''Fräulein Doktor'' is a 1969
spy film
The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...
loosely based on the life of
Elsbeth Schragmüller
Elsbeth Schragmüller (7 August 1887, Schlüsselburg near Petershagen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire — 24 February 1940, Munich, Nazi Germany), also known as Fräulein Doktor and Mademoiselle Docteur, as well as Fair Lady, La Baronne and Mlle ...
. It was an Italian and Yugoslavian co-production directed by
Alberto Lattuada
Alberto Lattuada (; 13 November 1914 – 3 July 2005) was an Italian film director.
Career
Lattuada was born in Vaprio d'Adda, the son of composer Felice Lattuada. He was initially interested in literature, becoming, while still a student, a mem ...
, starring
Suzy Kendall
Suzy Kendall (born Freda Harriet Harrison; 1 January 1937 ) is a British retired actress best known for her film roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Personal life
Born in Belper, Derbyshire, Kendall attended Derby & District College of A ...
and
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor.
Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...
, and featuring
Capucine
Capucine (, born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre , 6 January 1928 – 17 March 1990) was a French fashion model and actress known for her comedic roles in ''The Pink Panther'' (1963) and ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965). She appeared in 36 film ...
,
James Booth
James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though considered handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety ...
,
Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Seven Beauties' ...
and
Nigel Green
Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English character actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s ...
. It was produced by
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...
and has a music score by
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone (; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpeter who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 scores for cinema and television, as well as more than 100 classica ...
. It was distributed by
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
in the United States.
Plot
A woman spy and some male agents working for the Germans during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
land at night near the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
base at
Scapa Flow
Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009
Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay and ...
, from a U-boat. The British, led by Col. Foreman, ambush the landing party, capturing two of the men, but the woman gets away. Foreman fakes the
execution
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the State (polity), state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to ...
of one of the spies, thus tricking the second one, Meyer, into becoming a double agent in the hopes of using him to capture his woman accomplice, whom Meyer identifies under the codename Fräulein Doktor. Fräulein Doktor is portrayed as a brilliant spy who stole a formula for a skin blistering gas similar to
mustard gas
Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, b ...
which the Germans have since used to great effect against the Allies on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Fräulein Doktor poses as a
prostitute
Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
and seduces a laundryman to find out which ship
Lord Kitchener will be sailing on to the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
, and when it will sail. She then helps a German
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
to sink
HMS ''Hampshire'' outside Scapa Flow with Kitchener on it, taking his life. For this, she is awarded the German
Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by Frederick the Great, King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Or ...
. Meyer re-appears in Berlin and courts her. The
German military intelligence service and its head, Col.
Walter Nicolai
General Walter Nicolai (August 1, 1873 – May 4, 1947) was the first senior IC (intelligence) officer in the Imperial German Army. He came to run the German military intelligence service, Abteilung IIIb, and became an important pro-war p ...
, are suspicious of Meyer's escape from the British, but use him to poison Fräulein Doktor because of her addiction to
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
. Meyer is shown her dead body and later makes his way back to the British to confirm her death.
However, Fräulein Doktor's death was faked for Meyer's benefit so she would be free of suspicion for her next assignment, getting Allied defense plans for a German attack in Belgium. Under cover as a Spanish contessa, she recruits Spanish nurses to staff a hospital train to serve the Allied front. During the trip from Spain to France, she brings aboard German agents who will impersonate Belgian officers to infiltrate
Belgian Army
The Land Component ( nl, Landcomponent, french: Composante terre) is the land branch of the Belgian Armed Forces. The King of the Belgians is the commander in chief. The current chief of staff of the Land Component is Major-General Pierre Gérard. ...
headquarters and steal the plans.
Col. Foreman is still not convinced of her death and shows up at the same army headquarters with Meyer in tow. The German agents steal the plans and in a deadly shootout with sentries, one gets away back to German lines. The Germans then launch their attack with great success, but Col. Foreman confronts Fräulein Doktor. The set for the battle was one of the most ambitious constructs of
no man's land
No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
ever filmed. Meyer kills Foreman but is in turn killed by the advancing German troops. Fräulein Doktor is then whisked away by the Germans, but suffers a breakdown as she is being driven off through all the carnage and death about her.
Cast
*
Suzy Kendall
Suzy Kendall (born Freda Harriet Harrison; 1 January 1937 ) is a British retired actress best known for her film roles in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Personal life
Born in Belper, Derbyshire, Kendall attended Derby & District College of A ...
as Fräulein Doktor
*
Kenneth More
Kenneth Gilbert More, Order of the British Empire#Current classes, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor.
Initially achieving fame in the comedy ''Genevieve (film), Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many ...
as Colonel Foreman
*
Capucine
Capucine (, born Germaine Hélène Irène Lefebvre , 6 January 1928 – 17 March 1990) was a French fashion model and actress known for her comedic roles in ''The Pink Panther'' (1963) and ''What's New Pussycat?'' (1965). She appeared in 36 film ...
as Dr. Saforet
*
James Booth
James Booth (born David Noel Geeves; 19 December 1927 – 11 August 2005) was an English film, stage and television actor and screenwriter. Though considered handsome enough to play leading roles, and versatile enough to play a wide variety ...
as Meyer
*
Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor on stage, screen, and occasionally television. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as Woodrow Wilson in the film '' Wilson'' (1944).
...
as General Peronne
*
Nigel Green
Nigel McGown Green (15 October 192415 May 1972) was an English character actor. Because of his strapping build, commanding height () and regimental demeanour he would often be found playing military types and men of action in such classic 1960s ...
as Col. Mathesius
*
Giancarlo Giannini
Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Seven Beauties' ...
as Lieutenant Hans Rupert
*
Ralph Nossek
Ralph Nossek (August 1923 – 5 December 2011) was a British actor of stage, television and screen. He was born in August 1923 in the parish of St George in the East, London, England. He died in London on 5 December 2011. From 1953 until his las ...
a Lean
Production and release
Location shooting for ''Fräulein Doktor'' took place in Yugoslavia and Hungary.
It was released in Yugoslavia under the name ''Gospođica Doktor - špijunka bez imena'', and in Italy as ''Fraulein Doktor''. In the United States, consideration was given to the possible titles "Nameless" and "The Betrayal".
Colonel Mathesius was played by
Eric von Stroheim in the 1937 film ''
Under Secret Orders
''Under Secret Orders'', also known as ''Mademoiselle Doctor'', is a 1937 British spy film directed by Edmond T. Gréville and starring Erich von Stroheim, John Loder, Dita Parlo and Claire Luce. It is an English-language version of the French ...
''.
Suzy Kendall as Fräulein Doktor was a casting choice reflecting
Virginia McKenna
Dame Virginia Anne McKenna, (born 7 June 1931) is a British stage and screen actress, author and wildlife campaigner. She is best known for the films ''A Town Like Alice'' (1956), '' Carve Her Name with Pride'' (1958), ''Born Free'' (1966), and ...
's portrayal of the French born Violet Szabo in the WW2 action drama
Carve Her Name with Pride, 1958.
Home media
In 2011 ''Fräulein Doktor'' was released on DVD by Underground Empire, most likely a bootleg. All available screenshots online refer to a TV screening on Finnish TV YLE Teema.
The soundtrack by Ennio Morricone was released on its own in 2010 by Intermezzo Media.
''Fraulein Doktor'', soundtrack, IntermezzoMedia
released August 6, 2010
See also
* Elsbeth Schragmüller
Elsbeth Schragmüller (7 August 1887, Schlüsselburg near Petershagen, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire — 24 February 1940, Munich, Nazi Germany), also known as Fräulein Doktor and Mademoiselle Docteur, as well as Fair Lady, La Baronne and Mlle ...
* Other films about the spy known as "Mademoiselle Docteur" or "Fräulein Doktor
''Fräulein'' ( , ) is the German language honorific for unmarried women, comparable to Miss in English and Mademoiselle in French.
Description
''Fräulein'' is the diminutive form of ''Frau'', which was previously reserved only for marrie ...
":
** ''Stamboul Quest
''Stamboul Quest'' is a 1934 American spy film set in World War I, directed by Sam Wood, starring Myrna Loy and George Brent and featuring Lionel Atwill. The screenplay was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz from a story by Leo Birinski.
Plot
In 1 ...
'' – 1934 American film starring Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy (born Myrna Adele Williams; August 2, 1905 – December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. ...
** '' Mademoiselle Docteur'' (also known as ''Salonique, nid d’espions'' and ''Street of Shadows'') – 1937 French film directed by G.W. Pabst
Georg Wilhelm Pabst (25 August 1885 – 29 May 1967) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He started as an actor and theater director, before becoming one of the most influential German-language filmmakers during the Weimar Republic.
...
** '' Mademoiselle Doctor'' (also known as ''Under Secret Orders'') – 1937 English film directed by Edmond T. Gréville
Edmond T. Gréville (born Edmond Gréville Thonger; 20 June 1906 – 26 May 1966) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was married to the actress Vanda Gréville.
Career
Gréville began his career as a film journalist and critic. ...
, an English version of the above, shot at the same time, but with some cast changes.[Thames, Stephanie]
"Stamboul Quest (1934)" (article)
on TCM.com
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasti ...
References
Notes
External links
*
*
''Fraulein Doktor''
at Allmovie.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraulein Doktor
1969 films
1960s spy drama films
1960s war drama films
Italian spy drama films
Yugoslav spy films
English-language Italian films
English-language Yugoslav films
Western Front (World War I) films
World War I spy films
Italian war drama films
Lesbian-related films
Cultural depictions of Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Films directed by Alberto Lattuada
Films scored by Ennio Morricone
Films produced by Dino De Laurentiis
1969 LGBT-related films
Yugoslav war drama films
1969 drama films
Films with screenplays by Stanley Mann
1960s English-language films
1960s Italian films