I Was a Spy
| I Was a Spy | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by |
Victor Saville Herbert Mason (Assistant Director) Frank Sherwin Green (Assistant Director) |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Based on |
I Was a Spy by Marthe Cnockaert |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Louis Levy (music director) |
| Cinematography | Charles Van Enger |
| Edited by | Frederick Y.Smith |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
I Was a Spy is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and starring Madeleine Carroll, Herbert Marshall, and Conrad Veidt. Based on the 1932 memoir I Was a Spy by Marthe Cnockaert, the film is about a Belgian woman who nurses injured German soldiers during World War I while passing intelligence to the British.[1]
I Was a Spy was also the first film dubbed in Poland (while there were earlier examples of films dubbed in Polish, they were recorded in Paramount studio in Joinville, France), released in 1935 as Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem, starring Lidia Wysocka as Martha Cnockhaert's voice. The screenplay was written by Edmund Gwenn.
Plot
In German occupied Belgium 1914, a Belgian woman employed by the Allies nurses injured soldiers and falls in love with a German commandant.
Cast
- Madeleine Carroll as Marthe Cnockaert
- Herbert Marshall as Stephan
- Conrad Veidt as Commandant Oberaertz
- Edmund Gwenn as Burgomaster
- Gerald du Maurier as Doctor
- Donald Calthrop as Cnockhaert
- May Agate as Madame Cnockhaert
- Eva Moore as Canteen Ma
- Martita Hunt as Aunt Lucille
- Nigel Bruce as Scottie
- George Merritt as Captain Reichmann
- Anthony Bushell as Otto
Production
Filming took place in Shepherds Bush. Producer Michael Balcon sent Herbert Mason (who was initially production manager before becoming an assistant director) to take the script to Belgium and give it to Marthe Cnockaert to look at.[2]
Reception
The film was voted the best British movie of 1932, and Madeleine Carroll's performance was voted the best in a British movie.[3]
Although it was very successful in the Box Office this was not Saville's reaction. He watched the completed I Was a Spy with one of the Assistant Directors Herbert Mason and was devastated however Mason reassured him that it was his "best to date."[4]
Home Media
I Was a Spy was released on DVD on 19 May 2014.
References
- ↑ BFI Database
- ↑ Balcon, 1969, p. 74
- ↑ "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR.". Examiner (Launceston, Tas. : 1900 - 1954). Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 9 July 1937. p. 8 Edition: LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY. Retrieved 4 March 2013.
- ↑ Moseley, 2000, p. 69
Bibliography
- Moseley, Roy. (2000). Evergreen: Victor Saville in His Own Words. Southern Illinois University Press
- Balcon, Michael. (1969). Michael Balcon Presents...A Lifetime of Films. Hutchinson & Co Ltd
External links
- I Was a Spy at the Internet Movie Database
- I Was a Spy BFI
- I Was a Spy (1933) Britmovie | Home of British Films