Confidential Agent

During the Spanish Civil War an agent working for the republican government comes to England to buy coal. The other side is after the same coal and follows him every step of the way. Before long he is caught up in a murder, distrusted even by his own side, and his only support is a wealthy Englishwoman he meets along the way. Herman Shumlin's film was adapted from Graham Greene's 1939 novel. Charles Boyer's tired, frightened and still unrelenting agent was among the most praised performances of the period. Lauren Bacall's English aristocrat drew hard criticism, and the actress herself later said she found the casting strange. Greene, for his part, wrote that of all the adaptations made from his books he liked this one best.