Alfred Hitchcock presents a spy thriller. I don't know if this is his first, but it becomes a staple. An Englishman, Captain Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) is presumed dead, returns to England. There he is given a new name, Richard Ashenden and sent on a secret mission. He is also given a wife, Elsa Carrington/Mrs. Ashenden (Madeleine Carroll). This film is set in WWI and they are to prevent a spy from reaching Turkey. They are also given a companion who is a ruthless killer, Th General (Peter Lorre). They end up on the trail of Caypor (Percy Marmont) as he claims a button they discovered at a murder seen of an informant. They go with him to the mountains, and the General pushes him off a cliff. Ashenden watches through a telescope, and Mrs. Ashenden is fed up with the idea of murder. She leaves the other two with a man, Robert Marvin (Robert Young). The other note discover a spy message which was addressed to Marvin. They had killed the wrong man, and are now on the trail of Marvin, who is with Mrs. Ashenden. They are on the same train, and they manage to catch up with them, but Mrs. Ashenden opposes murder with her gun. The train is bombed. Marvin is crushed and is dying but he shoots the General killing him as he dies. The Ashendens leave the spy business.
It seems there is no moral theme here, other than murder is never good. This movie does enterain.
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