Under the Red Robe

Raymond Massey always was good at playing a baddie, and here his depiction of Cardinal de Richelieu, the de facto ruler of France during the reign of Louis XIII, is effective. He is determined to put down the Huguenot (protestant) folks in his country and so rescues one of his erstwhile employees of dubious repute - "Gil de Berault" (Conrad Veidt) from the gallows, on the condition that he travel south and apprehend the leader of this unruly band of miscreants - the "Duc de Foix" (Wyndham Goldie). Finding his prey is not especially difficult, but when he arrives at their chateau and falls hook, line and sinker for his sister "Marguerite" (Annabella) then his task becomes much harder - and as both she and the Duchesse (Sophie Stewart) begin to suspect that he is, indeed, a spy - much more perilous, too. I enjoyed this, it's got a sort of "Three Musketeers" feel to it, plenty of action and Veidt is quite engaging as his predicament worsens. The ending is a bit on the weak side, but it is still well worth 80 minutes of anyone's time.