The Adventures of Tartu

The Adventures of Tartu
Customer Review: Robert Donat As A British Agent In Nazi-Occupied Czechoslovakia
During the early Forties the British perfected a classic type of anti-Nazi movie. The films featured sophisticated, intelligent heroes, upper-class heroines, witty dialogue, tense situations, clever escapes and, most of all, the portrayal of Nazis as bestial and stupid. The Nazis may have the upper-hand now, the movies said, but the steadfastness, courage and intelligence of free men will ultimately prevail. A good many of these movies are still enjoyable because of this style. The Adventures of Tartu almost makes it into the top rank. In a bombed-out hospital in the heart of London, fireman discover an unexploded German bomb. Confined in a bed teetering over the crater is a small boy in casts and traction. He cannot be moved. With him is a brave nurse, determined not to leave her patient. Then Captain Terrence Stevenson arrives to defuse the bomb. He climbs down into the crater, discovers a new type of detonator is in place and carefully starts the delicate procedure of making the bomb harmless. He also talks to the boy, reassuring him as at any moment he, the boy and nurse could be blown to bits. Well, come on. This is a bit much. It goes without saying that the movie doesn't end with a blast ten minutes after starting. This is the problem with Tartu. It moves too often with a heavy, melodramatic hand. Still, when it stays on track it does the job, thanks in large part to Robert Donat, who plays Stevenson. After defusing the bomb, Stevenson is called upon for a highly dangerous assignment. He can speak flawless German and Rumanian, he is a noted chemist and, as we learned, he keeps his head in emergencies. The British have discovered that the Nazis are producing a new type of poisonous gas at a factory in Czechoslovakia. They plan to bomb London with it. Stevenson's job is to parachute in with the identify of Jan Tartu, a member of the Romanian Iron Guard. He must find a way to make contact with the Czech underground, then be assigned to the chemical plant by the Germans, have his qualifications as a chemist noted so that he will be put on the gas production team, and then blow up the plant. If possible, he should also try to find a way to escape back to England. Terrence Stevenson is up to the task. Donat was a skilled, intelligent actor who achieved great popularity in Britain and the U.S. with movies such as The Count of Monte Cristo, The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr. Chips, for which he won an Academy Award. He died at 53 after an acute attack of asthma, something he had endured from childhood. Donat plays Stevenson as a fast-thinking man, brave and a little ironic. He plays Jan Tartu as something of a harmless fop. He carries off both personalities with skill. Valerie Hobson plays Maruschuka Lanova, a countess who is friendly with the Germans but who secretly is a member of the underground. At first she takes Tartu for what he seems to be, but then realizes he is a secret British agent. She gives her trust and her love to Stevenson. Walter Rilla is Otto Vogel, an obsequious policeman who has cast his lot with the Nazis, who lusts after the Countess and who worries about his career. After many dangerous adventures and quick-thinking decisions, Stevenson as Tartu accomplishes his task, the gas plant is destroyed and he even finds a way to return to Britain, and not alone. The best example of this type of film is probably Night Train to Munich (1940) by Gilliat and Launder, directed by Carol Reed and starring Rex Harrison and Margaret Lockwood. A close second would be Leslie Howard's Pimpernel Smith (1941). Tartu is well acted and the adventures move right along. Too often, as with the boy in the hospital bed, it misses the mark with too heavy a hand. Stevenson also seems impossibly resourceful and lucky. The Adventures of Tartu was an MGM picture filmed in London at the MGM studios there. While the cast and crew were British, the director was a longtime MGM employee, Harold Bucquet. He brought in movies on time. His most well-known films are those in the Dr. Kildare series. The weaknesses of this movie can probably be laid at the feet of Bucquet's workmanlike lack of style. The movie can occasionally be seen on cable. If you like British movies of this period and if you're fond of Robert Donat, it would be worth tuning in. A VHS tape is available which has terrible picture quality. The movie also is known as Sabotage Agent, the title MGM used for its U.S. release.
Customer Review: I really like British films from this era: pre war to 1955.
This is a well done WW2 patriotism and propaganda film with a superb cast. Robert Donat is well known from his pre war work like "The 39 Steps" and Valerie Hobson is a delight in a role nearly as good as "I Know Where I'm Going". Interesting feature for airplane nuts is the use of a captured Junkers 88 for some sequences rather than the usually poor special effects model shots like the John Wayne travesty "Flying Tigers". The only quibble is that the print is only fair to OK not really good.