Sir John Gielgud is one of the greatest British actors of 20th Century. Much of his career was built on the stage and today’s audiences are most likely to know him due to his appearances as an old man in films and television shows, when he usually played supporting parts. One of the rare early screen appearance in a starring role happened with Secret Agent, 1936 spy film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
The film is based on the stage play by Campbell Dixon, itself being based on the two stories from 1927 collection Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Saumerset Maugham, which itself was based on the author’s experiences as British secret agent during First World War. The plot begins on May 10th 1916 when protagonist Edgar Brodie (played by Gielgud), British Army captain and a famous novelist, returns from the in England only to realise that someone published his obituary in the newspaper. He is summoned to a man identifying himself as “R” (played by Charles Carson) and told that this is a ruse that should help him take new identity of “Richard Ashenden”, necessary for delicate mission in neutral Switzerland. His task is to identify and eliminate top German agent which is preparing to turn Arabs against British in the Middle East. He is accompanied by an eccentric, apparently Mexican, man known as “The General” (played by Peter Lorre) who is going to help him with the deed. Upon an arrival in hotel, “Ashenden” is surprised to find “Mrs. Ashenden” (played by Madeleine Carroll), a female agent whose real name is Elsa Carrington and who is to help the mission by impersonating his wife. As Ashenden and “General” try to find mysterious German, Elsa, who took the mission because she liked adventure, is entertained by young American named Robert Marvin (played by Robert Young).
While it is generally better for a film to be directed by someone like Alfred Hitchcock, that doesn’t guarantee a good film by itself. Secret Agent with its somewhat complicated story that mixes international intrigue, romance and black humour looked like a very good choice for Hitchcockian thriller. Unfortunately, Hitchcock was either unable or unwilling to work around constraints of the chaotic script and the film for the most part looks like unintentional black comedy than thriller. An ironic plot twist near the half of the film makes things interesting for a moment, but it is followed by bland mystery. Only the semi-humorous scene that takes place in chocolate factory suggests that Secret Agent was made by someone that would later be hailed as Master of Suspense. There is slight bit of serious drama in the film, mainly through conflict between Ashenden, who has certain qualms about killing another person in cold blood, and General, who seems to be enjoying it too much. This aspect of the film is ruined by Gielgud being surprisingly bland in the film. Famous actor, who in his early days resembled Ralph Fiennes, was at the time quite uncomfortable in the presence of cinema. Peter Lorre, character actor specialised in the role of villains and psychopathic killers, on the other hand, goes over the top. Madeleine Carroll, one of Hitchcock’s first “ice cold blondes”, does what she can but her underwritten character less opportunity than her previous role in The 39 Steps.
But the final disappointment comes during the finale that takes place in war-torn Balkans. Hitchcock, apparently under pressure from producers to wrap his story in spectacular way, brings all major characters on the train where the final showdown would take place. The train is full of enemy soldiers, and, thanks to sloppy screenwriting, only those familiar with the Great War, geography and folk songs, would identify those soldiers as Bulgarians. The scene is made worse by arrival of British planes in highly implausible night air attack that provides unconvincing deus ex machina and even less convincing special effects.
Although sufficiently entertaining not to make audience regret spending hour and half on it, Secret Agent is still disappointment for all viewers who based their expectations on Hitchcock’s name in the credits. Although the contemporary reviews weren’t exactly enthusiastic, the film was still a big hit and allowed Hitchcock to deliver few more interesting thrillers before continuing his career in Hollywood.
(Note: The next Hitchcock’s film was, by ironic coincidence, based on The Secret Agent, famous novel by Joseph Conrad. In order to avoid any confusion, producers were forced to use new title Sabotage. Few years later, Hitchcock would direct another thriller under title Saboteur, which would become another source of confusion among his fans and film scholars.)
RATING: 5/10 (++)
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