Secret Agent
Dead Women Tell No Tales Was The Motto of This Charming Lady Killer!
1936 | 86m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
|---|---|
| Writer: | W. Somerset Maugham, Charles Bennett, Ian Hay, Jesse Lasky Jr. |
| Staring: |
| After three British agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences. | |
| Release Date: | May 31, 1936 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Writer: | W. Somerset Maugham, Charles Bennett, Ian Hay, Jesse Lasky Jr. |
| Genres: | Romance, Mystery, Thriller |
| Keywords | spy, hotel, switzerland, world war i, black and white |
| Production Companies | Gaumont-British Picture Corporation |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Madeleine Carroll | Elsa Carrington |
| John Gielgud | Richard Ashenden / Edgar Brodie |
| Peter Lorre | The General |
| Robert Young | Robert Marvin |
| Percy Marmont | Caypor |
| Florence Kahn | Mrs. Caypor |
| Charles Carson | "R" |
| Lilli Palmer | Lilli |
| Denys Blakelock | Man (uncredited) |
| Sebastian Cabot | Man (uncredited) |
| Tom Helmore | Colonel Anderson (uncredited) |
| Andreas Malandrinos | Manager (uncredited) |
| Howard Marion-Crawford | Karl (uncredited) |
| Rène Ray | Maid (uncredited) |
| Michael Redgrave | Army Officer (uncredited) |
| Michael Rennie | Army Captain (uncredited) |
| Michel Saint-Denis | Coachman (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Alfred Hitchcock | Director |
| W. Somerset Maugham | Novel |
| Charles Bennett | Screenplay |
| Bernard Knowles | Director of Photography |
| Charles Frend | Editor |
| Campbell Dixon | Theatre Play |
| Hubert Bath | Music |
| Oscar Friedrich Werndorff | Art Direction |
| Joe Strassner | Costume Design |
| Albert Jullion | Set Dressing Artist, Set Dresser |
| Phillip Dorté | Sound Recordist |
| Stephen Dade | Camera Operator |
| Ian Hay | Writer |
| Jesse Lasky Jr. | Writer |
| John Greenwood | Music |
| Louis Levy | Music Director |
| Pen Tennyson | Assistant Director |
| Philip Dorté | Sound Recordist |
| Reg Johnson | Assistant Camera |
| Gerry Massy-Collier | Assistant Camera |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Michael Balcon | Producer |
| Ivor Montagu | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 13 | 21 | 8 |
| 2024 | 5 | 16 | 28 | 8 |
| 2024 | 6 | 17 | 43 | 7 |
| 2024 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 7 |
| 2024 | 8 | 10 | 28 | 5 |
| 2024 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 4 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 24 | 5 |
| 2024 | 11 | 10 | 22 | 6 |
| 2024 | 12 | 9 | 16 | 5 |
| 2025 | 1 | 10 | 19 | 6 |
| 2025 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
Trending Position
John Gielgud charmingly portrays the novelist-cum-officer dragooned by the British spy service into travelling to Switzerland on the trail of a Nazi spy. He is assigned two assistants - a rather naive, but keen, Madeleine Carroll "Elsa" and a suitable sleazy, but lethal, Peter Lorre "as The General" ... . Their first attempt to fulfil their mission goes awry somewhat, as they dispatch the wrong person. It is at this point their consciences start to kick in and they question the morals of their mission - particularly when they actually do discover the identity of the enemy secret agent. Hitchcock and Charles Bennett adapt the Somerset Maugham story with plenty of attention to the detail and the characterisation; the direction is taut and the suspense on the train towards the end keep this enthralling.