Maven's Best 100+ Spy Stories
Tales of the hidden "Cloak and Dagger" world that determines the fate of nations and the course of history. Iconic names like James Bond, Jason Bourne, Jack Ryan, Secret Agents and Assassins in Movies & TV about espionage with 6.4+ rating and 150+ votes. See also:
Maven's 100+ Best Westerns Maven's Chivalry, Sword & Sorcery Maven's Politics: American Style Maven's Inspirational Lawyering Maven's Secret Science Maven's Sales UnLimited! Maven's Top Rated Favorites Maven's B-Movie Favorites
Maven's 100+ Best Westerns Maven's Chivalry, Sword & Sorcery Maven's Politics: American Style Maven's Inspirational Lawyering Maven's Secret Science Maven's Sales UnLimited! Maven's Top Rated Favorites Maven's B-Movie Favorites
List activity
354 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
187 titles
- DirectorPaul FeigStarsMelissa McCarthyRose ByrneJude LawA desk-bound CIA analyst volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a deadly arms dealer and prevent diabolical global disaster.
- DirectorRenny HarlinStarsGeena DavisSamuel L. JacksonYvonne ZimaSamantha Caine lives in a small town with her daughter. Eight years ago she emerged, two months pregnant, from a nearby river with no memory of her past or who she is. However, she's getting closer to finding out about her past.
- CreatorSimeon GouldenStarsTom Goodman-HillDarren BoydJude WrightTim is in a custody battle with his ex-wife, when he quits his job. He applies for a job as a civil servant doing data entry, but discovers during the job interview that he has been offered a job as a trainee spy for MI5.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsRobert RedfordBrad PittCatherine McCormackRetiring CIA agent Nathan Muir recalls his training of Tom Bishop while working against agency politics to free him from his Chinese captors.
- DirectorTomas AlfredsonStarsGary OldmanColin FirthTom HardyIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet Agent within MI6.
- StarsRobert CulpBill CosbyKenneth TobeyA pair of intelligence agents posing as a tennis pro and his coach go on secret missions around the world.
- DirectorMatthew VaughnStarsColin FirthTaron EgertonSamuel L. JacksonA spy organisation recruits a promising street kid into the agency's training program, while a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsBrad PittAngelina JolieAdam BrodyA bored married couple is surprised to learn that they are both assassins hired by competing agencies to kill each other.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsAngelina JolieLiev SchreiberChiwetel EjioforA CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.
- CreatorSydney NewmanStarsPatrick MacneeDiana RiggHonor BlackmanA quirky spy show of the adventures of eccentrically suave British Agent John Steed and his predominantly female partners.
- StarsPatrick MacneeGareth HuntJoanna LumleySecret agent Steed, working for an unnamed branch of British intelligence, is teamed up with two partners to fight evil plots for world domination, dealing with suspended animation, biological warfare, robotics, and other threats.
- 19831h 36mTV-PG6.4 (744)TV MovieDirectorRay AustinStarsRobert VaughnDavid McCallumPatrick MacneeWhen THRUSH steals a nuclear weapon and demands a ransom delivered by Napoleon Solo, UNCLE recalls him and his partner to duty.
- StarsRoger MooreIvor DeanLeslie CrawfordSimon "The Saint" Templar, a wealthy adventurer and 20th-century Robin Hood, travels the world in his white Volvo P1800S, solving unsolvable problems and righting wrongs.
- CreatorSam RolfeStarsRobert VaughnDavid McCallumLeo G. CarrollThe two top Agents of the United Network Command for Law and Enforcement (U.N.C.L.E.) fight the enemies of peace, particularly the forces of T.H.R.U.S.H.
- StarsPatrick McGoohanRichard WattisLionel MurtonJohn Drake is a special operative for NATO, specializing in security assignments against any subversive element which threatened world peace.
- StarsPatrick McGoohanPeter MaddenFrank MaherJohn Drake is a special operative for M9, specializing in security assignments against any subversive element that threatens world peace.
- CreatorPatrick McGoohanStarsPatrick McGoohanAngelo MuscatPeter SwanwickAfter he resigns, a secret agent is abducted and taken to what looks like an idyllic village, but is actually a bizarre prison. He refuses to give his warders information while attempting to escape.
- CreatorBruce GellerStarsPeter GravesBarbara BainGreg MorrisAn elite covert operations unit carries out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure, death or capture.
- CreatorMonty BermanDennis SpoonerStarsPeter WyngardeJoel FabianiRosemary NicolsAn elite department within Interpol, Department S inherits those cases which the other member groups have failed to solve.
- CreatorJames MitchellStarsEdward WoodwardRussell HunterLisa LangdonDavid Callan is the top agent/assassin for the Security Service (British counterintelligence), but he is an embittered man who performs his duties "for Queen and country" under duress. This bleak, "Spy who Came in from the Cold"-style espionage drama concentrates on the seamy underside of covert operations: assassinations, blackmail and dirty dealing.
- CreatorMonty BermanDennis SpoonerStarsStuart DamonAlexandra BastedoWilliam GauntAfter a plane carrying three UN Agents crashes in the Himalayas, they are rescued by an advanced civilisation secretly living in Tibet who grant them enhanced versions of the ordinary five senses, and intellectual and physical abilities.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsTom CruiseJon VoightEmmanuelle BéartAn American agent, under false suspicion of disloyalty, must discover and expose the real spy without the help of his organization.
- CreatorBruce GellerStarsPeter GravesThaao PenghlisAntony HamiltonAn elite covert operations unit carries out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure, death or capture.
- DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsTom CruiseRebecca FergusonJeremy RennerEthan and his team take on their most impossible mission yet when they have to eradicate an international rogue organization as highly skilled as they are and committed to destroying the IMF.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsTom CruiseMichelle MonaghanVing RhamesIMF agent Ethan Hunt comes into conflict with a dangerous and sadistic arms dealer who threatens his life and his fiancée in response.
- DirectorBrad BirdStarsTom CruiseJeremy RennerSimon PeggThe IMF is shut down when it's implicated in the bombing of the Kremlin, causing Ethan Hunt and his new team to go rogue to clear their organization's name.
- DirectorTimur BekmambetovStarsAngelina JolieJames McAvoyMorgan FreemanA frustrated office worker discovers that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGeorge KennedyVonetta McGeeClassical art professor and collector Dr. Jonathan Hemlock, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend.
- 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.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsFrançois DamiensJean DujardinKhalid MaadourSecret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.
- CreatorMaurissa TancharoenJed WhedonJoss WhedonStarsClark GreggMing-Na WenBrett DaltonThe missions of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.
- CreatorChristopher MarkusStephen McFeelyStarsHayley AtwellJames D'ArcyEnver GjokajIn 1946, Peggy Carter is relegated to secretarial duties in the Strategic Scientific Reserve (SSR). When Howard Stark is accused of treason, he secretly recruits Peggy to clear his name with the help of his butler, Edwin Jarvis.
- DirectorPeter SegalStarsSteve CarellAnne HathawayAlan ArkinMaxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, is tasked with preventing a terrorist attack from rival spy agency KAOS.
- CreatorMel BrooksBuck HenryStarsDon AdamsBarbara FeldonEdward PlattMaxwell Smart, a highly intellectual but bumbling spy working for the CONTROL agency, battles the evil forces of rival spy agency KAOS with the help of his competent partner Agent 99.
- CreatorMichael J. Di GaetanoLawrence GayStarsDon AdamsAndy DickElaine HendrixMaxwell Smart, now Chief of Control, has to deal with his own bumbling secret agent, his son Zach.
- DirectorSam MendesStarsDaniel CraigJavier BardemNaomie HarrisJames Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsDaniel CraigEva GreenJudi DenchAfter earning 00 status and a licence to kill, secret agent James Bond sets out on his first mission as 007. Bond must defeat a private banker funding terrorists in a high-stakes game of poker at Casino Royale, Montenegro.
- DirectorMarc ForsterStarsDaniel CraigOlga KurylenkoMathieu AmalricJames Bond descends into mystery as he tries to stop a mysterious organisation from eliminating a country's most valuable resource.
- DirectorMartin CampbellStarsPierce BrosnanSean BeanIzabella ScorupcoYears after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space based weapons program known as "GoldenEye" is stolen. James Bond is assigned to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryGert FröbeHonor BlackmanWhile investigating a gold magnate's smuggling, James Bond uncovers a plot to contaminate the Fort Knox gold reserve.
- DirectorRoger SpottiswoodeStarsPierce BrosnanJonathan PryceMichelle YeohJames Bond sets out to stop a media mogul's plan to induce war between China and the UK in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsPierce BrosnanSophie MarceauRobert CarlyleJames Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist who can't feel pain.
- 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.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsRoger MooreBarbara BachCurd JürgensJames Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. agent whose lover he killed.
- 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.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsSean ConneryJill St. JohnCharles GrayA diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas where he uncovers an evil plot involving a rich business tycoon.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreCarole BouquetTopolSecret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonMaryam d'AboJeroen KrabbéJames Bond is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies, and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsSean ConneryAkiko WakabayashiMie HamaJames Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsTimothy DaltonRobert DaviCarey LowellA vengeful James Bond goes rogue to infiltrate and take down the organization of a drug lord who has murdered his friend's new wife and left him near death.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreMaud AdamsLouis JourdanA fake Fabergé egg recovered from the body of a fellow agent leads James Bond to uncover a jewel smuggling operation led by the mysterious Octopussy, and a plot to blow up a NATO air base.
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsGeorge LazenbyDiana RiggTelly SavalasBritish agent James Bond goes undercover to pursue the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is planning to hold the world to ransom.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsRoger MooreChristopher LeeBritt EklandJames Bond is targeted by the world's most expensive assassin, while he attempts to recover sensitive solar cell technology that is being sold to the highest bidder.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonEdgar RamírezJoan AllenJason Bourne dodges a ruthless C.I.A. official and his Agents from a new assassination program while searching for the origins of his life as a trained killer.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsFranka PotenteMatt DamonChris CooperA man is picked up by a fishing boat, bullet-riddled and suffering from amnesia, before racing to elude assassins and attempting to regain his memory.
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsMatt DamonFranka PotenteJoan AllenWhen Jason Bourne is framed for a CIA operation gone awry, he is forced to resume his former life as a trained assassin to survive.
- DirectorTony GilroyStarsJeremy RennerRachel WeiszEdward NortonAn expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsJames CoburnLee J. CobbGila GolanWhen scientists use eco-terrorism to impose their will on the world by affecting extremes in the weather, Intelligence Chief Cramden calls in top agent Derek Flint.
- DirectorPhil Alden RobinsonStarsBen AffleckMorgan FreemanIan MongrainCIA analyst Jack Ryan must stop the plans of a Neo-Nazi faction that threatens to induce a catastrophic conflict between the United States and Russia's President by detonating a nuclear weapon at a football game in Baltimore, Maryland.
- 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.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHarrison FordWillem DafoeAnne ArcherCIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerJamie Lee CurtisTom ArnoldA fearless, globe-trotting, terrorist-battling secret agent has his life turned upside down when he discovers his wife might be having an affair with a used-car salesman while terrorists smuggle nuclear war heads into the United States.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert De NiroStarsMatt DamonAngelina JolieRobert De NiroThe tumultuous early history of the Central Intelligence Agency is viewed through the prism of one man's life.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsRichard BurtonOskar WernerClaire BloomInstead of coming in from the Cold War, British agent Alec Leamas chooses to face another mission.
- 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.
- DirectorPhillip NoyceStarsHarrison FordSean BeanAnne ArcherWhen CIA analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets him and his family for revenge.
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsAl PacinoColin FarrellBridget MoynahanA brilliant young CIA trainee is asked by his mentor to help find a mole in the Agency.
- 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?
- DirectorJim AbrahamsDavid ZuckerJerry ZuckerStarsVal KilmerOmar SharifJeremy KempAn American rock and roll singer is invited to a cultural festival in East Germany in order to distract from a plot to destroy NATO submarines, but he accidentally becomes involved in a resistance plot to rescue an imprisoned scientist.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRobert De NiroJean RenoNatascha McElhoneA freelancing former U.S. Intelligence Agent tries to track down a mysterious package that is wanted by the Irish and the Russians.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsLeonardo DiCaprioRussell CroweMark StrongA CIA agent on the ground in Jordan hunts down a powerful terrorist leader while being caught between the unclear intentions of his American supervisors and Jordan Intelligence.
- DirectorRobert SchwentkeStarsBruce WillisHelen MirrenMorgan FreemanWhen his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last-ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsSam RockwellDrew BarrymoreGeorge ClooneyAn adaptation of the cult memoir of game show impresario Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell), in which he purports to have been a C.I.A. hitman.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsTom HanksJulia RobertsPhilip Seymour HoffmanA drama based on a Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsJames MasonMaximilian SchellSimone SignoretA British agent sets out to uncover the hidden facts behind a British government employee's suicide.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsSophia LorenGeorge PeppardTrevor HowardAllied agents attempt to infiltrate a German rocket research site.
- 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.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsFrank SinatraLaurence HarveyJanet LeighAn American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.
- 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.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsSean ConneryAlec BaldwinScott GlennIn November 1984, the Soviet Union's best submarine captain violates orders and heads for the U.S. in a new undetectable sub. The American CIA and military must quickly determine: Is he trying to defect or to start a war?
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanLaurence OlivierRoy ScheiderAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
- CreatorAdam ReedStarsH. Jon BenjaminJudy GreerAmber NashCovert black ops and espionage take a back seat to zany personalities and relationships between secret agents and drones.
- CreatorMatt NixStarsJeffrey DonovanGabrielle AnwarBruce CampbellA spy recently disavowed by the U.S. government uses his special ops training to help others in trouble.
- CreatorDavid WolstencroftStarsPeter FirthHugh SimonNicola WalkerThe missions of MI-5, the UK's domestic intelligence organization.
- CreatorChris FedakJosh SchwartzStarsZachary LeviYvonne StrahovskiJoshua GomezWhen a computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, both the CIA and the NSA assign an agent to protect him and exploit his newfound skills.
- StarsAlec GuinnessMichael JaystonAnthony BateIn the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced out of semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet agent within MI6's echelons.
- CreatorMatt CormanChris OrdStarsPiper PeraboChristopher GorhamKari MatchettFresh out of the farm, Annie Walker must adapt to the challenging life of a CIA operative under the guidance of her handler, Auggie. But soon she realizes her recruitment might have to do with her last boyfriend rather than her talent.
- CreatorJ.J. AbramsStarsJennifer GarnerRon RifkinCarl LumblySydney Bristow is an international spy recruited out of college, trained for espionage and self-defense.
- CreatorCraig SilversteinStarsMaggie QShane WestLyndsy FonsecaA rogue assassin returns to take down the secret organization that trained her.
- CreatorIan MacKintoshStarsRoy MarsdenRay LonnenJerome WillisThe missions of an elite British Intelligence covert operations unit.
- CreatorJoel SurnowStarsPeta WilsonDon FrancksEugene Robert GlazerA clandestine anti-terrorist organization fakes the death of a convicted murderer and trains her in the fighting skills necessary to succeed in her new job.