Secret Agent

Overview

After his supposed funeral, a British spy (John Gielgud) pairs up with another agent (Madeleine Carroll) in Switzerland where they're sent to kill an enemy agent. Posing as husband and wife, they're taken on a death hunt into the Swiss Alps. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/14/2015
UPC:	0889290064554
Original Release:	1936
Rating:	PG
Source:	Filmrise
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00
Sales rank:	7,340

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Madeleine Carroll	Elsa Carrington
Peter Lorre	The General
Robert Young	Robert Marvin
John Gielgud	Richard Ashenden
Percy Marmont	Caypor
Florence Kahn	Mrs. Caypor
Lilli Palmer	Lilli
Charles Carson	'R'
Michel Saint-Denis	Coachman
Andreas Malandrinos	Manager,Manager
Tom Helmore	Capt. Anderson
Michael Redgrave	Actor
Louis Levy	Composer

Technical Credits

Charles Bennett

Jesse Lasky Jr.

Ian Hay

Alma Reville

Alfred Hitchcock	Director
Charles Bennett	Screenwriter
Jesse Lasky Jr.	Screenwriter
Ian Hay	Screenwriter
Alma Reville	Screenwriter
Ivor Montagu	Producer
Michael Balcon	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Deception is the order of the day in this solid espionage thriller from director Alfred Hitchcock. Based on Somerset Maugham's adventure stories and a play by Campbell Nixon, Secret Agent is deceptive in every way: characters hide their true intentions, beautiful locations mask the sinister deeds that happen in them, even the film's title is tricky since the story is about several agents rather than just one. All of this duplicity helps develop the suspense normally associated with Hitchcock's films, but Secret Agent falls a bit short of becoming one of the director's classics. The picture's primary shortcomings lie with the plot: John Gielgud is a spy whose assignment is to find and kill an enemy spy in Switzerland. The fact that the hero of the film is told to kill rather than save someone or steal something is a dark, edgy move, but it weakens the viewer's connection to Gielgud's character. In one of the most chilling sequences, Gielgud and Peter Lorre carry out the assassination only to discover that they've killed an innocent man. To a lesser degree, the cast is also a weakness. While the performances are decent, Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young seem out of place in a Hitchcock film. Lorre is the bright, shining star, in the role of a Mexican general whose twisted black humor matches his murderous tactics. Lorre's character is neither a Mexican nor a general, but he steals the show. The most exciting sequence is the climax, in which the real spy is revealed amidst gunplay and a terrific train crash. Hitchcock had two slightly different endings prepared for the film, but neither was used. The director appears as a mourner during the fake funeral that opens the film.