Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Secret Agent (1936)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Based loosely on a couple of Somerset Maugham's Ashenden stories, this thriller may not be one of Hitchcock's best English films, but it is full of startling set pieces and quirky characterisation. About a British spy (Gielgud) who travels to Switzerland to kill an enemy agent, but murders the wrong man, it delights in the rivalry for Madeleine Carroll's affections between Gielgud, Lorre and Young, and in the numerous opportunities for unusual thriller ingredients that the (studio-concocted) Swiss settings afford: a chase through a chocolate factory, murder atop a mountain, death in a quaint church. And there is a more serious side, with Gielgud doubting his profession and patriotism after killing the wrong man.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Michael Balcon, Ivor Montagu
Cast: Madeleine Carroll, John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Robert Young, Percy Marmont, Lilli Palmer, Charles Carson, Michael Redgrave full cast
Duration: 85 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing






What do you think?
Post your review now