Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLes Espions (1957)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A lunatic asylum in remote countryside, a top secret patient smuggled on to the premises at dead of night, the arrival in the village of a flock of sinister strangers. Turns out the Secret Service has invented a pretend spy to fox the foe and this is all in aid of spinning out the deception. The fiction-about-a-fiction idea aside, this bears no resemblance to Hitchcock's similar set up North by Northwest, and it's hard to know whether the wildly fluctuating tone was a matter of accident or design. The multi-national casting doesn't help, with the humourless Jurgens apparently suffering the agonies of the damned, and Peter Ustinov's very presence shifting all his scenes into waggishness. Beginning as Gothic horror, ending as cynical shaggy dog story, this is one of the more peculiar contributions to the '50s Cold War cycle.Author: BBa
Cast & crew
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Producer: Henri-Georges Clouzot, L de Mazure
Cast: Curd Jurgens, Peter Ustinov, Gérard Séty, Sam Jaffe, Paul Carpenter, Martita Hunt full cast
Duration: 125 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now