''They Made Her a Spy'' is a 1939 American spy

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

produced and distributed by RKO Radio Pictures. It was the first film directed by

Jack Hively Jack Hively (September 5, 1910 – December 19, 1995) was an American film editor and film and television director whose career lasted from the 1930s through the 1980s. His father and his brother were also film editors. He began as a film editor ...

, who after toiling as an editor for RKO for the prior five years, was given the opportunity to direct, and starred

Sally Eilers Dorothea Sally Eilers (December 11, 1908 – January 5, 1978) was an American actress. Early life Eilers was born in New York City to a Jewish-American mother, Paula (or Pauline) Schoenberger, and a German-American father, Hio Peter Eilers ( ...

Allan Lane Allan "Rocky" Lane (born Harry Leonard Albershardt; September 22, 1909 – October 27, 1973) was an American studio leading man and the star of many cowboy B-movies in the 1940s and 1950s. He appeared in more than 125 films and TV shows in ...

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. He was also a poet, actor in theater and films, playwright, and chess expert. With writers such as Robert ...

, and

Frank M. Thomas Frank Marion Thomas (July 13, 1889 – November 25, 1989) was an American character actor of stage, screen and television. He and his wife, actress Mona Bruns, both lived to 100 years old. He died the day before her 90th birthday; she died 11 y ...

. The screenplay, written by Jo Pagano and

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winner

Michael Kanin Michael Kanin (February 1, 1910 – March 12, 1993) was an American director, producer, playwright and screenwriter who shared an Academy Award with Ring Lardner Jr. for writing the Katharine Hepburn-Spencer Tracy film comedy ''Woman of the Year' ...

, was based on a story by

George Bricker George Bricker (1898–1955) was an American screenwriter.Blottner p.302 He generally worked on second features at studios such as Warner Bros., Columbia, Universal and Monogram. Selected filmography * '' Broadway Hostess'' (1935) * ''The Wi ...

and Lionel Houser. The film premiered in New York City on March 29, 1939, and was released nationally two weeks later, on April 14.

References

External links

* American drama films 1939 drama films 1939 films American black-and-white films Films directed by Jack Hively 1930s American films {{1930s-drama-film-stub