BEFORE: Hmm, Hitchcock does not make a cameo appearance in this film, so I have to do this the hard way. Fortunately, Madeleine Carroll carries over from "The 39 Steps".
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THE PLOT: Three British agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, but two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
AFTER: It's the third spy caper in a row, and it feels like Hitchcock was hitting his stride with this topic. This film was released in 1936, but set during World War I - this is interesting because war in Europe was on the horizon again, so the topic possibly felt quite timely. In much the same way, the movie "M*A*S*H" was set during the Korean War, but many took it as an allegory for war in Vietnam, which was taking place when it was released in 1970.
This really could have been titled "Secret Agents" instead of having a singular title. I guess the focus is on tonight's everyman hero, drafted into the spy service after they fake his death (umm, I think?). I'm assuming this was Hitchcock's way of making spies accessible to the audience (he's the spy who could be you!) and once again, he's not above making mistakes. Not in a bumbling way, like Johnny English, but in a human way, working in a business that seems to be not an exact science. Hey, sometimes you kill the wrong guy, it happens...
It's a little strange to see John Gielgud as a young man - to my generation he was the old butler in "Arthur" - and same goes for Robert Young, who to my generation was an old man in Sanka commercials who would appear on scene and say things like, "Jim, why so tense? Have you tried switching to decaf?" Sometimes we forget that even older actors were young and virile once. Yes, folks older than me probably remember him more for being in "Father Knows Best" and "Marcus Welby, M.D.", but for me, it's Sanka ads.
There's a lot in this film that seems to prophesy the James Bond films - the exotic Swiss setting, time spent playing roulette in the casino, a love triangle with opposing agents, and a weird teammate - strange to see Peter Lorre cast as something other than a villain. His character is more than a little unhinged here, but at least he's on our side. Umm, I think.
Also starring John Gielgud (last seen in "Around the World in 80 Days"), Peter Lorre (last seen in "The Man Who Knew Too Much"), Robert Young, Percy Marmont (last seen in "East of Shanghai"), Florence Kahn.
RATING: 5 out of 10 casino chips
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