''Assignment – Paris!'' is a 1952 American

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

directed by

Robert Parrish Robert Reese Parrish (January 4, 1916December 4, 1995) was an American film director, editor and former child actor. He won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing for his work on ''Body and Soul (1947 film), Body and Soul'' (1947). Life and car ...

and starring

Dana Andrews Carver Dana Andrews (January 1, 1909 – December 17, 1992) was an American film actor who became a major star in what is now known as film noir and later in Western films. A leading man during the 1940s, he continued acting in less prestigio ...

Märta Torén Märta Torén (21 May 1925 – 19 February 1957) was a Swedish stage and film actress of the 1940s and 1950s. Biography Torén's father was a Swedish military officer, and for three years, during World War II, he was a secretary in the Swedish ...

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous charac ...

and

Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...

. It was produced and distributed by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

Plot

Paris-based ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...

'' reporter Jimmy Race is sent by his boss behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...

in Budapest to investigate a meeting involving the Hungarian ambassador. While on assignment, Race is framed for espionage.

Cast

as Jimmy Race *

as Jeanne Moray *

as Nicholas Strang *

as Sandy Tate * Sandro Giglio as Gabor Czeki alias Grisha *

Donald Randolph Donald Randolph (January 5, 1906 – March 16, 1993) was a film, television, and radio actor. The actor acted in films, in dozens of radio dramas, television programs and over thirty films. Career Randolph debuted on Broadway in ''Fatal Al ...

as Anton Borvich *

Herbert Berghof Herbert Berghof (September 13, 1909 – November 5, 1990) was an American actor, director and acting teacher.Kennedy, Dennis. ''The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance'', Oxford Univ. Press (2010) p. 61 Early life Berghof was born in ...

as Prime Minister Andreas Ordy * Ben Astar as Minister of Justice Vajos *

Willis Bouchey Willis Ben Bouchey (May 24, 1907 - September 27, 1977) was an American character actor. Bouchey may be best known for his movie appearances in '' The Horse Soldiers'', '' The Long Gray Line'', '' Sergeant Rutledge'', '' Two Rode Together'', ...

as Biddle - Editor * Earl Lee as Dad Pelham * Pál Jávor as Laslo Boros * Georgiana Wulff as Gogo Czeki

Production

Phil Karlson Phil Karlson (born Philip N. Karlstein; July 2, 1908 – December 12, 1982) was an American film director. Later noted as a ''film noir'' specialist, Karlson directed ''99 River Street'', ''Kansas City Confidential'' and ''Hell's Island'', all ...

was the original director, but was fired during filming. It was filmed on location in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

References

External links

* * * 1952 films 1952 drama films 1950s spy drama films American spy drama films Cold War spy films Columbia Pictures films Films scored by George Duning Films about journalists Films directed by Robert Parrish Films set in Budapest Films set in Paris Films shot in Budapest Films shot in Paris American black-and-white films 1950s English-language films Films based on works by Paul Gallico 1950s American films English-language spy drama films {{1950s-US-drama-film-stub