A fun picture when it was made – and still one of the choicest delights of 1940's cinema – this film is a highly enjoyable romantic comedy/drama (with even a bit of ballet thrown in). Writing, directing and acting always maintain the most perfectly exquisite balance between the story's various elements. For once the efforts of a multitude of writers – in addition to the credited Karl Tunberg, Don Ettinger, John O'Hara, Jacques Companeez, Herbert Jutkee, Hans Jacoby and Michel Duran, Nunnally Johnson also contributed to the script, as did Erich von Stroheim who sketched in most of his own very amusing "business" and contributed to Peter Lorre's as well – have produced a delightfully smooth and energetic comedy of manners that only slows down slightly with the climactic ballet and during some of the moments when Richard Greene is on- screen (not Richard's fault. Except for his rousing opening scene, his role is totally conventional and lacks the sparkle that animates the movie's other main characters. Even Sig Rumann, in a tiny role, makes a greater impression simply because he has the material to do so). Production values are especially lush. Two photographers were employed, but they did not work in tandem, as many people suppose. In general, Cronjager handled the close-ups and the tight shots (like the scenes on the train), while Shamroy did the large group shots, the long shots and the establishing shots. My guess is that Shamroy also photographed the whole of the ballet – but in Cronjager's style. Cronjager was a favorite with female stars because he took infinite care to make them look ravishingly beautiful. On the other hand, he was not well liked by producers, directors and impatient stars because he worked too slowly. Available on a superb Fox DVD,

Actor/director/writer Gregory Ratoff often did Lubitsch-like films -"Cafe Metropole" is one and this one, 1940's "I Was an Adventuress" is another. Light and delightful, the film stars Vera Zorina, Eric von Stroheim, Richard Greene and Peter Lorre. Zorina, Stroheim and Lorre are partners in crime - practicing the old bait and switch of the fake necklace that someone says is not fake after all but worth a fortune. The targeted sucker overhears the conversation and buys what he thinks is a real necklace from the unsuspecting woman. He pays way too much for a fake but not as much as the sale price of the real thing. Of course, when he tries to sell it, he's told it's a fake, but the thieves have left town.All goes well until Tanya (Zorina), posing as Countess Vronsky, meets handsome, charming Paul Vernay, whom she attempts to set up for a con but ends up falling in love with him. She breaks with Polo (Lorre) and Andre (von Stroheim), marries Vernay and takes up her ballet career again. After several months, Polo and Andre need her to return, but they can't find her. When they do, Andre moves in for a shakedown.This film is lots of fun all the way with some marvelous performances. Von Stroheim and Lorre make a great team - one, Teutonic and committed, the other, an apologetic kleptomaniac with a heart. Zorina certainly had one of the most interesting faces in film, beautiful yet strong, and she's wonderful as Tanya. Her dancing was lovely, with the exception of her very distracting arms.Richard Greene was getting the big star buildup at 20th Century Fox when war was declared in Europe, and he returned to England to serve his country. Handsome with a to-die for accent, he just might have given Tyrone Power a run for his money, at least in some of the lighter roles, as I suspect he didn't have a large range. As it was, Greene became best known in this country for his TV series "Robin Hood." Here he exhibits warmth and sophistication as Paul Vernay.Look for this film on Fox Movie Channel - you won't be sorry.

It's such a pity that this charming film is so difficult to find. It's one of the many wonderful classic films that should be available on video, but seems to have been regrettably tossed aside.Funny and sophisticated, it never ceases to make me laugh. Peter Lorre and Erich von Stroheim are a perfect pairing. After seeing this, Stroheim became my other favorite actor, next to Peter Lorre. They're both such great actors (my two favorites, actually), and they work together splendidly and comically. Really, there should have been so many more movies starring this duo of striking, charming gentlemen.Vera Zorina, as the female accomplice to the two crooks, and Richard Greene, as an upperclass man she falls in love with, are both quite good as well. I recommend it to anyone who's lucky enough to get a chance to see it. It's one of the few times that Peter Lorre gets to play a character who is funny, cute, sweet - someone the audience, and the characters in the movie, are supposed to love. Sure, he's a kleptomaniac, but he can't really help it -- no one, besides the ill tempered Andre, can stay angry at him for long. (In one of the final scenes, Paul Vernay, Richard Greene's character, can't help but grin and laugh to himself as he realizes the charming kleptomaniac has acquired most of his possessions once again.)I give this witty film a well-deserved 10/10.

"Lubitsch lite" might be the best description of this beguiling romantic comedy. Its charm relies to a surprising extent on the effervescent chemistry between its two male stars, Peter Lorre and Erich von Stroheim. These are not the most likely of sidekicks, but you'd be surprised how deftly these two play off one another, like a Mittel European Laurel and Hardy, as the cherubic kleptomaniac Polo (Lorre) and his sly con-artist buddy Andre (Stroheim). It's easy to imagine a series of comedy adventures based on Polo and Andre--actually, Stroheim and Lorre make a more entertaining duo than Lorre and Greenstreet. The lovely Zorina keeps up with them beautifully, as well as delivering a very photogenic performance in the "Swan Lake" ballet sequence (choreographed by her husband, George Balanchine) which anticipates "The Red Shoes" in its dynamically cinematic, semi-surreal style.