Secret Agent (1936)

Simply Perfect

Memorable, crazy movie

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I found the film is a bit uneven but worth watching for at least four reasons. One of them is the performance of Madeleine Carroll who is perhaps the best of all the Hitchcock blondes. She was stunningly beautiful and a supremely talented actress. Her performance stands the test of time and of changing screen acting techniques. Carroll as Elsa is called upon to run a great range of emotions and never misses a beat. Her face is surely one of the most beautifully expressive faces in screen history.Peter Lorre is always worth watching. He is at once comical and cunning. He can be obsequious and yet ready to take the offensive the moment the opportunity arises.The third thing that strikes me in this film is how uninteresting John Gielgud was as a younger man. His face was rather non-descript and he had not developed the distinctively deep, resonant tone that was Gielgud's trademark. I know that he is playing the part of a relatively young man and not an old, wise professor but his lack of diction makes some of his lines completely lacking in emotion and is sometimes difficult to understand. Age certainly improved Gielgud as a screen presence.Robert Young's scenes with Madeleine Carroll are the highlight of the film. Witty, sophisticated dialogue and great charm. Both know what the other is thinking as they playfully counter each others moves.

To me, I just love watching Peter Lorre in anything. His unforgettable voice and his villainous demeanor just adds to delight in watching his performance. Sure the film starred the legendary Shakespearean actor Sir John Gielgud who is fine but not a true standout. Madeleine Carroll also acts in the film as the leading lady. The movie is based on a novel and is set during World War I about espionage and intrigue. I really didn't find this film as one of my favorites. Peter Lorre was one of the director's favorites. It is clear to see why he was unique in voice and talent. Lorre always stole the spotlight. The film's story isn't so clear to me even until the ending.

If you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock or are a completest of his work Secret Agent is well worth a look at least once. Secret Agent is also a film that is much more than a film for completests only, it's not among the Master of Suspense's overall best- of his early pre-Rebecca films his best were The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps, Sabotage and The Lodger- but it's still a good film. John Gielgud performs admirably if somewhat too reserved in the lead role, a couple of the deaths are silly and there are a couple of loose ends here and there. Hitchcock's direction however is great with some clever and fun touches, if not as inventive or experimental as it would become later. It's a polished-looking film, not audacious but it's well made and has good atmosphere and very attractive locations. The music does a good job at being jaunty and eerie when it's called for, the script has some great ironic humour with a real sense of danger and the story is engrossing and suspenseful. The standout scenes were the church, German lesson, Langen Alp and chocolate factory ones as well as the truly exciting climax. Peter Lorre's toilet-paper scene has to be seen to be believed. Madeleine Carroll is very alluring and believable and she works nicely with Gielgud, while Robert Young is smooth and quietly menacing. Peter Lorre steals the film though in a performance that is genuinely creepy as well as funny. Overall, not mind-blowing but a very good film that is worthy of more attention. Gielgud's performance will divide people- he has been better- but the direction, the many memorable scenes and Lorre are enough to make you stick with it. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Secret Agent" tells the story of a two secret agents who pose as a couple as they attempt to capture and kill a German agent, "Secret Agent" was possibly an original Hitchcock story and one of the earlier spy films. However, an interesting premise, two great lead performances by Carrol and Gielgud is botched by poor storytelling, an overlong duration and the highly irritating character that Peter Lorre portrays. Lacking suspense and all the elements that make Hitchcock a master director and my all time favourite director, the only redeeming qualities found in this bloated Hitchcock picture are the attempted story its telling, an interesting romance story developing between the two leads and the two lead characters themselves. "Secret Agent" is the biggest step down from "The 39 Steps" that Hitchcock could seek. If his intentions were to make a film that is in every right, worse than its predecessor, he has succeeded otherwise its simply not something he'd want to remember.