If you love film, you likely have been to a repertory screening at some point in your life. The chance to watch an older movie, on the big screen, with a crowd as in love with the opportunity to watch a movie in theatres, maybe for the first time, or maybe to recapture that sense of wonder of when you first saw it. The idea of repertory showings of movies still exists, but it’s also become corporatized through Fathom Events and their annual TCM series. That’s not inherently a bad thing (it’s how I finally watched “Vertigo” and “Jaws” on the big screen), but it also takes away some of the pleasure of going to an art house theatre like Atlanta’s The Plaza, which constantly has older films on tap, as well as special showings; my experiences with “The Crow” and “The Shining” there are unmatched.
It took me a while to figure out who my bookend director for 2024 was going to be for this series. As I listened to his memoir while on the road for work, I knew the answer had to be the one and only Mel Brooks, and starting our year had to happen with his 1967 directorial debut, “The Producers.”
This week, I watched Alfred Hitchcock’s 1936 thriller, “Secret Agent”, for the first time. I might have gone with another film if I had remembered this is double dipping on Hitchcock this year, but what’s done is done, and I’m glad I chose this. I hope you enjoy!
Viva La Resistance!
Brian Skutle
www.sonic-cinema.com
“Secret Agent” (1936)- B
Pre-Hollywood Alfred Hitchcock is not a complete blindspot to me, but it’s enough of one that I felt like it was time to delve back into the Master of Suspense’s British films. His 1936 thriller, “Secret Agent,” is not as nimble as films like his original “The Man Who Knew Too Much” or “The 39 Steps,” but the performances still engage.
Adapting from the novel by W. Somerset Maugham, this is a spy mystery set in WWI about British spies tasked with identifying and eliminating a German agent. One of the mysteries of this film is how Peter Lorre (a Hungarian actor, to be fair, but also known for his work in Germany at the time) is playing one of the British spies- known only as The General- and not the German agent. One of the other agents is novelist Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) who is forced to set aside his past life and become an agent. His name is now Richard Ashenden, and he is given a wife, Mrs. Ashenden (played by Madeleine Carroll). Together, they take the trek, and at first they think it is one person, only to discover that it is someone else.
The screenplay by Charles Bennett- with additional dialogue by Ian Hay and Jesse Lasky Jr.- doesn’t feel as nimble as other Hitchcock films in terms of its plotting; it almost feels too convoluted. What it is good at, however, is giving these actors characters to dig into. There are some good performances by Gielgud, Carroll and Lorre, with supporting work by Percy Marmont and Robert Young as two of the potential spies. There are moments where the dialogue just pops, but often, the drama doesn’t move with any energy. What we are left with are individual scenes that keep us engaged, but the story just doesn’t click, and at 86 minutes, it doesn’t really feel like it has a conclusion.
One of the things that we can tell in some of Hitch’s most famous early films is that, if the plot and characters were there, he knew how to make that story suspenseful. It’s easy to forget, at times, but Hitchcock didn’t really deal with espionage or political machinations so much as he did ordinary people put in suspenseful situations. That is where he excelled, and I think that is where “Secret Agent” just isn’t his bag. His craft is superb in scenes and with actors, but he just doesn’t feel invested in this as a storyteller. It’s still worth a look, though, for Hitchcock completists.
Previous “Repertory Revue” Films
“The Producers” (1967)
“Shadow of a Doubt” (1943)
“My Brother’s Wedding” (1983)
“Your Sister’s Sister” (2011)
“The Hunt for Red October” (1990)
“Backdraft” (1991)
“Beverly Hills Cop” (1984)
“Ladyhawke” (1985)
“3 Women” (1977)
“Brainstorm” (1983)
“1984” (1984)
“Natural Born Killers” (1994)
“Pulse” (2001)
“Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948)
“Paris, Texas” (1984)
“Secret Agent” (1936)
See Brian’s list of 2009 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2010 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2011 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2012 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2013 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2014 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2015 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2016 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2017 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2018 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2019 “Movies a Week” here.
See Brian’s list of 2020 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2021 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2022 “Repertory Revues” here.
See Brian’s list of 2023 “Repertory Revues” here.
