Secret Agent (1936)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Campbell Dixon (from the play by)
W. Somerset Maugham (based on the novel "Ashenden" by)
(more)

Release Date:

15 June 1936 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Mystery - Intrigue - Romance, burn a flaming trail among the gay capitals of Europe

Plot:

After 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.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Switzerland | Murder | Assassin | Conveyor Belt

Awards:

1 win

Cast

John Gielgud	...	Richard Ashenden / Brodie
Peter Lorre	...	The General
Madeleine Carroll	...	Elsa Carrington
Robert Young	...	Robert Marvin
Percy Marmont	...	Caypor
Florence Kahn	...	Mrs. Caypor
Charles Carson	...	'R'
Lilli Palmer	...	Lilli
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Denys Blakelock	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Tom Helmore	...	Col. Anderson (uncredited)
Andreas Malandrinos	...	Manager (uncredited)
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	Karl - Lilli's Fiancé (uncredited)
René Ray	...	Maid (uncredited)
Michel Saint-Denis	...	Coachman (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Campbell Dixon		(from the play by)
W. Somerset Maugham		(based on the novel "Ashenden" by)
Charles Bennett		(screenplay)
Ian Hay		(dialogue)
Alma Reville		(continuity)
Jesse Lasky Jr.		(additional dialogue)

Produced by
Michael Balcon	....	producer (uncredited)
Ivor Montagu	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Hubert Bath		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Bernard Knowles		(photography)

Film Editing by
Charles Frend

Art Direction by
Oscar Friedrich Werndorff		(as O. Werndorff)

Costume Design by
Joe Strassner		(dresses) (as J. Strassner)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Pen Tennyson	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Albert Jullion	....	assistant art director (uncredited)
Albert Jullion	....	set dresser (uncredited)

Sound Department
Phillip Dorté	....	recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Stephen Dade	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Reg Johnson	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Gerry Massy-Collier	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director

Other crew
Alma Reville	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Gaumont British Picture Corporation (presents) (as Gaumont British Picture Corpn. Ltd.)

Distributors

• Gaumont British Distributors (1936) (UK) (theatrical)
• Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1936) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hal Roach Studios (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Rykodisc (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Platinum Disc (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Rhino Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• TGG Direct (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• York Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Vintage Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Sunset Home Visual Entertainment (SHE) (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Film Express (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Suomi-Filmi (1936) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Castle Communications (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (8-disc Hitchcock Classic Collection)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1980) (Finland) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1989) (2008) (2010) (Finland) (TV)
• Kit Parker Films (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sociedade Universal de Superfilmes (SUS) (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Alpha Video Distributors (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Century Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Cine Art Pictures (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Emerald (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Janus Films (????) (USA) (all media)
• LS Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• New Century Telecommunications (????) (USA) (TV)
• Prime Time Entertainment (????) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Stokey Video (????) (USA) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Shepherd's Bush Studios  recorded at (as Shepherd's Bush London)

Also Known As:

"Laugh Track: Secret Agent" - USA (video title (redubbed comic version))

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Full Range Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1936) (original rating) | Finland:K-12 (1995) | Finland:K-16 (1936) (re-rating) | Australia:G (TV rating) | Argentina:Atp (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 (original rating) | Australia:PG | Germany:12 | UK:U | Norway:16 (1937)

Filming Locations:

Frutigen, Kanton Bern, Switzerland

Company:

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Trivia:

Alfred Hitchcock reflected (regarding John Gielgud's lack of heroics): "You can't root for a hero who doesn't want to be one."

Goofs:

Continuity: Dates given in the story are out of sequence. After starting "May 10, 1916" (title), a telegram received later appears to be dated "3/4/16". A newspaper near the end of the film is dated "Tuesday, September 21, 1916," when that date actually occurred on a Thursday. Afterwards a postcard bears the date of "April 2."

Quotes:

The General:[introducing himself] General Pompellio Montezuma De La Vilia De Conde De La Rue
Robert Marvin:Ah, do you mind if I call you Charlie?
The General:Yes, I mind!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Breach (2007)

Good, but not classic, Hitchcock

When the topic of spy movies comes up, James Bond is usually one of the first names to arise. But even spy movies had a beginning, and sure enough, in the first couple decades of cinema, who was there making spy movies? Alfred Hitchcock.

Like the other spy movies he did, (Take Torn Curtain and Topaz for instance, two of his later works. How much later? Nearly 40 years later), Secret Agent is a spy movie without lots of explosions or car chases or shootouts. Instead it is about a man who goes undercover to break up a potentially disastrous international agenda of some kind, and along the way falls in love with his partner and realizes that he's not up to the task of murdering someone.

This 1936 movie is another in Hitchcock's decade-long run of British talkies: highly-contrasted black and white, under 90 minutes generally, and devoid of major stars (except for Peter Lorre, who appears in this movie two years after he did The Man Who Knew Too Much).

But unlike many of the movies surrounding it (Young and Innocent, The 39 Steps), this one isn't quite as good. Not that Secret Agent is a bad movie, far from it:

The directing is fine, and the church-murder scene is a beautiful mix of sound and picture. Lorre is much like the male version of Bette Davis - overacting and proud of it. His role as the womanizing yet clever "General" is much lighter than his usual horror-laced stuff, and he still pulls it off with ease. The leads are equally good. And the humor laced throughout is genuinely funny. (Note that, even in 1936, it is obvious that Hitchcock was already looking for the actress that would be fulfilled in Grace Kelly - the strong, feisty, beautiful blonde leading lady.)

But there's nothing here to just make the jaw drop and the eyes widen. It is a good movie, and from a director that has had whole decades worth of *great* movies, it just seems subpar. A previous commentor was right: This was the movie for Hitchcock to remake in the 1950s (with color and Cary Grant and Grace Kelly - heck, maybe even a minor role for Jimmy Stewart), not The Man Who Knew Too Much, which was one of his best British films.

Overall, it is good and worth the watch - especially for Hitchcock fans, but it's just not quite *there*.

7/10