Best Spy/ Secret Mission Movies
Covert and Clandestine Cinema
Classic to Contemporary
Comprehensive and Chronological
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Classic to Contemporary
Comprehensive and Chronological
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- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeGerda MaurusWilly FritschThe mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.
- DirectorGeorge FitzmauriceStarsGreta GarboRamon NovarroLionel BarrymoreA semi-fictionalized account of the life of Mata Hari, an exotic dancer who was accused of spying for Germany during World War I.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsLeslie BanksEdna BestPeter LorreAn ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRobert DonatMadeleine CarrollLucie MannheimA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.Mistaken identity, unwilling heroics, the need to prove one's innocence...many themes to be further explored in spy films are all rooted in these early Hitchcock flicks! Great example of suspense and mystery.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsSylvia SidneyOscar HomolkaDesmond TesterA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn GielgudMadeleine CarrollRobert YoungAfter three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.A montley crew joins forces to find and eliminate a German Spy, but encounters moral and physical complications.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMargaret LockwoodMichael RedgravePaul LukasWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.Mrs. Froy, an older woman, disappears from a train while travelling back to England but only one other traveller will admit having ever seen her in the first place and she is suffering from a rather large bump to the head...was there ever a Mrs. Froy, if so where is she? Excellent film!
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsEdward G. RobinsonGeorge SandersFrancis LedererFBI agent Ed Renard investigates the pre-war espionage activities of the German-American Bund.Early film about the FBI's investigation into pro-Nazi organizations in the US at the beginning of WWII. The film follows a few Nazi spies as they rise and fall. Well done early spy film that may have helped sway American public opinion against the Nazis while the US was still officially neutral.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonSebastian ShawA German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.HIghly underrated early spy film and well worth a watch.
A German Sub has orders to deliver its captain to a remote English Seaside town to gather intel on the British Navy. I couldn't help but think that the later films, Submarine Alert and The Eagle Has Landed must have been greatly influenced by this story. - DirectorMichael PowellStarsConrad VeidtValerie HobsonHay PetrieEarly in World War II, Danish sea captain Andersen, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies.
- DirectorTerry O. MorseStarsBoris KarloffMargaret LindsayBruce LesterAlthough the home of cabinet minister Arthur Bennett is a hotbed of spies, moles, and double agents, no one knows the true identity of notorious German spymaster Strendler.Spies abound in the home of a British official, where plans for a British invasion are being finalized. From the houesguest, to the milkman to the butler, the home is literally invaded with spies, some good, some bad, some both! All that is known is that they are all working for a German superspy named Strendler, but who is he? Who can you trust? How do you rid youself of these pests without letting on you are aware they are there and how do you get to Strendler?
Fun spy film, creative use of a small set and great classic styling! - DirectorLew LandersStarsRichard CromwellHelen VinsonRobert ArmstrongA man is framed for being a spy. After he is released, he sets out to find who the real spies are.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.An American reporter goes to Europe to bring news of the European War back home. The reporter however gets in too deep and becomes part of the story when witnessing a murder of a top strategist. He must choose sides to survive. The film, like a number of films from 1938-1941, is a metaphor for England's call to the USA to join them against their comman enemy and is masterfully done.
- DirectorJohn HustonVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorSydney GreenstreetIn December 1941, ex-army captain Rick Leland boards a Japanese ship heading to Asia via the Panama Canal where his Japanese hosts show interest in the American defense plans for the canal zone.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.Some may argue this is not a spy movie nor a real secret mission film, but whatever haters, this is such a good movie that it always merits "playing it again" and it does involve partisan fighters so let it slide... :)
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsAnna May WongNoel MadisonLeslie DenisonChinese girl risks her life on espionage mission against Japanese in World War 2.
- DirectorAlbert HermanStarsMichael WhalenAnne NagelWilliam BakewellNazi spies in the USA try to steal the formula for synthetic oil and ship it to Germany by means of a night plane called the Dawn Express.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsConstance BennettDon PorterJohn LitelA war correspondent's new wife is suspected by his colleagues of being a German spy.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsGodfrey TearleEric PortmanHugh WilliamsDuring a raid on Germany a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland and are aided by Dutch civilians.
- DirectorHarold FrenchStarsHugh WilliamsJames MasonCarla LehmannThree British spies and a French resistance fighter sneak into occupied France to gather information about the German forces for a planned invasion.
- DirectorHarold S. BucquetStarsRobert DonatValerie HobsonWalter RillaIn 1940. Captain Terence Stevenson is with the British Army in the bomb disposal unit in London, his primary job is to defuse them. Despite having no experience as a spy, he is asked by his superiors, because of his academic background as a chemical engineer and being fluent in Romanian and German, to lead a spy mission deep in the Nazi occupied territory. The Nazis have near perfected a formula for a new poisonous gas to use in chemical warfare, Stevenson's mission is to infiltrate the gas plant near Pilsen in the occupied Czechoslovakia where it is being mass produced. He must steal the formula to bring back to Britain, and blow up the plant before the Nazis are able to distribute the gas for their war efforts. He is to assume the identity of chemical engineer Jan Tartu of the Romanian Iron Guard. The real Tartu has been killed but the Nazis are unaware of it. To carry out his mission, Stevenson will require the assistance of the Czech underground and is given the name of a contact through which he is to work. Stevenson needs to improvise, most specifically because his contact is arrested. In this light, he has to learn who he can and cannot trust, especially among those with whom he is assigned to live: Anna and Pavla Palacek, the owner of the house and her daughter who works at the ammunition plant; Otto Vogel, an inspector the Nazis have assigned to be his guide; and Marushka Lanova, a beautiful young woman who has a sense of entitlement and who uses her feminine wiles to get what she wants, most specifically from Nazi officers such as Vogel who is in love with her. Conversely, those secretly working for the Allied cause may have to figure out if "Tartu" is really on their side.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGeorge RaftBrenda MarshallSydney GreenstreetA German spy ring plans to publicize a false rumor that Russia, who is fighting Germany, plans to invade neutral Turkey in order to ally them with the Nazis.
- DirectorNorman FosterOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDolores Del RíoAn American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsWalter HustonAnn HardingOscar HomolkaAmbassador Joseph Davies is sent by FDR to Russia to learn about the Soviet system and returns to America as an advocate of Stalinism.While not a covert spy story, this film depicts foreign intelligence gathering in the diplomatic arena. Interesting story about US perceptions on the Soviet Union per-WWII, as we see the country in 1937-1939 (and beyond) through the eyes of American Ambassador Davies and his wife as they complete their service in Moscow. Relationships formed here between the players from Moscow and Washington would prove to have great impact on the American public as debate on what to do with Hitler rages in America. Davies explains to the American public that in choosing sides in the coming war both nthe USA and the USSR should view Hitler and Japan as coming threats and England and France as too weak to stand alone against them, which demands that the USA support the Soviets "now" against Hitler.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsErrol FlynnJulie BishopHelmut DantineA Canadian Mountie of German descent feigns disaffection with his homeland in hopes of infiltrating and thwarting a Nazi sabotage plot.This is exactly the kind of movie people mean when they say, "they don't make 'em like they used to." Nazi Spies and Canadian Mounties face off in the middle of no where, this one kind of reminded me of The River Wild anyway it is just a real fun movie.
- DirectorFrank McDonaldStarsRichard ArlenWendy BarrieNils AstherGerman spies use a stolen shortwave transmitter prototype to broadcast top secret shipping info to an offshore Japanese sub. To nab the spy ring, the U.S. government has the West Coast's top radio engineers fired and shadowed.The FBI has a radio expert fired in hopes that the Nazi Underground contact him and try to sway him to help them develop a small transmitter. When the plan succeeds the FBI must now content with the spy they've created!
- DirectorGeorge KingStarsJames MasonCarla LehmannRaymond LovellAn American sculptress in wartime Algiers gets mixed up with a British agent and a Nazi spy who knows that a top-secret meeting of Allied military leaders will be taking place in Algeria--and that the British agent has a camera that has photographs of the meeting place.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsWilliam EytheLloyd NolanSigne HassoBill Dietrich becomes a double agent for the F.B.I. in a German spy ring.As a fan of modern spy films, I was inspired to go back and watch many older films to better understand the development of the genre, and I hoped uncover a great film or two, and hence this list... The House on 92nd Street might just be the most influential spy film of all time. The film includes actual FBI photoage that looks almost exactly copied in Enemy of the State, a playboy super spy who I'm sure inspired Bond, the X Ray Mirror, secret watch and other gadgets that Dick Tracy would have used, to not spoil more, I'll simply add a scene copied in Mission Impossible....and on and on. If you are a fan of Bond, Bourne, Hunt or Ryan, this film is a must!
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGary CooperRobert AldaLilli PalmerIn WW2, the Allies race against time to persuade two nuclear scientists working for the Germans to switch sides.
- DirectorFrank LaunderStarsDeborah KerrTrevor HowardRaymond HuntleyA young Irish woman hates England so much she becomes a spy for Germany.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?Ingred Bergman is a natural fit as a seductress spy, who gets in too deep with her control, Cary Garnt and with her target, a Nazi collaborator living in Rio de Jenerio.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.Is a respected husband and professor living in a small Northeastern American town, secretly hiding his past as a Nazi? What lengths will an investigator go to to try to prove the man's guilt?
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJames CagneyAnnabellaRichard ConteWhen spy chief Bob Sharkey finds out one of his agents-in-training is actually a Nazi double agent, his strategic decision not to arrest him results in tragedy.A German spy inflitrates a secret American spy ring. Will he be discovered in time or will he succeed in uncovering when and where the allies will open a second front.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsRichard BasehartGary MerrillOskar WernerAs the US Army approaches Nazi Germany, they recruit German prisoners of war to spy behind German lines.As the allies close in on Germany in WWII. German POWs 'defect' to the otherside hoping a quick end to the war will spare destruction in Germany, but when sent out on a mission to spy on their own troops will they actually become traitors? Based on a true story in 1944.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJames MasonDanielle DarrieuxMichael RennieDuring WWII the valet to the British Ambassador to Ankara sells British secrets to the Germans while trying to romance a refugee Polish countess.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRichard WidmarkJean PetersThelma RitterA pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.American POWs plot rescue and escape for a fleeing Lt., but believe they have a spy in their midst who could expose the plan. Is one of the Americans selling information for favors? Do the Germans have a spy? Who can you trust in this complex thriller.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsCornel WildeMichael WildingGeorge SandersDuring the Revolutionary War, American Major John Boulton feigns desertion in order to uncover a British plot to seize the stronghold of West Point.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsClifton WebbGloria GrahameRobert FlemyngIn order to fool the Germans into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily will take place elsewhere, British Military Intelligence comes up with a cunning ruse.True story of a British plot trick the Germans into believing that the planned Sicilian invasion is actually going to be an invasion into Greece, so the enemy will move his forces to the wrong location, leaving the door to Italy wide open. Great detail into how a spy plot is developed, planned and executed. Fantastic acting and script create a every enjoyable, unique film.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartDoris DayBrenda de BanzieAn American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsYves MontandIngrid ThulinGeneviève BujoldA middle-aged political activist tries to dissuade his young followers from taking radical action.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsHardy KrügerColin GordonMichael GoodliffeA cocky German fighter pilot is shot down over England in 1940 and makes numerous attempts to escape to fight again.True story of a Greman pilot who makes James Bond look amatue, in his attept to escape from the British back to the war. Great film and story I hate to ruin here...just see it!
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsJack HawkinsGia ScalaErik SchumannA long-entrenched British agent planted in the German Army is urged to continue his work during the Second World War, but struggles to keep secret his true identity from the Third Reich.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsAlec GuinnessMaureen O'HaraBurl IvesJim Wormold, who is a vacuum cleaner salesman, participates as an Agent in the British Secret Service. But he soon realizes that his plans by lying are going to get him into trouble.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsHoward KeelTina LouiseWarner AndersonAn American army unit is trapped in a small town during a German counterattack and discovers that a spy in the town is providing the Germans with information about them.
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryUrsula AndressBernard LeeA resourceful British government agent seeks answers in a case involving the disappearance of a colleague and the disruption of the American space program.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantAudrey HepburnWalter MatthauRomance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust?
- DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryRobert ShawLotte LenyaJames Bond willingly falls into an assassination plot involving a naive Russian beauty in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryGert FröbeHonor BlackmanWhile investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsJames GarnerEva Marie SaintRod TaylorGermans kidnap an American Major and try to convince him that World War II is over so they can get details about the Allied invasion of Europe out of him.A spy is kidnapped, drugged and convinced that it is actually 6 years into the future...and that WWII is over, making his information on the Normandy invasion no longer secret...
Fans of "The Truman Show" will love this well written and creative spy film! - DirectorTerence YoungStarsSean ConneryClaudine AugerAdolfo CeliJames Bond heads to the Bahamas to recover two nuclear warheads stolen by S.P.E.C.T.R.E. Agent Emilio Largo in an international extortion scheme.
- DirectorSidney J. FurieStarsMichael CaineNigel GreenGuy DolemanIn London, a wisecracking spy investigates the kidnapping and brainwashing of British scientists while dealing with the constraints of his agency's bureaucracy.Mind Control, torture, betrayal...that's a lot for a hero to contend with! Solid film, and something different.
- DirectorBernhard WickiStarsMarlon BrandoYul BrynnerJanet MargolinA war pacifist is blackmailed to pose as an SS officer and to disable the scuttling explosives on a freighter carrying rubber cargo to be captured by the Allies.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsRichard BurtonOskar WernerClaire BloomInstead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.Solid story supports a movie where you must watch all the way to the end to finally understand who is who. The film appears to get a little boring near the middle, but stick with it, everything makes sence is the end!
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsSophia LorenGeorge PeppardTrevor HowardAllied agents attempt to infiltrate a German rocket research site.The true story of how British spies uncovered a Nazi rocket program before the world even knew what a rocket was...
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsMichael CaineOscar HomolkaPaul HubschmidSent to East Berlin to retrieve a Communist defector, British spy Harry Palmer suspects the situation is not what his superiors believe it to be.Middle film in the trilogy about the British spy known as the "anti-007" The series includes The Ipcress File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsGeorge SegalAlec GuinnessMax von SydowIn the West Berlin of the 1960s, two British agents are killed by a Nazi group, prompting British Intelligence to dispatch agent Quiller to investigate.
- DirectorKen RussellStarsMichael CaineKarl MaldenEd BegleyBritish spy-turned-detective Harry Palmer stumbles upon an oil tycoon's plot to overthrow Communism using a supercomputer.
- DirectorRobert D. WebbStarsJames BrolinJacqueline BissetClaire TrevorSouth African secret agents attempt to save confidential microfilm before it falls into the hands of Communists.
- DirectorVal GuestKen HughesJohn HustonStarsDavid NivenPeter SellersUrsula AndressIn an early spy spoof, aging Sir James Bond comes out of retirement to take on SMERSH.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsRock HudsonGeorge PeppardNigel GreenA Canadian POW major is rescued by a special British military unit made up of Germans to help lead an attack on a major German fuel depot in Tobruk, Libya.This film presents a very different angle on the Battle of Tobruk than the earlier film, The Desert Rats. I would watch this film first since historically it occured first. This film focuses on the daring raid of a British Commando Team aided by German-Jewish volunteer soldiers and an Canadian Major against on a Nazi fuel dump outside Tobruk Along the trek accross the desert they encounter many enemy forces of both Greman and Italian designation and other obsticles, including uncovering a spy in their midst, which all serve as a background to the men's discussions of the British Occupation of Palestine and the desire of the Jewish soldiers for a homeland there creating conflict between the leaders of each group. Good action and better acting, move this solid film along.
- DirectorAnthony MannLaurence HarveyStarsLaurence HarveyTom CourtenayMia FarrowThe British and Soviet Intelligence services attempt to out-fox one another using the homesick double-agent Krasnevin a.k.a. Alexander Eberlin as a pawn in a complex spy-game which takes place in Berlin.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsDavid McCallumStella StevensTelly SavalasGovernment agent Sol Madrid travels to Mexico with hooker Stacey to bring mobster Villanova and drug kingpin Dietrich to justice.
- DirectorBrian G. HuttonStarsRichard BurtonClint EastwoodMary UreAllied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseJean-Pierre CasselAn account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsBibi AnderssonRichard BooneNigel GreenDuring the Cold War a Naval Intelligence officer endowed with a powerful photographic memory is transferred to the CIA to participate in a covert operation in Moscow.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsGene HackmanRoy ScheiderFernando ReyA pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsRoger MooreYaphet KottoJane SeymourJames Bond is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organisation and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsEdward FoxTerence AlexanderMichel AuclairIn the aftermath of France allowing Algeria's independence, a group of resentful military veterans hire a professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" to kill President Charles de Gaulle.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsGene HackmanJohn CazaleAllen GarfieldA paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsJon VoightMaximilian SchellMaria SchellFollowing the suicide of an elderly Jewish man, a journalist in possession of the man's diary investigates the alleged sighting of a former S.S. Captain, who commanded a concentration camp during World War II.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsTimothy BottomsMartin ShawJoss AcklandIn 1942, Britain sends a group of British-trained Czech commandos to Prague to assassinate SS-General Reinhard Heydrich, head of the Nazi security services.Cross between a War film and a Spy film involving a Czech Resistance Fighter Groups assissanation of a top Nazi in 1942 and the violent aftermath and retailation that ensued. Based on a true story of courage and defiance.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsMichael CaineDonald SutherlandRobert DuvallA German plot to kidnap Sir Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsPeter FinchCharles BronsonYaphet KottoTrue story of a daring Israeli commando assault on the Entebbe Airport in Uganda to free hostages of a terrorist hijacking.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsYehoram GaonGila AlmagorAssi DayanIn July 1976, an Air France flight from Tel-Aviv to Paris via Athens was hijacked and forced to land in Entebbe, Uganda. The Jewish passengers were separated and held hostage in demand to release many terrorists held in Israeli prisons. After much debate, the Israeli government sent an elite commando unit to raid the airfield and release the hostages. This movie is based on the true facts and follows the events since the flight's take-off and until the hostages' return to Israel.Israeli film about the famous Raid on Entebbe with real historical film interwoven with a well executed reenactment of what would become known in Hebrew as Mivtsa Yonatan, or Jonathon's Mission, named for it's heroic commander Jonathon (Yonatan "Yoni") Netanyanhu, brother of current Israeli PM Bibi Netanyanhu.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsSophia LorenJohn CassavetesMax von SydowIn 1945, General Patton sends Germany's confiscated gold reserves to Frankfurt, but the Army train is robbed by plotters who also hire a Swiss hitman to kill the General.Was General Patton killed in a car crash in which the other 3 passangers all walked away without a scratch? Or was it a cover up for his assianation? Did American G.I.s, following the surrender of Germany in WWII, kill their own men in a train robbery? This film explores the possibility that Patton was killed because of his choice to personally investigate the crime involving a huge amount of Nazi gold. Is it possible that the Itallian Mob is involved? Complicated and compelling story that seems to raise more questions than answers.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsRichard BurtonRoger MooreRichard HarrisA British banker hires a group of British mercenaries to rescue a deposed African President from the hands of a corrupt African dictator.British Mercinaries are hired to rescue an imprisoned African leader thought dead, by a wealthy English businessman with mining interests in the African country. However, when the backer realizes he has more to gain from the mision failing than succeeding, things get rough for the squad on the ground. A fictional sort of rough cross between The Raid on Entebee, The Sea Wolves and the much later, Tears of the Sun. A decent film if you enjoy this type of movie, has some good battles and decent performances, but is still only a fair watch.
- DirectorJohn IrvinStarsAlec GuinnessMichael JaystonAnthony BateSmiley goes to meet Jim Prideaux who is now back in Britain having survived his experience in Czechoslovakia. His testimony and that of others sheds new light on the "Testify" fiasco and source "Merlin".Recently remade, prequel to Smiley's People.
- DirectorAndrew V. McLaglenStarsGregory PeckRoger MooreDavid NivenDuring World War II, British Intelligence brings a crew of ex-soldiers out of retirement, using their age as cover, to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission in neutral Goa.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsDonald SutherlandKate NelliganStephen MacKennaA ruthless German spy, trying to get out of Britain with vital information about D-Day, must spend time with a young woman and her crippled husband.
- DirectorCharles JarrottStarsJohn SavageChristopher PlummerMarthe KellerA CIA operative takes justice in his own hands, as his girlfriend is brutally murdered by terrorists. He carefully designs a plan to hunt down the terrorists, after the crime, and executes them one by one.
- StarsAlec GuinnessEileen AtkinsBill PatersonThe murder of a Soviet defector forces his old handler, British spymaster George Smiley, out of retirement. His investigation leads to an old nemesis, the Soviet spymaster known only as "Karla". This will be their final dance.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsMel GibsonSigourney WeaverLinda HuntA young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsWilliam HurtLee MarvinBrian DennehyA Moscow police officer investigates a vicious triple homicide and stumbles upon a high-level international political conspiracy.A police officer from Moscow is assinged a triple murder case that reeks of KGB involvement and is reluctant to pursue the facts of the case for fear of backlash. However, when new evidence presents itself the officer begins a manhunt for a shady wealthy American businessman.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsRutger HauerJohn HurtCraig T. NelsonDuring the Cold War, a controversial television journalist is asked by the C.I.A. to persuade certain acquaintances, who are Soviet Agents of the Omega network, to defect.Critics may point out that this is not really a spy movie, and I suppose I'd have to agree (even though it does involve the CIA), but its a really cool movie that fans of spy films,such as Mission Impossible, will really love! Super plot will keep you guessing until the end, and then you'll need to watch the whole thing all over again....
- DirectorDusan KovacevicBozidar 'Bota' NikolicStarsDanilo 'Bata' StojkovicBora TodorovicMira BanjacConvinced that his subtenant is a spy and an enemy of the state, a man falls into deep paranoia which leads to absurd and destructive chain of events.
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsHenry ThomasDabney ColemanMichael MurphyA young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.Best spy film for kids. A good intro to spy films for 10-12 year olds.
- DirectorRoger YoungStarsTom SelleckJane SeymourLauren HuttonA handsome jewel thief is arrested and in order to avoid prison, must break into the heavily guarded German Embassy to steal millions in gems.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsDiane KeatonYorgo VoyagisKlaus KinskiAn American actress with a penchant for lying is forcibly recruited by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, to trap a Palestinian bomber, by pretending to be the girlfriend of his dead brother.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsTimothy HuttonSean PennPat HingleThe true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
- DirectorJohn LandisStarsChevy ChaseDan AykroydMark StewartTwo bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for Nuclear War.A comedy first and foremost for certain, but like John Stewart's Daily Show, real insite on real life can be found between the lines. Sometimes only a comedian is able to actually discuss serious events...and this film does a great job of describing the obsurdity of the Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) policy at the end of the Cold War.
- DirectorJonathan SangerStarsEd HarrisMax von SydowHorst BuchholzEmerald is an agent the Germans "have" inside allied intelligence 1944/WWII. With "help" from Emerald, the Germans catch Wheeler, believed to know the when and where of D-Day. Emerald is sent to be Wheeler's cell mate. Let the game begin.
- DirectorJim GoddardStarsJohn SheaEli WallachSasson GabayYoung Israeli husband Eli Cohen is recruited by the Mossad in the early 1960's and sent to Syria. Telling his wife he has a new job that requires extensive business travel, he takes up residence in Syria, where he befriends a high-ranking Syrian government official and provides invaluable information to Israel. On a visit home, his wife pleads with him to leave his job so he can be home more, and his handler tells him he has accomplished enough, but he decides to return to Syria one last time. One day he learns of an attack on a kibbutz scheduled for that night; he abandons normal precautions in order to warn Israel as quickly as possible, and is caught.
- DirectorJack GoldStarsAlan ArkinJoanna PaculaRutger HauerGerman death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.Perhaps not a "spy" movie in the classical sence, but a secret escape against all odds it is, and being based on actual events, the film deserves inclusion in the broader category of "secret missions."
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerGene HackmanSean YoungA coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
- DirectorMenahem GolanStarsEllen BurstynMaruschka DetmersAnthony AndrewsDuring WW2 Hanna Szenes, a Hungarian Jew living in British Palestine, volunteers to go behind enemy lines to rescue Jews from deportation to death camps.
- DirectorJames DeardenStarsBen KingsleyCharles DanceKevork MalikyanA secret agent in Turkey is persuaded by his superiors to assist a couple of English cons in the theft of a priceless Greek statue.