The Spy in Black 1939
6.9 / 10
The Spy in Black
A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
Videos & Photos
All 1 Videos & 8 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Captain Ernst Hardt
... Ashington
... The School Mistress
... Lieutenant Felix Schuster
... Anne Burnett
... The Rev. Hector Matthews
User reviews
See All 2 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by Peter McGinn
This is a classic black and white spy thriller, thought of highly enough to be part of a national project to restore old films. The movie is entertaining, with a couple of departures from normal thrillers, I think (though I am not a follower of the genre). The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of the Germans, the enemy, as it were. It would be like the movie The Alamo being told from the perspective of Santa Anna’s Mexican army. Also, the ending is unusual compared to a modern thriller, where then good guy and bad guy usually square off and settle things in a climactic final scene. But they do produce a plot twist, the norm for any spy movie, and it works. It is a short movie, well under 90 minutes, and it moves right along. The lack of color adds to the atmosphere of the film. The script is fine. Oddly, several lines are delivered in German with no translation, but obviously nothing critical is left out because of it. You can sort of get what they must be saying and they are brief bits of dialogue. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie a second time, but I don’t regret the time spent watching it.
Release Date:
Aug 03, 1939 (United Kingdom)
Run Time:
1hr 22`
MMPA Rating:
NR
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United Kingdom
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
The Spy in Black
This is a classic black and white spy thriller, thought of highly enough to be part of a national project to restore old films. The movie is entertaining, with a couple of departures from normal thrillers, I think (though I am not a follower of the genre). The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of the Germans, the enemy, as it were. It would be like the movie The Alamo being told from the perspective of Santa Anna’s Mexican army. Also, the ending is unusual compared to a modern thriller, where then good guy and bad guy usually square off and settle things in a climactic final scene. But they do produce a plot twist, the norm for any spy movie, and it works. It is a short movie, well under 90 minutes, and it moves right along. The lack of color adds to the atmosphere of the film. The script is fine. Oddly, several lines are delivered in German with no translation, but obviously nothing critical is left out because of it. You can sort of get what they must be saying and they are brief bits of dialogue. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie a second time, but I don’t regret the time spent watching it.
Valerie Hobson steals the show here in this dark, tense, wartime espionage drama about a German U-boat captain (Conrad Veidt) sent to the Orkney Islands in WWI to gather intelligence on the British Grand Fleet. Released at the start of the Second World War, this first outing for Powell/Pressberger delivers in a much more ominous tone than that of a mere piece of propaganda. There is a depth to the writing and a sinisterness to the story that is gripping for just shy of 90 minutes before culminating in the sort of "gallant" ending that I suspect would not have been considered appropriate five years later.
Cast & Crew of
The Spy in Black
Directors & Credit Writers
... Director
... Assistant Director
Cast
... Captain Ernst Hardt
... Ashington
... The School Mistress
... Lieutenant Felix Schuster
... Anne Burnett
... The Rev. Hector Matthews
... Mrs. Matthews
... Mrs. Sedley
... The Rev. John Harris
... Captain Ratter
... Engineer
... Bob Bratt
... Admiral
... Chauffeuse
... Kate
... Commander Denis
... Submarine Officer
... Maggie
... Bit Part (uncredited)
... Corporal Guarding POW's on Ferry
Produced By
... Producer
IA
Irving Asher... Producer
Videos & Photos of
The Spy in Black
Videos ( 1)
Photos ( 8 )
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