''Spione'' (
English title: ''Spies'', under which title it was released in the United States) is a 1928
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
silent espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...
thriller
Thriller may refer to:
* Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television
** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre
Comics
* ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...
directed by
Fritz Lang
Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...
and co-written with his wife,
Thea von Harbou, who also wrote a novel of the same name, published a year later. The film was Lang's penultimate silent film and the first for his own production company; ''Fritz Lang-film GmbH''.
As in Lang's Mabuse films, such as ''
Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler'' (1922) and ''
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse'' (1933),
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...
plays a master criminal aiming for world domination.
''Spione'' was restored to something short of its original length by the
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation
The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation (german: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung ), based in Wiesbaden, was founded in 1966 to preserve and curate a collection of the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau as well as a collection of other German ...
during 2003 and '04. No original negatives survive but a high quality
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...
copy is held at the
National Film Archive in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.
Plot
Germany, 1927: Beautiful Russian spy Sonja Baranikowa seduces Colonel Jellusič into betraying his country (an unnamed eastern European one) for her employer, Haghi, a seemingly respectable bank director who is actually the diabolical mastermind of a powerful crime organization. Jason, head of the German Secret Service, gives the task of bringing the mysterious Haghi down to a handsome young agent known only as Number 326, who believes his identity is a secret. Haghi, however, is well aware of him and assigns Sonja to worm her way into 326's confidence; Sonja convinces him that she has just shot a man for trying to rape her. He hides her from the police.
Haghi does not anticipate that the couple will fall in love. Unwilling to betray 326, Sonja quietly slips away after they spend the afternoon and evening together. He trails her to Jellusič, whom he mistakes for her lover (she is actually paying him off). Haghi suspects Sonja's feelings for 326 and when she refuses to act against him, Haghi confines her to a room in his secret headquarters.
Haghi seeks to steal a secret Japanese-British peace treaty, which will prevent "war in the East" unless it is exposed, before it reaches Tokyo. He blackmails Lady Leslane, an opium addict, into betraying what her husband knows of the negotiations. Akira Matsumoto, the Japanese head of security responsible for the treaty's safekeeping, crosses paths with 326. When 326 seeks out Sonja, he finds her apartment stripped bare; Matsumoto finds him drowning his sorrows in a bar and informs him that he would have arrested the woman as a spy.
Matsumoto gives three couriers a sealed packet each to deliver to Tokyo; he informs them that a copy of the treaty is inside one of them. Haghi obtains all three packages and finds only newspapers, but he has one more card up his sleeve. Matsumoto pities Kitty, a young woman he finds huddling in a doorway during a rainstorm and takes her in. When he prepares to leave for Japan with the treaty, she begs him to spend a few hours with her. He gives in, attracted by her beauty but when he wakes up later, she is gone with the treaty; disgraced, he commits
ritual suicide.
326 tracks Jellusič down in his home country, but is too late: Haghi has already betrayed him and when confronted by his superiors, Jellusič shoots himself. 326 wires the serial numbers of the bank notes used to pay Jellusič, which Jason passes on to agent No. 719, working undercover as a circus clown named Nemo, to trace. On a train trip out of the country in pursuit of the stolen treaty, 326 is nearly killed in a trap set by Haghi. While he is sleeping, his car is detached and left in a tunnel. He awakens just before another train smashes into it. Sonja, who had been tricked into being the one to smuggle the treaty out of the country by Haghi's promise not to harm 326, learns of the crash, races to the site and is reunited with her love.
326 gives orders for Haghi's bank to be surrounded, then sends Sonja away with his trusted chauffeur, Franz, while he and his men search for Haghi. Haghi captures Sonja and Franz and sends 326 an ultimatum: clear the building within 15 minutes or Sonja will die. Defiant, 326 continues searching, even after incapacitating gas is released. Franz is able to free himself and hold off Haghi's assassins until 326 can find them. Haghi's minions are captured, but there is no sign of the mastermind himself. A clerk interrupts to complain to 326 and Jason that the serial numbers he was given to trace do not match the bank notes. The two realize that 719 is Haghi. When Nemo/719/Haghi goes on stage to perform his clown act, he sees that he is surrounded by armed agents and shoots himself in the head. The audience, believing it is all just part of his act, applauds.
Cast
:''The lost opening credits were recreated in the 2004 restoration using censorship cards. The English translations are from the captions from the restored film.''
*
Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Friedrich Rudolf Klein (24 November 1885 – 29 May 1955), better known as Rudolf Klein-Rogge, was a German film actor, best known for playing sinister figures in films in the 1920s and 1930s as well as being a mainstay in director Fritz Lang's ...
as Haghi
*
Gerda Maurus as Sonja
*
Lien Deyers
Lien Deyers (formerly Nicolina Dijjers Spanier, born Nicolina Spanier; 5 November 1909 – after March 1982) was a Dutch actress based in Germany.
Early life
Lien Deyers was born Nicolina Spanier in Amsterdam on 5 November 1909, the daughter of N ...
as Kitty
*
Louis Ralph
Louis Ralph (born Ludwig Josef Musik; 17 August 1878 – September 1952) was an Austrian film actor and director.
He was born Ludwig Musik in Graz, Styria, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), and died in Berlin at age 68.
Selected filmography
* ''Di ...
as Morrier
*
Craighall Sherry as Polizeichef Jason
hief Jason*
Willy Fritsch as No. 326
*
Paul Hörbiger
Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor.
Life and work
Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of t ...
as Franz, Chauffeur
ranz, the chauffeur*
Hertha von Walther as Lady Leslane
*
Lupu Pick as Dr. Matsumoto
*
Fritz Rasp
Fritz Heinrich Rasp (13 May 1891 – 30 November 1976) was a German film actor who appeared in more than 100 films between 1916 and 1976. His obituary in '' Der Spiegel'' described Rasp as "the German film villain in service, for over 60 years." ...
as Oberst Jellusič
olonel Jellusič*
Grete Berger
Grete Berger (born Margarethe Berg; 11 February 1883 – 23 May 1944) was an Austrian-German stage and film actress whose career came to an end following the rise of the Nazi Party in 1933. Berger was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp i ...
in Unconfirmed Role (uncredited)
*
Julius Falkenstein
Julius Falkenstein (25 February 1879 – 9 December 1933) was a German stage and film actor of the silent era. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1914 and 1933. Falkenstein was Jewish, but secured a special permit to continue making ...
as Hotel Manager (uncredited)
*
Heinrich Gotho as Burton Jason's Other Assistant (uncredited)
*
Gustl Gstettenbaur
Gustl Gstettenbaur (1 March 1914 – 20 November 1996) was a German stage, film and television actor.
Born in Bavaria, Gustl Gstettenbaur began his career onstage as a child actor in 1927, at the age of thirteen. He went on to play a variety of ...
as Boy Who Helps No. 326 (uncredited)
*
Georg John
Georg John (born Georg Jacobsohn; 23 July 1879 – 18 November 1941) was a German stage and film actor.
Early life
Georg Jacobsohn was born into a Jewish household in Schmiegel, Province of Posen, Imperial Germany.
Career
John began his c ...
as Locomotive Engineer (uncredited)
*
Theodor Loos
Theodor August Konrad Loos (18 May 1883 – 27 June 1954) was a German actor.
The son of a watchmaker and instruments manufacturer, he left secondary school prematurely and worked for three years at an export firm for music instruments in L ...
as Handelsminister (uncredited)
*
Klaus Pohl as Burton Jason's Assistant (uncredited)
*
Paul Rehkopf
Paul Anton Heinrich Rehkopf (21 May 1872 – 29 June 1949) was a German actor.
He was born in Braunschweig and died in Braunschweig, Germany
Selected filmography
* ''Diary of a Lost Woman'' (1918)
* '' Film Kathi'' (1918)
* ''Lorenzo Burghardt'' ...
as Strolch (uncredited)
*
Rosa Valetti as Kitty's Mother (uncredited)
*
Hermann Vallentin
Hermann Vallentin (24 May 1872 – 18 September 1945) was a German actor.
Biography
Hermann Vallentin was born in Berlin in 1872. He was the son of a Jewish timber merchant and factory owner, Felix Vallentin. He was the older brother of actress ...
as Hotel Security Chief (uncredited)
*
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski
Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor.
Career in Germany
Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed ho ...
as Vincent, Jason's Secretary (uncredited)
Production
According to
Robert Osborne, Lang was having an affair with Maurus during filming, even as his wife Thea von Harbou was involved writing the screenplay. Lang had earlier stolen the affections of Harbou from her first husband, Klein-Rogge, who played Haghi. In spite of this, Klein-Rogge worked with Lang and Harbou on various notable films, including ''
Destiny
Destiny, sometimes referred to as fate (from Latin ''fatum'' "decree, prediction, destiny, fate"), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual.
Fate
Although oft ...
'' (1921), ''
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler
''Dr. Mabuse the Gambler'' (german: Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler) is the first film in the Dr. Mabuse series about the character Doctor Mabuse who featured in the novels of Norbert Jacques. It was directed by Fritz Lang and released in 1922. The film ...
'' (1922), ''
Die Nibelungen'' (1924) and ''
Metropolis
A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
A big c ...
'' (1927). ''Spione'' was the screen debut for young Dutch actress Lien Deyers, who caught Lang's attention after winning a screening contest in Vienna. During the shooting of the movie, Lang developed a strong dislike for Deyers. Regarding the casting of Agent 326, Lang surprisingly went for the upcoming teenage idol Willy Fritsch, whom he had seen in one of his by then typical juvenile lover parts in the silent film ''
The Last Waltz'' (1927). Fritsch, who had just achieved some international success especially in the US by
Parufamet distributed films, took the chance to escape from his image and was able to gain his final breakthrough with this film. Lang then also cast him for the leading part of his follow-up ''
Woman In The Moon'' (1929).
''Spione'' was made at a substantially reduced budget as the studio looked to cancel Lang's contract following the poor commercial return of his previous film, ''Metropolis''. Despite this, the third act train crash in particular is considered an extraordinary technical feat which belied budgetary restraints.
Reception
On
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 Wan ...
, the film holds an approval rating of 94% based on , with a
weighted average
The weighted arithmetic mean is similar to an ordinary arithmetic mean (the most common type of average), except that instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others. The ...
rating of 9.2/10.
Philip French
Philip Neville French OBE (28 August 1933 – 27 October 2015) was an English film critic and radio producer. French began his career in journalism in the late 1950s, before eventually becoming a BBC Radio producer, and later a film critic ...
of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
'' wrote that the film "weaves together recurrent Lang themes of fate, fear, power and paranoia into a dynamic conspiracy thriller." ''
Time Out
Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to:
Time
* Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team
* Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken
* Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' described its tone as "somewhere between true pulp fiction and pure expressionism." Matthew Thrift of the
British Film Institute
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 to encourage film production, ...
meanwhile singled out the opening sequence as "a marvel of narrative economy in montage."
Restoration
A 143 minute version was restored in 2003-04 by the
Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation
The Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau Foundation (german: Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung ), based in Wiesbaden, was founded in 1966 to preserve and curate a collection of the works of Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau as well as a collection of other German ...
thanks extensive research and co-operation with repositories all over the world. A high quality
nitrate
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble ...
copy held at the
National Film Archive in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
was used as the restoration's basis, completed by copies from the
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, the
Filmarchiv Austria in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and the
National Film and Sound Archive
The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national c ...
in
Canberra. Some of the
intertitle
In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dial ...
s were restored from the Austrian copy, and an
internegative from the state film archive
Gosfilmofond
Gosfilmofond is a state film archive in Russia. It is the main film archive of the Russian Federation and a member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). It is a state cultural institution — curator of films collection and oth ...
in
Domodedovo, Russia.
The lab work was carried out by
L'Immagine Ritrovata in
Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...
. It is available on a DVD from Kino International Corporation.
References
External links
*
''Spione''at
Allmovie
''Spione''at
TCM
TCM may refer to:
Arts and music
Film
* ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (franchise), a horror film franchise
** '' The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'', the original 1974 film
** ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' (2003 film), the 2003 remake
Games
* ...
*
Machinations of an Incoherent, Malevolent Universe by Adrian Martin
{{Authority control
1928 films
1920s spy thriller films
German silent feature films
German spy thriller films
Films of the Weimar Republic
German black-and-white films
Babelsberg Studio films
Films directed by Fritz Lang
Films with screenplays by Thea von Harbou
Films with screenplays by Fritz Lang
Films produced by Erich Pommer
UFA GmbH films
Films about clowns
Horror films about clowns
Silent thriller films
Silent horror films
1920s German films