Contraband

Plot synopsis:
Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) is an ex-smuggler who now has a peaceful life with his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and their two sons in New Orleans. They learn that Kate's brother Andy (Caleb Landry Jones) was smuggling drugs, but dropped them into the Mississippi River during a surprise inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Andy's boss, mobster Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), threatens to kill Chris' family if Andy doesn't pay him back $700,000. Chris decides to raise the money by running contraband, working with his former smuggling partner, Sebastian Abney (Ben Foster), who now owns a legitimate construction company. Promising Kate he will not run drugs, Chris joins a cargo ship, planning to buy $10,000,000 in fake bills in Panama and smuggle them into the U.S. He is joined by Andy, his good friend Danny Raymer (Lukas Haas), and gets help from crew mates. After Briggs broke into Chris' house and intimidated his wife and children, Kate moves into Sebastian's house for safety.
In Panama, Chris discovers that the only one who can provide high quality fake bills is crime lord Gonzalo (Diego Luna). Leaving Andy in the van with the money for the fake bills, Chris meets with Gonzalo to negotiate. Briggs calls Andy, threatens to kill one of Chris' sons and forces him to take the money and buy cocaine. With the money gone, Chris and Danny agree to help Gonzalo rob an armored car in exchange for the fake bills. After a shootout in which Gonzalo's group along with numerous police and security officers get killed, they successfully steal a Jackson Pollock painting that resembles a splattered tarp. Chris and Danny barely make it back to the ship with the fake bills and the painting. They drive the van with contraband into a container, which is loaded onto their cargo ship. Chris hits and berates Andy for using the money to buy cocaine, but apologizes when Andy explains the reason.
It is revealed that Sebastian is working with Briggs, and he desperately needs money to pay gangster Jim Church (David O'Hara). Sebastian calls Chris and learns that Chris plans to get rid of the cocaine Andy bought. Sebastian instructs Briggs to threaten Kate. Through Kate, Briggs warns Chris not to dump the cocaine. Chris realizes that Sebastian has betrayed him. Sebastian contacts the cargo ship's Captain Camp (J. K. Simmons), with whom he has a partnership. He tells Camp of Chris' smuggled contraband, and promises him a share if he secures it. Unable to get Chris to give up the contraband, Camp calls U.S. Customs to inspect the ship in New Orleans. The Customs agents find the container with Chris' van, which is empty except for the paint splattered tarp, which they ignore.
Once Chris is on shore, Briggs and his thugs demand the drug package. Chris takes Briggs to Camp's house, having made a duplicate key while on the ship, and knowingly activates the security system. Chris opens Camp's carpet cleaner and retrieves the cocaine from it. While Briggs and his gang sit in Camp's living room with the cocaine, Chris sneaks out. Camp awakens to the noise and comes into the living room as the police arrive. Both Briggs's group and Camp are arrested for possession of the cocaine.
Warned by Chris, Kate leaves Sebastian's house. When she goes back to retrieve some personal items, Sebastian gets angry with her and accidentally pushes her against a bathtub. Thinking she is dead, he dumps her (unconscious) body in a yet to be poured foundation at one of his construction sites. Chris goes to Sebastian's construction site and manages to locate and save Kate by calling her cellphone. Sebastian is arrested and sent to prison, where he is greeted by a lynch mob.
Danny retrieves the fake bills, which were dumped into the Mississippi River by Chris before docking in New Orleans. At a U.S. Customs auction, Andy buys the escape van earlier confiscated from the cargo ship, and finds the painting still in it. Church pays Chris $3 million for the fake currency and asks about the missing Jackson Pollock. Chris learns the painting can be fenced for over $20 million on the black market. The film ends with Chris, Kate, Andy and the boys beginning a new life in a waterfront house.

Tags: violence, intrigue

Review:
But, Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson are the hidden pleasures in this film.
Above all, Contraband demonstrates how film makers (outside of Powell and Pressberger) missed the boat in not taking advantage of Veidt's sophisticated persona, understated acting skills, and comedic flair..
Veidt and Hobson encounter one another on his ship, and then whiz across London, first pursuing/eluding one another, then working together to undo a German spy ring.
Much hugger-mugger, with a multitude of British character actors working in blackout darkness and then brightly-lit, often chaotic interiors (train compartments, restaurants, ship's lounges, nightclubs, elevators ....) Veidt and Hobson are charming in tandem, with a grownup sexual tension that for this viewer was a striking contrast to the more standard youthful leads of that time (and ours).
Clearly made on a budget, the entire production nonetheless looks & feels terrific - gritty shipboard all-male scenes, a couple of nightclub production numbers that have to be seen to be believed, a swell Art Deco townhouse - and underneath it all, maneuvering through the London blackout as a necessary given, a condition of life that the Brits seem to take for granted as the darkest days of the war approach.
I had never seen Veidt so sympathetic - here a memorable leading man, versus his more well-know villains..And I was until now unfamiliar with Hay Petrie, here in a double role as Veidt's shipboard second-in-command, and that character's brother, a volatile (& hilarious) Danish restaurateur (don't ask!) All in all - a delight..
It's true that this film is concocted out of the same ingredients of contemporary Hitchcock film - spy suspense and romance between stand offish lovers wrapped up in a crust of a comedy of manners but it's interesting to see the results from a different chef.
It would seem that one film's goals was to create a positive sympathy among Scandinavians by having the lions share of defeating the Nazi spy ring accomplished by the hereto neutral Danes handily recruited from a restaurant evocatively named The Viking.
But all of these elements are held subtly in the background, as is a virtual encyclopedia of ordinary life in London, especially the demands of the blackout.However all these are subsidiary interests to the real focus of the film, the relationship between Veidt and Hobson.
In many way this was a repackaging of their pairing in a previous Powell film, THE SPY IN BLACK, which ends, in romantic terms, unsatisfactorily, i.e. she goes back to her husband and he dies.
Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson had appeared together with surprising effect in 'The Spy in Black'.
They were reunited in this splendid comedy thriller with a Hitchcockian mode the following year.Lots of action and wry humour, with a pleasing spy story set in a London blackout.
To do this, she steals the landing pass of the ship's skipper (Veidt) whilst the ship is in harbour for a contraband check.Veidt follows her to London where they encounter a Nazi spy ring intent on obtaining this information.
They are tied up, but Veidt escapes, and with the help of fellow Danes (Veidt is Danish in this film, and a good guy!), foils the plot.Funny, charming, sexy and thrilling (with just a little bit of bondage!), and with a great chemistry between the two stars.Great fun!.
I bought this movie because it was directed by Michael Powell, scripted by Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and starred Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson (a great important British director/producer/writer and two great stars).
It's about a Danish sea captain who's forced to follow two missing and suspicious passengers while his ship is being temporarily held by the British.
What follows is a spy mystery through London during the days of Blackouts....and is ever bit as clever, amusing and suspenseful as any of Hitchcock's superb British sound films.
I URGE you to check out this great and little seen British film classic..
It's described as a Hitchcockian comedy-thriller - though still every bit an "Archers" product - which only goes to show that the Master Of Suspense lost something by going to the US (the English films being more deliberately stylized); the second of 5 collaborations by the Powell/Pressburger team designed as propaganda for the war effort - each more ambitious and uncharacteristic of the typical British effort than the one before!It's fast-paced and plot-packed, with several marvelous suspense scenes, but also excellent characterization all around - and a splendid cast: Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson are supported by a wonderful dual role from Hay Petrie, Esmond Knight, and even early villainous turns by Leo Genn and Peter Bull (dubbed "The Brothers Grimm" by Veidt's Captain Hans Andersen!) - with bits by Torin Thatcher and an especially nice one involving Bernard Miles; The Archers also take care to provide the chief villain (played by Raymond Lovell) with a speech impediment - though not as a means of ridiculing him.The London locations (shot by the great Freddie Young) are superbly deployed - given an extra Expressionist edge by being largely set during a blackout (actually, the film's title in the US).
The terrific climax involves a chase intercut with a free-for-all.I had long wanted to purchase the R1 DVD but kept postponing it due to the utter lack of extras and the prohibitive price (only managing to get it through Deep Discount's recent sale on Kino products!); still, the transfer is disappointing (and yet the only way the film is available for the moment!): bright, soft and probably PAL sourced (given that the running time is only 87 minutes against the official 92 - the sleeve notes thus making the mistake of stating that it's 8 minutes, rather than 12, longer than the version originally shown in the US!)..
There is an air of suspense and danger as the two main characters, Captain Andersen (Conrad Veidt) and Mrs. Sorensen (Valerie Hobson), traverse a British city in the darkness of a wartime blackout.
Andersen and Sorensen, likewise--in the early part of the film--play a cat-and-mouse game that is enjoyable to watch.The mechanics of the plot don't seem to matter much, like one of Hitchcock's McGuffins, and the photography seems more about style than substance.
The stars are Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson, and the chemistry between them is almost as good as that between Bogart and Bacall in CASABLANCA (1942, in which, by the way, Veidt also appeared).
And that is enough food for today.) This film was made before Denmark was invaded by the Nazis, so there is a great deal of Danish patriotism on display, including all the waiters and the proprietor of the Viking joining up to help Veidt and singing a patriotic Danish song.
Valerie Hobson plays Mrs. Soerensen, a British divorcée whose ex-husband is Danish.
Veidt's Danish ship on its way back to Denmark is diverted into harbour in Britain for contraband inspection, and Valerie Hobson and a spy accomplice steal Veidt's landing permits in order to make a dash for London on their secret business.
He and Hobson end up becoming entangled first in complex spy activities, being captured and tied up by Nazi spies in London, and then become romantically entangled as well because they are irresistibly attracted to one another.
Leo Genn and Peter Bull, such sturdy stalwarts of the British film business over decades, appear in supporting roles.
This film was directed by the talented Michael Powell and the original story and screenplay are by his Romanian/Hungarian/Jewish collaborator Emeric Pressburger.
"Contraband" is a Powell/Pressburger collaboration, and a lot of the techniques they use are reminiscent of later films, such as the 49th Parallel and "The Red Shoes."The story concerns a Dane, Captain Anderson (Conrad Veidt) on a freighter that is stopped for inspection by a British warship.
He asks for passes for himself and his first officer, but when he is ready to leave, he finds that the passes have been stolen by two passengers, Mrs. Sorenson (Valerie Hobson) and Mr. Pidgeon (Esmond Knight).
Before long he's involved with a German spy ring.This is a good film with both Veidt and Hobson giving wonderful performances.
Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson star in the Powell/Pressburger spy thriller done in the vein of Alfred Hitchcock.
Veidt is a Danish sea captain who is not real happy about being neutral and the risks it imposes on people like him trying to earn a living transporting trade goods.
Veidt who was known in America primarily for those smooth villainous roles like The Thief of Bagdad, Escape, and Casablanca could easily have transitioned to an all purpose continental leading man like Charles Boyer had be immigrated to America in time of peace.It's not a Hitchcock like classic.
But Contraband was a film pleasing enough to British audiences back in the day..
Early British Wartime Effort from Director Michael Powell.
A Male-Female Team of Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson are Thrown Together Against Some Nazis and the Adventure Takes Them Through London Blackouts and Underground Cement Caverns with Secret Entrances and Ominous Elevators.Beneath Nightclubs with Gaudy Fashions and Cuisine and Floor Shows Like "White Negro" that are Quite Bizarre, as is a Musical Group of Female Banjo Pickers with Artificial Glass Legs.
Our Heroes get to Engage Banter with Some Sexual Innuendos and a Bondage Scene as They Combine Efforts for an Entertaining Romp that May be a bit Heavy on the Humor but the Thing Works Wonderfully.It is Michael Powell's Inventive Camera Work and Expressionism that Makes this Stand Out and One can See that the British were Developing, as were Their American Cousins, a Seemingly Unconscious Style of Filmmaking that would Become Known as Film-Noir in its Various Degrees of Genre Bending and Definition..
Hobson and Veidt co-starred in "Spy in Black" in 1938 (released in '39), a beautiful WWI drama about spies and counterspies made by Alexander Korda's London Films.
This film was the first pairing of director Michael Powell and scripter Emeric Pressburger who would soon come to be known as The Archers.1940 saw the release of "Contraband", also featuring the same stars, as well as director and screenwriter.
Conrad Veidt, only three years away from death, looks much older than forty-seven in "Contraband".
Even between "The Spy in Black" and "Contraband" Veidt had aged considerably.The acting, direction, and camera-work are superb---diminutive Hay Petrie steals every scene he is in, as he did in "The Spy in Black" and "Knight Without Armour" (1937).
Conrad Veidt (Captain Andersen) is the skipper of a Danish boat that has been intercepted by the British and brought to dock in England while the cargo is processed.
Well, Valerie Hobson (Mrs Sorensen) and Esmond Knight (Mr Pidgeon) have other plans, and duly abscond.
Veidt has one night to track them down and ensure that they are back on his ship when it is due to sail in the morning.This film has an alternate title of "Blackout" and it's very significant seeing that you can't see what's going on during several scenes.
The advertisement about this film from Kino Video led me to think I was going to see an exciting spy story with noirish overtones and a Hitchcockian twist.It is nothing of the sort.If Hitchcock had made this film, smooth, suave Cary Grant would have had the lead, and he would have been opposite a cool, sophisticated blonde.
Before the film had ended, Grant would have melted her coolness for a final kiss or, as in "North By Northwest," an implication of sexual surrender.Here we are asked to accept Conrad Veidt, at age 47 and looking every year of it just three years before his death, in the Cary Grant role and Valerie Hobson, twenty-four years his junior, in the cool blonde part.
However, it was interesting to see him playing someone other than a villain, but at the same time, I realized that such roles were his forte.Of course, Valerie Hobson isn't blond.
Cast against type, Conrad Veidt plays a heroic Danish ship's captain, a seemingly sinister fellow who is actually a humorous chap on the side of peace.
Teaming up with beautiful Valarie Hobson, he finds himself involved in exposing nasty Nazi's, much like his own spy in the brilliant "All Through the Night" where his suave character tried to blow up an American Navy ship.The amazing Veidt is a German actor worthy of a movie biography because of his anti-Nazi sentiments while playing many of them, being married to a Jewish woman and escaping his homeland because of his love for her.
(WARNING - SPOILER) A mere 5 minutes in, and in the very first verbal exchange between the two central characters, Captain Andersen (Conrad Veidt) says "Tell me, Mrs Sorensen: have you ever been put in irons?" (/SPOILER)From there on, their fractious, edgy relationship - essentially a battle of wits to find out which shall be the dominant partner and which the submissive - carries a smouldering erotic charge that drives the story and makes it compellingly watchable.
Veidt and Hobson make a brilliant double-act: move over, Steed and Mrs. Peel!I won't go on at length about the quirky, typically P+P story elements, the expressionist camera/lighting work or the distinctly Hitchcockian touches (look out for the conversation on the bus, folks), because others have said it far better than I could.
It resembles his work, specifically "The 39 Steps." Conrad Veidt is the captain of a Danish freighter carrying a few passengers and a load of necessary supplies to Denmark.
The director, Michael Powell, even anticipates Hitchcock's later use of point-of-view shots.That the adventure ashore turns into a frolic is somewhat surprising, considering that this was released in 1940, a troublesome year for Britain.
In the case of "Blackout", it's a pretty exciting film but completely illogical from start to finish.The film begins with a Danish* ship awaiting inspection by a British naval patrol.
The Captain of the ship (Conrad Veidt) is cooperative and things seem just fine.
But, since it's a propaganda film, the Captain and his mate sneak ashore and the Captain goes in search of the pair (don't worry, it's only London and it's not like it's one of the largest cities in the world!!!
This is pretty much what happens throughout the rest of the film-- even when the Captain DEFINITELY discovers a Nazi spy ring.
Enchanted by their work since seeing the sadly underrated Gone to Earth,I was thrilled to discover a Powell/Pressburger work,which led to me covering the windows for a blackout on contraband.The plot-1939:While Denmark remains neutral in the Phoney War-stage of WWII,Danish captain Anderson is surprised to receive an order from Lt. Commanders Ashton and Ellis to go to a British Contraband Control Port,so that an inspection can be carried out.
Getting set to go ashore as the inspection is done,Anderson's pass (and boat) is taken by secret agents Mrs. Sorensen and Mr. Pidgeon,who set sail to give the government info that the Nazis want blacked out.View on the film:Known for the immortal nightmare image in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Conrad Veidt gives a delicious performance as Anderson,with the romantic glances Anderson gives Sorensen allowing Veidt to show a romantic flamboyance with a real relish.
Running with a dashing Esmond Knight as Mr. Pidgeon, Valerie Hobson gives an enticing performance as Sorensen.
Coming faced to face with the Nazis,Hobson gives Sorensen a considerate thoughtfulness,that unrolls itself as Sorensen tries to get contraband under the Nazis noses.Originally planned as a follow-up to The Spy In Black, the screenplay by co-writer/(along with Emeric Pressburger & Brock Williams) director Michael Powell sails on creepy Spiv espionage and playful Caper romance.
Staying away from going too grim,the writers give Sorensen a patriotic slickness that undermines every attempt from the boo-hiss Nazis.Hitting the high seas with most of the crew from The Spy In Black,director Michael Powell & cinematographer Freddie Young cast a chilly atmosphere with thick smog allowing the contraband to be kept from the eyes of the enemy.
***SPOILER***Made weeks after the start off WWII has Danish sea captain Andersen, Conrad Veidt, of the freighter "Helvig" get involved with a German spy ring in London that's trying to embroil the UK into a war with the USA in a false flag attack on American shipping and making it look like the Briish not Germans were responsible for the attacks.
Andersen who, in being Danish, is a neutral party in all this gets involved when two of his passengers Mrs. Sorensen and Mr. Pidgeon, Valerie Hobson & Esmond Knight, who ship out with the only two off shore passes that the British Government gave Capt.
Andersen as well as his 2nd in command Alex Skold, Hay Petrie, to go out on shore leave for the night.It soon becomes evident that a Nazi spy ring is in operation in London headed by Herr Van Dyne, Raymond Lovell, who just happens to be at the home of Sorensen's aunt where both her and Capt.
More like a comedy then a serious wartime movie that in all the fighting the only one person who got killed was the one that deserved it most Nazi spy ring leader Van Dyne.
The film also showed how serious the Nazi threat to the free world was at that time early in the war in them willing to go so far as tricking the British future allies the USA to go to war against each other!
I accept that Powell and Pressburger completists will want to see and/or own this film but just because the team turned out a couple of half decent movies doesn't mean that every early effort was gold dust.
The year before the same team had enjoyed a minor success - not, surely, that hard in wartime - with the Spy In Black and figured why not team Conrad Veidt and Valerie Hobson again and this time, improbable and unrealistic as it is, have them fall in love in between escaping from a spy ring.