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1939 • War / Thriller • 82m

The Spy in Black

"Today's U-boat terror makes this the year's timeliest picture!"

65

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FRESH

63 critic reviews

66%

POPCORN METER

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Verified ratings

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

IMDb

Official Trailer

Where to Watch (India)

fuboTV
Criterion Channel

Top Cast

Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt
Captain Ernst Hardt
Sebastian Shaw
Sebastian Shaw
Ashington
Valerie Hobson
Valerie Hobson
The School Mistress
Marius Goring
Marius Goring
Lieutenant Felix Schuster
June Duprez
June Duprez
Anne Burnett
Athole Stewart
Athole Stewart
The Rev. Hector Matthews
Helen Haye
Helen Haye
Mrs. Sedley
Cyril Raymond
Cyril Raymond
The Rev. John Harris
Hay Petrie
Hay Petrie
Engineer
Robert Rendel
Robert Rendel
Admiral
Mary Morris
Mary Morris
Chauffeuse
Torin Thatcher
Torin Thatcher
Submarine Officer
Esma Cannon
Esma Cannon
Maggie
Cyril Chamberlain
Cyril Chamberlain
Bit Part (uncredited)
Bryan Herbert
Bryan Herbert
Corporal Guarding POW's on Ferry
Skelton Knaggs
Skelton Knaggs
German Sailor looking for Capt. Hardt
Howard Marion-Crawford
Howard Marion-Crawford
German Officer in Kieler Hof Hotel
Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Hans - Hotel Receptionist
Director: Michael PowellProducer: Irving AsherScreenplay: Emeric PressburgerProducer: Alexander Korda

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Reviews

Peter McGinn
2021-04-27
70%

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.

CinemaSerf
2022-03-28
70%

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.

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Details

Status
Released
Origin
GB
Languages
German, Hungarian, English
Studios
Irving Asher Productions, London Films Productions
Budget
$4,700,000

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