Candlelight in Algeria (1943) has the potent whiff of the wartime morale booster to it — but who could blame its makers, given the state of things at the time? Spinning a romantic spy yarn around historical events just barely in the rearview mirror, this one chronicles the clandestine adventures of Susan Foster (Carla Lehmann), an American artist living in Algeria. A patriotic American, Susan is on the verge of returning to the United States to volunteer for the Women’s Army Corps. Her career in service against fascism gets an earlier start than expected, however, when dashing British spy Alan Thurston (James Mason) takes refuge in her home after escaping German captivity. Thurston’s mission is to recover a missing camera that contains vital intelligence about Allied war plans. Susan helps him evade the Vichy French authorities, but Thurston is convinced that the Germans — lead by the devious Dr. Müller (Walter Rilla) — know precisely where he is, and are surveilling him to recover the camera for themselves. To throw them off the scent, Susan offers to do the job for him and rendezvous later, leading to intrigue and romance for the duo as they elude enemy agents across north Africa.
While not especially complex, Candlelight in Algeria is a pleasing spy film that possesses something of a low-rent Alfred Hitchcock vibe. A plot-propelling MacGuffin, a plucky heroine, a rakish spy with whom she develops a reluctant attraction, a handful of suspense setpieces…it’s got all the earmarks, if not quite the master’s touch in terms of directorial precision or clever writing. Still, given its modest constraints, there’s an easy appeal to it, driven largely by Lehmann’s breezy charisma as she negotiates encounters with with a fun cast that also includes Leslie Bradley, Raymond Lovell, Meinhart Maur, Pamela Stirling, and Enid Stamp Taylor. Its primary point seems to be illustrating the Allies’ much-needed tactical win in a long, desperate struggle, a message the plot emphasizes throughout. But along the way, its leads develop a genuine rapport and events are nicely structured to spotlight the bravery and effort of American, British, and French collaboration against the German war machine.
