SECRET AGENT (1934) Hitchcock Thriller 16mm Thriller
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:48145359 | Film Format: 16mm |
| Sub-Genre: Crime/Investigation, Espionage/Spy | Genre: Thriller & Mystery |
SECRET AGENT (1936)starring John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Robert Young, Madeline Carrolldirected by Alfred HitchockSynopsis courtesy Andrea LeVasseur and all movie.comBased on the novels of W. Somerset Maugham, The Secret Agent is the second in a trilogy of Alfred Hitchcock spy movies (along with The 39 Steps and Sabotage). Set during WWI, John Gielgud plays British novelist Edgar Brodie who discovers that a government agency has faked his own death. He is then given orders to go to... Switzerland to kill a German agent. He goes by the name of Richard Ashenden and travels with secret agent Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll), who poses as his wife. Richard joins professional killer the General (Peter Lorre) to look for clues, which leads them to suspect the tourist Caypor (Percy Marmont). Elsa occupies Caypor's wife, Florence Kahn, while Richard and the General attempt to complete their mission during a climbing trip in the Alps. It turns out he was the wrong man, so the spies reluctantly start another search for clues that leads them to the American charmer Robert Marvin (Robert Young). Unfortunately, he has just boarded a train to Greece with Elsa, so they have to get onboard and warn her. The situation is complicated with an air attack, where several key players meet their fate. The Secret Agent marked a rare instance where Hitchcock was pressured into changing the ending from the more grim original.Review excerpts by Patrick Legare courtesy all movie.com"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.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."About the print - this appears to be sourced from a 35mm used thetrical print. While it won't pass for an original, it is sharp, good density and the sound track is loud and clear.Hitch should have remade this exciting, overlooked gem 9 November 1998 Review extract courtesy Glenn Andreiev and imdb"One of the more ignored early Hitchcock thrillers, and unjustly so. In 1916 Switzerland, Bookworm John Gielguld, Beautiful Maddeline Carroll and and Pesky, over sexed Peter Lorre are three very unlikely enlisted civilians made to assassinate an unknown foreign agent. One right after another fall superb Hitichcock scenes, high on visuals, in no need of dialog. Such scenes include Gielguld and Lorre discovering a murdered agent in a noisy Swiss church, an assassination seen through a telescope while the victim's dog howls mournfully, a chase through a chocolate factory."
16mm / Sound / b&w dupe / Ex shape / no V.S. /
16mm / Sound / b&w dupe / Ex shape / no V.S. /
