Good Spies
A good spy is usually a trained government agent from either the US or Great Britain. The few who are civilians work for their home country or act on their own. According to the film noir file, if acting alone, they are one of the following nationalities: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, French, Norwegian, Polish, or Russian. The qualities of a good spy include strong people skills, analytical abilities, discretion, and adaptability.
Female Good Spies
Many good spies are women. When someone is revealed in the finale to be a secret government agent, it is predictably a female. Here are some examples of films featuring ‘female good spies’:
Bulldog Drummond at Bay (1937): In this film, Drummond is trying to prevent foreign agents from stealing an experimental aircraft control system that is vital to England’s defense. Bulldog (John Lodge) believes a beautiful woman (Dorothy Mackaill) is a member of a spy ring. Toward the end of the film, he discovers that she is a British undercover agent who, like himself, is trying to bring down the evil doers. (Criterion)
British Intelligence (1940): During World War I, a pretty German master spy, Helene von Lorbeer, is sent undercover to London to live with the family of a highly placed British official. While there, she is to rendezvous with the butler Valdar, also a spy, and help him transmit secret war plans back to Germany. In the final scene, a top official in British intelligence explains to the cabinet minister that no one but himself knew that Helene was so deep undercover. The film is also known as: Secret Enemy. (YouTube)
Navy Secrets (1939): A woman (Fay Wray) and a man (Grant Withers) spend an evening together and end their date by busting up a spy ring. All along, each thought that the other was an enemy agent, but they find out they are both in US Naval Intelligence. (YouTube)
Enemy Agent (1940): Enemy agents infiltrate an aviation plant in order to acquire the secret plans for the United States Army’s Flying Fortress and secret bomb sites. A waitress at a steakhouse who is drawn into the plot turns out to be with the FBI. (Internet Archive)
The Saint’s Vacation (1941): Private detective Simon Templar interrupts a holiday in Switzerland to solve a mystery concerning a Swiss music box with an unusual tune. Simon (Hugh Sinclair) doesn’t want to obtain the music box so that he can sell it. He is searching for it on behalf of the British government. He’s surprised when he discovers that a woman he thought was plotting against him to get the box is actually an official agent. (The movie is available to rent from the usual sources.)
Escape from Hong Kong (1942): Viewers learn very quickly that Majorie Lord is not a German agent, “Fraulein K,” but that she’s a British undercover operative, “Valerie Hale.” However, her co-stars – three American vaudeville entertainers – are in the dark. (Internet Archive)
Invisible Agent (1942): The original Invisible Man’s grandson (Jon Hall) believes a lovely woman (Ilona Massey) that he has met – and who can’t see him – is a Nazi agent. Later, when he is no longer invisible, he’s told that the woman is one of Britain’s “most trusted agents.” In between, he uses his invisibility to bewilder the Nazis and Japanese by infiltrating top-secret meetings, obtaining confidential information, and eventually thwarting Axis plans for an aerial attack on New York City! (Rent on YouTube)
Madame Spy (1942): In Madame Spy, famous war correspondent, David Bannister (Don Porter), calls the FBI to denounce his wife (Constance Bennett) as a member of a pro-Nazi spy ring. He then learns that his wife is an FBI undercover spy, responsible for the arrest of all 33 men and women in the ring. (Internet Archive)
Male Good Spies
A male ‘good spy’, usually a British or American civilian, may pretend to be a different person whom he identically resembles. Not only does he fool the real man’s friends and accomplices, but also his wife, girlfriend, or mistress.
Nazi Agent (1942) A story of German-born identical twins (both played by Veidt), one a loyal American and the other, a Nazi official. The American is forced to help a group of German spies, but eventually rebels, kills his brother, impersonates him, and exposes the ring. (Available on Mubi with a 7 Day Free Trial)
The Great Impersonation (1942): The movie follows the story of an Englishman who, while in Africa, encounters his German doppelganger just before the outbreak of World War II. The German impersonates the Englishman and travels to London to act as a Nazi spy, infiltrating the English aristocracy.
If you enjoy these films, you might want to check out If You Like Noir, You’ll Like Espionage. You can find it here.
HAPPY VIEWING!
(This post draws material from an extremely long post on filmnoirfile.com titled “Spy Noirs & the Origins of Film Noir in the UK & US.” It’s the first in a series of posts on the five main types of plots in Spy Noir.)
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Featured Photo by Lionel Martinez (Flickr)
