Spies (1928)

The 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.

Director:

Fritz Lang

Writers:

Thea von Harbou (novel), Fritz Lang

Stars:

Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Gerda Maurus, Willy Fritsch

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rudolf Klein-Rogge	...	Haghi
Gerda Maurus	...	Sonya Baranilkowa
Lien Deyers	...	Kitty
Louis Ralph	...	Hans Morrier - Hans Morriera, English version
Craighall Sherry	...	Burton Jason / Miles Jason
Willy Fritsch	...	No. 326 - Det. Donald Tremaine, English version
Paul Hörbiger	...	Franz - Chauffeur
Hertha von Walther	...	Lady Leslane
Lupu Pick	...	Dr. Masimoto - Matsumoto, English version
Fritz Rasp	...	Col. Jellusic - Ivan Stepanov, English version

Storyline

Haghi is a criminal mastermind whose ubiquitous spy operation is always several steps ahead of the police and the government's secret service. Enter Agent 326, the daring and dashing young man, who thinks his disguise as a dirty, bearded vagrant is fooling the unknown mastermind and his minions. But Haghi is well aware of 326's existence and what he looks like. Enter Sonya, a Russian lady in Haghi's employ. Haghi wants Sonya to subvert the efforts of the government agent, but doesn't count on her falling in love with him. Meanwhile, Haghi is anxious to get his hands on a Japanese peace treaty in the possession of the cunning Doctor Masimoto, whose mistress is also in his employ.

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Plot Keywords:

japanese agent | spy versus spy | female spy | poison gas | death trap | 

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Genres:

Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German

Release Date:

10 March 1929 (USA)

Also Known As:

Spies

Filming Locations:

Ufa-Atelier, Neubabelsberg, Brandenburg, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fritz Lang-Film, Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

178 min 144 min (DVD) 144 min (DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gerda Maurus, whose film debut this was and who met Fritz Lang for the first time here, later had a long relationship with the director, eventually causing his divorce from Thea von Harbou, who remained his regular co-author up until The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933), Lang's last German film before emigrating to the US.

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Goofs

It seems odd that Haghi, a man "richer than Ford" and who enthusiastically adopts new technologies judging by his office equipment, hand rolls his own cigarettes when commercially manufactured ones had been available for decades.

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Quotes

Kitty: Please, let me stay here! Don't send me away again! I won't take up any more space than a little dog - !

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Connections

Featured in Der Fall Metropolis (2003)

User Reviews

The pre-ultimate Bond-film

Okay, the movie doesn't feature the secret agent with the famous number 007. But after I've seen this really entertaining movie , I wondered if Ian Fleming saw this movie before he created his legendary hero. It contains everything we already know from the James Bond movies:

• A strong and handsome hero with a secret identity number (this time 326) - A sinister and evil villain in a wheelchair (without a white cat, but with a striking resemblance to Lenin) - A secret headquarter for the villains - An attractive heroine, who falls immediately in love with the hero - exiting action-sequences and chases (featuring a crashing train and motorcycles) etc., etc. . Willy Fritsch is very good in the role of the hero (even though you wouldn't associate him with this genre when you saw his comedies) and Rudolf Klein Rogge (the mad scientist from Metropolis) is perfectly evil. The movie is fast-paced and very entertaining, despite its length of nearly three hours. Lang shows that he is correctly regarded as one of the best german directors of all time and that he is capable of succeeding in every genre, be it science-fiction, crime or even spy-adventures.