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WarThriller

The Spy in Black

- Today's U-boat terror makes this the year's timeliest picture!

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

Release Date : 1939-08-03

Language :GermanEnglishHungarian

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Irving Asher ProductionsLondon Films Productions

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles : U-Boat 29

Cast

Conrad Veidt

Character Name : Captain Ernst Hardt

Original Name : Conrad Veidt

Gender : Male

Sebastian Shaw

Character Name : Ashington

Original Name : Sebastian Shaw

Gender : Male

Valerie Hobson

Character Name : The School Mistress

Original Name : Valerie Hobson

Gender : Female

Marius Goring

Character Name : Lieutenant Felix Schuster

Original Name : Marius Goring

Gender : Male

June Duprez

Character Name : Anne Burnett

Original Name : June Duprez

Gender : Female

Athole Stewart

Character Name : The Rev. Hector Matthews

Original Name : Athole Stewart

Gender : Male

Agnes Lauchlan

Character Name : Mrs. Matthews

Original Name : Agnes Lauchlan

Gender : Male

Helen Haye

Character Name : Mrs. Sedley

Original Name : Helen Haye

Gender : Female

Cyril Raymond

Character Name : The Rev. John Harris

Original Name : Cyril Raymond

Gender : Male

George Summers

Character Name : Captain Ratter

Original Name : George Summers

Gender : Male

Hay Petrie

Character Name : Engineer

Original Name : Hay Petrie

Gender : Male

Grant Sutherland

Character Name : Bob Bratt

Original Name : Grant Sutherland

Gender : Male

Robert Rendel

Character Name : Admiral

Original Name : Robert Rendel

Gender : Male

Mary Morris

Character Name : Chauffeuse

Original Name : Mary Morris

Gender : Female

Margaret Moffatt

Character Name : Kate

Original Name : Margaret Moffatt

Gender : Female

Kenneth Warrington

Character Name : Commander Denis

Original Name : Kenneth Warrington

Gender : Male

Torin Thatcher

Character Name : Submarine Officer

Original Name : Torin Thatcher

Gender : Male

Esma Cannon

Character Name : Maggie

Original Name : Esma Cannon

Gender : Female

Cyril Chamberlain

Character Name : Bit Part (uncredited)

Original Name : Cyril Chamberlain

Gender : Male

Bryan Herbert

Character Name : Corporal Guarding POW's on Ferry

Original Name : Bryan Herbert

Gender : Male

Skelton Knaggs

Character Name : German Sailor looking for Capt. Hardt

Original Name : Skelton Knaggs

Gender : Male

Howard Marion-Crawford

Character Name : German Officer in Kieler Hof Hotel

Original Name : Howard Marion-Crawford

Gender : Male

Bernard Miles

Character Name : Hans - Hotel Receptionist

Original Name : Bernard Miles

Gender : Male

John Penrose

Character Name : Newlywed at Kiel Hotel

Original Name : John Penrose

Gender : Male

Johnnie Schofield

Character Name : Armed Guard of POWs on Ferry

Original Name : Johnnie Schofield

Gender : Male

Diana Sinclair-Hall

Character Name : Undetermined Minor Role (uncredited)

Original Name : Diana Sinclair-Hall

Gender : Male

Graham Stark

Character Name : Bell Boy (uncredited)

Original Name : Graham Stark

Gender : Male

Jack Lambert

Character Name : Passport Official (uncredited)

Original Name : Jack Lambert

Gender : Male

Jeanne Macintyre

Character Name : German Girl (uncredited)

Original Name : Jeanne Macintyre

Gender : Male

Jack Sharp

Character Name :

Original Name : Jack Sharp

Gender : Male

Reviews

P

Peter McGinn

@narrator56

2021-06-23

This is a classic black and white spy thriller, thought of highly enough to be part of a national project to restore old films. The movie is entertaining, with a couple of departures from normal thrillers, I think (though I am not a follower of the genre). The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of the Germans, the enemy, as it were. It would be like the movie The Alamo being told from the perspective of Santa Anna’s Mexican army. Also, the ending is unusual compared to a modern thriller, where then good guy and bad guy usually square off and settle things in a climactic final scene. But they do produce a plot twist, the norm for any spy movie, and it works. It is a short movie, well under 90 minutes, and it moves right along. The lack of color adds to the atmosphere of the film. The script is fine. Oddly, several lines are delivered in German with no translation, but obviously nothing critical is left out because of it. You can sort of get what they must be saying and they are brief bits of dialogue. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie a second time, but I don’t regret the time spent watching it.

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-03-28

Valerie Hobson steals the show here in this dark, tense, wartime espionage drama about a German U-boat captain (Conrad Veidt) sent to the Orkney Islands in WWI to gather intelligence on the British Grand Fleet. Released at the start of the Second World War, this first outing for Powell/Pressberger delivers in a much more ominous tone than that of a mere piece of propaganda. There is a depth to the writing and a sinisterness to the story that is gripping for just shy of 90 minutes before culminating in the sort of "gallant" ending that I suspect would not have been considered appropriate five years later.