Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

Walter Sloane Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

howardmorley To answer an earlier user comment, the reason Audrey Hepburn did not continue with classical ballet was because of a serious injury to one of her ankles - always a risk for dancers.Nevertheless Audrey dancing in her tutu was a highlight of this 1952 Ealing film."London Live" commercial channel in the UK have just begun showing a season of classic Ealing films, so you could see Ealing did not just produce film comedies.I am grateful to my wife for pointing me in the right direction so I could see this film, which is not advertised for sale on rare DVD movie sites to my knowledge.The cognoscenti of classic British films from this era will also spot Megs Jenkins, Sam Kydd and Sidney Tafler in other small parts.The above user comments sufficiently describe the plot so I will not dwell further on it.Suffice it to say the theme of terrorism is still very much relevant today with 7/7/2005 much remembered in the UK.My wife and I enjoyed it to the end and I awarded it 7/10.A good evening's viewing with the "Poldark" remake on BBC to follow!

ksf-2 Another Ealing Studios/Rank production from 1952... opens with a title card describing an "inner person" within each of us...foreshadowing of some sort. We are told that it takes place in 1930 London, just prior to England and WW II. A man reads a letter from an old friend, warning of troubles to come, and asking him to look after his children... Really, the only big name (that I recognize) is Audrey Hepburn, as "Nora", one of the daughters. The next two films she would make were Roman Holiday and Sabrina, and her voice sounds more like a little girl in this one, as she was still only about 21. Co-star Serge Reggiani, who apparently was a famous artist, singer, actor, poet, even boxer in Europe, plays "Louis". We follow along as Nora and her sister "Maria" (Valentina Cortese) make good and bad decisions. Lots of underground war-time spying and espionage.... the photography and sound are quite good for the 1950s. The film has a good script, but lacks a spark and some big names. A good entertaining film, if no real "electricity. Written and directed by Thorold Dickinson, this would be one of the last films he made. This film is not at all connected to the "Secret People" documentary made in 1998.

moonspinner55 Frightened, vulnerable refugees, escaping the political tensions permeating Europe in 1930 (and, we are to assume, the escalating prominence of the Nazi party), come to stay with friends in London; seven years later, having received their British citizenship, the younger sister embarks on a dancing career while the older sister reconnects with her handsome fiancé, now a newspaperman and leader in the political underground. Well-meaning, but drab melodramatics from Britain's Ealing Studios. Late plot-twist involving plastic surgery seems to belong to a different film altogether. Audrey Hepburn, two years before her breakthrough in Hollywood, received her most substantial acting role up to this time playing the dancing darling; she's charming and poised, but the part doesn't offer much beyond showcasing her youthful eagerness. *1/2 from ****

kenmyersproject It was said that the director Thorold Dickenson and his colleagues viewed Hitchcock's "Sabotage" before starting this film, and I'm not really sure if they learned anything. I do agree with both of the first reviewers for this in that it did have some promise, but it fell short. Perhaps because of the long delay before actual production of the project got under way when Ealing Studios saw it as an unusual product worth tackling.Valentina Cortesa did a marvelous job as a foreign refugee living in London who gets caught up in the intrigue unwillingly.This film was one of the only ones that I hadn't seen of Audrey Hepburn's earlier works. Although she only appears in it off and on she is given a broader speaking role than her previous earlier film 'walk-on' parts. She was quite able to act with the best of what this British Film Company had to offer, in a role a bit too understated for me. In fact, the whole film was a little too 'understated', dealing with a bomb plot planned by nationals of a foreign tyranny in 1930's London.I would watch this again, as it is now part of my library of hard to find films. I gave it an eight out of ten stars for Cortesa's performance and the early glimpse of Hepburn beyond a one minute spot.One does walk away from this film wishing it was better given it's premise, which is still very much a topic of today as it was then.If you can find a copy I would recommend it.