5 Fingers (1952)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

L.C. Moyzisch (book)
Michael Wilson (screenplay)

Release Date:

22 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

5 FINGERS...BEHIND THEM THE FABULOUS TRUE EXPLOITS OF THE HIGHEST PAID SPY IN HISTORY! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Based on a true story. In neutral Turkey during WWII, the ambitious and extremely efficient valet for...

Plot Keywords:

Countess | Nazi | WWII | Valet | Ambassador

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

James Mason	...	Ulysses Diello
Danielle Darrieux	...	Countess Anna Staviska
Michael Rennie	...	Colin Travers
Walter Hampden	...	Sir Frederic Taylor
Oskar Karlweis	...	L. C. Moyzisch
Herbert Berghof	...	Col. von Richter
John Wengraf	...	Count Franz Von Papen
Ben Astar	...	Siebert (as A. Ben Astar)
Roger Plowden	...	Keith Macfadden

Also Known As:

Five Fingers

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Portuguese | Turkish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 (new visa: 1966) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Ankara, Turkey

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Henry Hathaway was first considered to direct. Micheline Presle and Alida Valli were approached for the role of Countess Staviska.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the Britsh ambassador's valet Diello (Brit James Mason) suggests that his new German spymaster change the combination on the latter's safe, he gives the existing combination 1-30-33 as based on the date of Hitler's rise to power, suggesting instead 6-18-15, the date of the Battle of Waterloo. One would expect an employee of the Britsh Embassy (particularly one born in the UK) to have used "European" notation (date/month/year) instead of US notation (month/day/year), particularly when speaking with a German.

Quotes:

Count Franz Von Papen: I've often wondered, Countess - why did you leave Warsaw?
Countess Anna Staviska: Bombs were falling. I felt I was in the way.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Vanités (2004) (V)

Excellent, well worth watching.

Thanks to the comments here, I watched 5 Fingers and was patient until James Mason appeared. The "accents" of some of the other actors were a bit much for me at first. My patience was rewarded with an excellent film and story. James Mason was wonderful. Highly recommended, especially if you can ignore some of the more dated touches.