''I Was a Spy'' is a 1933 British

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Victor Saville Victor Saville (25 September 1895 – 8 May 1979) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962. Biography Saville produced his first f ...

and starring

Madeleine Carroll Edith Madeleine Carroll (26 February 1906 – 2 October 1987) was an English actress, popular both in Britain and America in the 1930s and 1940s. At the peak of her success in 1938, she was the world's highest-paid actress. Carroll is rememb ...

Herbert Marshall Herbert Brough Falcon Marshall (23 May 1890 – 22 January 1966) was an English stage, screen and radio actor who starred in many popular and well-regarded Hollywood films in the 1930s and 1940s. After a successful theatrical career in the Uni ...

, and

Conrad Veidt Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (; 22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German film actor who attracted early attention for his roles in the films ''Different from the Others'' (1919), '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'' (1920), and ''The Man Who Laugh ...

. Based on the 1932 memoir ''I Was a Spy'' by

Marthe Cnockaert Marthe Mathilde Cnockaert (28 October 1892 – 8 January 1966), later Marthe McKenna, was a Belgian spy for the United Kingdom and its allies during the First World War. She later became a novelist, and is credited with writing over a dozen spy ...

, the film is about her experiences as a Belgian woman who nursed German soldiers during World War I while passing intelligence to the British. ''I Was a Spy'' was also the first film dubbed in Poland (while there were earlier examples of films dubbed in Polish, they were recorded in Paramount studio in Joinville, France), released in 1935 as ''Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem'', starring

Lidia Wysocka Lidia Wysocka (June 24, 1916 – January 2, 2006) was a Polish stage, film and voice actress, singer, cabaret performer and creative director, theatre director and costume designer, editorialist. Filmography In 1934 she dubbed Madeleine Carroll ...

as Martha Cnockhaert's voice. The screenplay was written by

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

Plot

In German-occupied Belgium in 1914, a local woman nurses injured German soldiers while passing information to the British.

Cast

as Stephan *

as Commandant Oberaertz *

as Burgomaster *

Gerald du Maurier Sir Gerald Hubert Edward Busson du Maurier (26 March 1873 – 11 April 1934) was an English actor and manager. He was the son of author George du Maurier and his wife, Emma Wightwick, and the brother of Sylvia Llewelyn Davies. In 1903, he m ...

as Doctor *

Donald Calthrop Donald Esme Clayton Calthrop (11 April 1888 – 15 July 1940) was an English stage and film actor. Born in London, Calthrop was educated at St Paul's School and made his first stage appearance at eighteen years of age at the Comedy Theatr ...

as Cnockhaert * May Agate as Madame Cnockhaert *

Eva Moore Eva Moore (9 February 1868 – 27 April 1955) was an English actress. Her career on stage and in film spanned six decades, and she was active in the women's suffrage movement. In her 1923 book of reminiscences, ''Exits and Entrances'', she des ...

as Canteen Ma *

Martita Hunt Martita Edith Hunt (30 January 190013 June 1969) was an Argentine-born British theatre and film actress. She had a dominant stage presence and played a wide range of powerful characters. She is best remembered for her performance as Miss Havi ...

as Aunt Lucille *

Nigel Bruce William Nigel Ernle Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953) was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in a series of films and in the radio series ''The New Adventures of Sherlock H ...

as Scottie * George Merritt as Captain Reichmann *

Anthony Bushell Anthony Arnatt Bushell (19 May 1904 – 2 April 1997) was an English film actor and director who appeared in more than 50 films between 1929 and 1961. He played Colonel Breen in the BBC serial ''Quatermass and the Pit'' (1958–59), and als ...

as Otto

Production

Filming took place in Shepherds Bush. Producer

Michael Balcon Sir Michael Elias Balcon (19 May 1896 – 17 October 1977) was an English film producer known for his leadership of Ealing Studios in West London from 1938 to 1955. Under his direction, the studio became one of the most important British film ...

sent

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produc ...

(who was initially production manager before becoming an assistant director) to take the script to Belgium and give it to

to look at. The script was written by Edmund Gwenn who also portrayed the burgomaster.

Release

''I Was a Spy'' was screened at the Lyric.

Reception

In a poll conducted by the magazine

Film Weekly ''Film Weekly'' was one of the leading popular film magazines published in the United Kingdom during the late 1920s and 1930s. Background Launched in 1928, the magazine became known for its gossipy interest in contemporary film stars. Columnist ...

, the film was voted the best British movie of 1933, and Madeleine Carroll's performance was voted the best in a British movie. The

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper and news websitePeter Wilb"Paul Dacre of the Daily Mail: The man who hates liberal Britain", ''New Statesman'', 19 December 2013 (online version: 2 January 2014) publish ...

(21 November 1933) described it as "the most splendid film produced in this country." The Daily Despatch (21 November 1933) described it as a film "equal to Hollywood's best."

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

and motion picture critic

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

) praised Carroll's acting. William Troy for ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' said, "It is the kind of picture calculated to make us believe that there is something beautiful and touching about war, after all." Film historian and critic

Paul Rotha Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was a British documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Career ...

for ''Cinema Quarterly'' said, "It is the kind of picture calculated to make us believe that there is something beautiful and touching about war, after all." Really? Two reviewers said the same thing? Check citation please

The Evening News (Rockhampton) ''The Evening News'' was a newspaper published in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia. History This newspaper commenced on 3 January 1863 as the ''Northern Argus''. It was published three times a week by Arthur Leslie Bourcicault. The editor was ...

(30 May 1934) praised the acting and described it as " pectacularin its sweep, human in its emotions, dramatic in its intensity and profoundly gripping in its appeal." Although it was very successful at the box office, this was not Saville's reaction. He watched the completed ''I Was a Spy'' with one of the Assistant Directors, Herbert Mason, and was devastated: however, Mason reassured him that it was his "best to date." ''Halliwell's Film & Video Guide'' described the film as "

ood The Ood are an alien species with telepathic abilities from the long-running science fiction series '' Doctor Who''. In the series' narrative, they live in the distant future (circa 42nd century). The Ood are portrayed as a slave race, natura ...

standard war espionage melodrama." Adrian Turner for

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

said that, "Fans of vintage British cinema will enjoy this sprightly espionage yarn, set during the First World War and bearing a close resemblance to the Mata Hari legend." In 2021, film critic and author, Derek Winnert praised the cast and their performances.

Home media

''I Was a Spy'' was released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

on 19 May 2014.

References

Citations

Bibliography

Primary sources

* ''

'', 4 May 1934, p. 9 * Daily Despatch, 21 November 1933 *

, 21 November 1933 *

The Sun (Sydney) ''The Sun'' was an Australian afternoon tabloid newspaper, first published under that name in 1910. History ''The Sunday Sun'' was first published on 5 April 1903. In 1910 Hugh Denison founded Sun Newspaper Ltd and took over publication of ...

, 13 May 1934 *

, 30 May 1934

Secondary sources

* Balcon, Michael. (1969). ''Michael Balcon Presents...A Lifetime of Films.'' Hutchinson & Co Ltd * McFarlane Brian. (ed). ''The Encyclopedia of British Film''. Methuen (2nd edition) * Moseley, Roy. (2000). ''Evergreen: Victor Saville in His Own Words''. Southern Illinois University Press * Pascoe, John. (2020). ''

: Actress and Humanitarian, from The 39 Steps to the Red''. McFarland. Paperback * Walker, John. (ed). (1998). Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1998.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

Entertainment. 13th edition

External links

*
''I Was a Spy''
at

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

''I Was a Spy'' (1933)
at Britmovie , Home of British Films
''I Was a Spy''
at

Park Circus Park Circus is a neighbourhood of Central-South Kolkata, in Kolkata district Kolkata district (formerly known as Calcutta district) is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Kolkata. History Long before the B ...

''I Was a Spy''
at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

{{Michael Balcon 1933 films 1930s spy thriller films British spy thriller films Western Front (World War I) films World War I spy films Films produced by Michael Balcon British black-and-white films Fox Film films Gainsborough Pictures films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios 1930s English-language films 1930s American films 1930s British films