanca. It has several members from that cast with some changes. It deals with Nazi's & intrigue though this time in Angora, Turkey instead of Morroco. Peter Lorre manages to get shot in both movies. Backgound To Danger is actually based upon a novel by the same name. Both movies came off Warner Brothers war propaganda assembly line.

The differences are striking though. Even though this one has a higher power Director, Raoul Walsh, & a higher power writer, William Faulkner, involved in the film, it just simply is not as good. George Raft just isn't Bogart and Ingrid Bergman is no where to be found. Interesting it is the very next film after Casablanca for Greenstreet.

This movie is entertaining, & it has a good cast. For some reason the script is where this falls short. Casablanca, just seems to be better on all counts.

Background to Erdogan

[robert-temple-1 · 9/10 · 7 August 2013]

This film, expertly directed by Raoul Walsh, is based on a novel by Eric Ambler and William Faulkner worked on the screenplay. So that's a good start. The film is topical again because it deals with the politics and security of Turkey, and is set in Ankara. This is a rousing and powerful wartime espionage thriller. It is not like a modern thriller at all, but is of the traditionalist mode. It does however have one modern feature: an extensive car chase. But the modern wham bam style of one explosion after another and of a new shock or thrill happening every ten seconds is entirely absent. I must confess that I prefer these slightly calmer and less insane thrillers, where some character development can take place. In this film, the incomparable Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre give some of their finest screen performances. The script by W. R. Burnett was worked on enough to allow them scope to emerge from flat cardboard and become popup. That is very satisfying to those of us who think they were both wonderful and can never see enough of them. I have never been an admirer of George Raft, who gives me the creeps. But I have to admit that in this film he does a very good job and I cannot find any cause to complain or indulge my prejudices, but have to say well done George. He always had a good ability to underplay and avoid histrionics. However, the narrowing of his eyes always reminds me of a python. The two gals are Osa Massen, who does an excellent job early in the story of being furtive and fearful and mysterious, before she gets killed, and Brenda Marshall, who is also excellent and lively. So this film really works and is definitely one of the best wartime efforts to educate the American public about the location and existence of foreign lands of which they knew nothing, and of their importance within the context of the world war which was raging at the time. If only the future of Turkey had been satisfactorily resolved, but that has still not happened, as we all know. This film attempts to emulate the atmosphere of the previous year's hit, CASABLANCA, but George Raft is far too cold a hero to act as the catalyst for any love chemistry, unless with a fellow reptile. Even when he smiles, you wonder what insect he is going to eat. However, we do not really need Ingrid Bergman and Bogart and Paul Henreid in everything. After all, CASABLANCA was not really a thriller, it was a tragic love story and romance in which two people sacrifice their own happiness for the greater good, which is the true secret of its success. All the wartime intrigue of CASABLANCA was just a background, in the same way that the American Civil War was just a background to the central love story in GONE WITH THE WIND. This film makes forays in the direction of romance, but its true purpose is to be an espionage thriller, and in that it succeeds admirably.

Who says "stars" don't matter?

[oscaralbert · 6/10 · 17 May 2015]

Actor George Raft famously blew his chance to play "Rick" in CASABLANCA, opting for BACKGROUND TO DANGER instead. Raft is no Humphrey Bogart, and Brenda Marshall cannot hold a candle to Ingrid Bergman. Though Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre are on hand to lend DANGER a few CASABLANCA touches, DANGER is far too wordy, and few--if any--of the words are memorable (with the exception of "Ana" reciting the first paragraph of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address). If you consider the script for CASABLANCA to be "a Lincoln," then the writer of DANGER churned out a James Buchanan or an Andrew Johnson (two "Corvair" presidents). It's hard to know for sure whom to impeach for DANGER's thin broth: Mr. Raft, screenwriter W.R. Burnett, director Raoul Walsh, or all of the above. The plot of DANGER is overwrought (if not ahead of its time); it would be more suitable for a James Bond flick set in the 1960s. No one wants to be entertained by SUBTLE Nazis--they MUST be callously brutal (as in SCHINDLER'S LIST) or paranoid (see MARATHON MAN).

Peter Lorre can't save this film!

[artroraback · 4/10 · 30 October 2002]

This film seems to be an inept attempt to recapture the magic of Casablanca (it even features the ending scene of the plane taking off) and fails despite having Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre. The story deals with a Nazi plot to stir up trouble in neutral Turkey and it doesn't work. George Raft is miscast and just doesn't pull it off. It is ironic that he turned down the lead role in Casablanca and movie fans should be grateful.Recommended only for movie buffs and Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet fans.

Greenstreet & Lorre were a TEAM!

[whpratt1 · 10/10 · 11 October 2004]

This is truly a great Classic 1940's B&W film with a great cast of actors, George Raft,(Joe Barton),"Oceans' Eleven",'60, was a so called salesman and a spy who ran into all kinds of problems on a train with a woman and obtained war time maps and plans which the Nazi's and Russians wanted very desperately. Sydney Greenstreet,(Colonel Robinson)," Devotion",'46, worked for the Russians and wanted to get rid of Joe Barton in the worst way. Much to my surprise, Peter Lorre(Nikolai Zaleshoff),"Beat the Devil",'53, was a good spy for a change. Brenda Marshall,(Tamara Zaleshoff)," Constant Nymph",'43 gave a good supporting role and managed to her herself beaten up a few times. If you love Greenstreet, Raft & Lorre, this is a must see film!

mid wartime spy thrillah

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 15 October 2020]

The co-stars... Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre (who always seemed to work together) are the best part of this film! it's 1943, so we're plunk in the middle of WW II. after an attempt is made on the german ambassador, the Nazis intercept american Joe Barton (George Raft) in Turkey. spy shenanigans. how is russia involved? and those romanians! the usual wartime drama, where the nazis try to meddle and conquer. its okay, not quite up to the usual Warner Brothers films of the time. lots of talk in offices, not much action outdoors. just lots of reports, threats, and mild intrigue. dramatic music. Greenstreet carries this one. it's all him. with Raft talking almost as much. directed by Raoul Walsh, who worked with some biggies, and made some great films. never won the oscar.

"We Nazis Do Not Relish Failure."

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 5 June 2013]

Routine Warners espionage story, directed with no nonsense by Raoul Walsh. The director was responsible a few years earlier for the unexpectedly humane "High Sierra." There's a car chase here, too, but not nearly as effective as the one in which Bogart leads a horde of law-enforcement officers on a frantic and dusty pursuit into the mountains.

Peter Lorre, as a Russian agent, and the pachydermal Sidney Greenstreet as the resident Nazi chief, seem left over from "The Maltese Falcon," with little of the inventiveness of the original. Brenda Marshall, a virago who was married to William Holden, has little to do. George Raft describes her as "good looking" and he's right. Raft himself is as ligneous as ever. He never relaxes. His expression is always one of vigilance. He doesn't move much, and when he does he strides, but his eyes are always alert, darting from one character to another, as if forever waiting to be betrayed. He's rarely disappointed. Turhan Bey, sleekly handsome, gets to speak Turkish, an ignoble tongue, if you ask me. The dialog runs along the lines of, "Oh, a tough guy, hey?"

The MacGuffin is a set of phony plans that Russia (our ally in 1943) is supposed to have drawn up to immediately invade Turkey, the setting of the movie. The plans will be made public, arousing the nation's paranoia, and Hitler will move in and "protect" Turkey from the commies, using the nation's oil for its war effort. The plans are first in one person's hands, then another's. Finally the entire conspiracy gets the deep six.

The pace never flags. Raoul Walsh knows how to keep things moving, but the narrative is pedestrian and the story and characters have little dash.