The Thief (1952)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Russell Rouse

Writers:

Clarence Greene (writer)
Russell Rouse (writer)

Release Date:

15 October 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Drama

Tagline:

Never has the screen told a story like this!

Plot:

Interesting, but sometimes slow film about a nuclear physicist working in Washington DC who also spies for some unnamed foreign country...

Plot Keywords:

Washington D.C. | Spy | No Dialogue | Staircase | Dream Sequence

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Allan Fields
Martin Gabel	...	Mr. Bleek
Harry Bronson	...	Harris
Rita Vale	...	Miss Philips
Rex O'Malley	...	Beal
Rita Gam	...	The Girl
John McKutcheon	...	Dr. Linstrum
Joe Conlin	...	Walters

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Empire State Building - 350 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Fran Productions

Trivia:

The Thief is one of the few films with synchronized sound to be made completely without spoken dialog.

Astounding piece of pure cinema

Why haven't I heard of this movie before? Not a single word spoken, yet every detail of the mental torture that Ray Milland endures as a seemingly unwilling Soviet spy is conveyed by his features and demeanor. Film review books call it tame, pretentious, uninspired. I suspect those reviewers (this means you, Lenny Maltin) have never actually watched "The Thief."