Counterspy (film)

Last updated

Counterspy
Counterspy (1953 film).jpg
British quad poster
Directed by Vernon Sewell
Written by Guy Elmes
Gaston Lazare
Based onshort story Criss Cross Code by Julian Symons
Produced byWilliam H. Williams
Starring
CinematographyA.T. Dinsdale
Edited by Geoffrey Muller
Music by Eric Spear
Production
company
Abtcon Pictures
Distributed by Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors
Release date
  • 1 August 1953 (1953-08-01)(UK)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Counterspy (also known as Night People and Undercover Agent) is a 1953 British second feature [1] comedy thriller film directed by Vernon Sewell and starring Dermot Walsh, Hazel Court and Hermione Baddeley. [2] An accountant comes into possession of secret papers sought by both the government and a spy ring.

Contents

Plot

When Frank Manning visits an engineering company to audit the accounts, he meets a woman who claims she is being blackmailed by Paulson, the company's director. She asks for Manning's help. Subsequently Manning is captured by a gang of spies, escapes, and he is re-captured, along with his wife Clare. They are taken to a bogus nursing home run by the gang. The police, who have been trailing Clare, arrest the gang.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A conventional but quite lively spy thriller, well supplied with action. Hermione Baddeley provides an effective character study as the fortune teller and Alexander Guage makes a suitably sinister and oily villain." [3]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture is quickly off the mark and puts over its mayhem and murder against widely varied and appropriate backgrounds. Dermot Walsh acts convincingly as the bewildered but brave Manning, Hazel Court wears tights to perfection as Clare, Alexander Gauge makes his presence felt as the menacing Smith, John Penrose disarms as Paulson, and Hermione Baddeley introduces an amusing cameo as a fortune teller." [4]

Picture Show wrote: "Fast-moving murder and crook drama with a London setting. ... Hazel Court looks very attractive as [Manning's] wife and Alexander Gauge is suitably sinister as an international crook." [5]

Picturegoer wrote: "It needs a sure touch to blend comedy with espionage, and in this British thriller the mixture doesn't have much kick. ... Comedy gets so mixed up with the drama that it is difficult to tell which is which. Dermot Walsh makes a fair try in a semi-comedy role, but Hazel Court, as his wife, has little to do. Hermione Baddeley gives value for money in her cameo of a fortune teller. It's amusing in parts, but the yawns outstay the laughs." [6]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Comedy-thriller has a bit more life than average 'B'." [7]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "Some topicality is given to the otherwise threadbare plot – the spies are after plans for jet engines, and there's a chase through one of London's newest tourist attractions, the Festival Gardens on London's South Bank." [8]

TV Guide called it "A routine spy picture," and rated it two out of five stars. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hazel Court</span> English actress (1926–2008)

Hazel Court was an English actress. She is known for her roles in British and American horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s, including Terence Fisher's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) and The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) for Hammer Film Productions, and three of Roger Corman's adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories for American International Pictures: The Premature Burial (1962), The Raven (1963) and The Masque of the Red Death (1964).

<i>Spaceways</i> 1953 film by Terence Fisher

Spaceways is a 1953 British second feature ('B') science fiction drama film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Howard Duff, Eva Bartok and Alan Wheatley. It was produced by Michael Carreras for Hammer Film Productions Ltd. and Lippert Productions Inc., with Robert L. Lippert as uncredited co-producer. The screenplay was written by Paul Tabori and Richard Landau, based on the 1952 radio play by Charles Eric Maine. The film was distributed in the UK by Exclusive Films Ltd. and in the United States by Lippert Pictures.

<i>Grand National Night</i> 1953 film

Grand National Night is a 1953 British second feature ('B') thriller film directed by Bob McNaught and starring Nigel Patrick, Moira Lister and Beatrice Campbell. It was produced by George Minter and Phil C. Samuel, and written by Val Valentine and Bob McNaught based on the 1945 play of the same title written by Campbell and Dorothy Christie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dermot Walsh</span> Irish actor (1924–2002)

Dermot Walsh was an Irish stage, film and television actor, known for portraying King Richard the Lionheart in the 1962 television series Richard the Lionheart.

<i>Dry Rot</i> (film) 1956 British film by Maurice Elvey

Dry Rot is a 1956 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey, and starring Ronald Shiner, Brian Rix, Peggy Mount, and Sid James. The screenplay is by John Chapman, adapted from his 1954 Whitehall farce of the same name.

<i>Out of the Shadow</i> (1961 film) 1961 British film by Michael Winner

Out of the Shadow is a 1961 British thriller film directed and written by Michael Winner and starring Terence Longdon, Donald Gray, Diane Clare, Robertson Hare and Dermot Walsh.

<i>Torment</i> (1950 British film) 1950 British film by John Guillermin

Torment is a 1950 British second feature thriller film directed and written by John Guillermin and starring Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson and John Bentley.

<i>The Breaking Point</i> (1961 film) 1961 British film by Lance Comfort

The Breaking Point is a 1961 second feature British crime film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Peter Reynolds, Dermot Walsh, Joanna Dunham and Lisa Gastoni. The screenplay was by Peter Lambert based on the 1957 novel by Laurence Meynell.

<i>The Second Mate</i> 1950 British film by John Baxter

The Second Mate is a 1950 British crime film directed by John Baxter and starring Gordon Harker, Graham Moffatt and David Hannaford. It was made at Southall Studios.

<i>House of Blackmail</i> 1953 British film by Maurice Elvey

House of Blackmail is a 1953 British second feature drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Mary Germaine, William Sylvester and Alexander Gauge. It was written by Allan MacKinnon. The plot follows a soldier and his girlfriend, who become mixed up with a blackmailer.

<i>Whispering Smith Hits London</i> 1952 British film

Whispering Smith Hits London is a 1952 British second feature ('B') mystery film directed by Francis Searle and starring Richard Carlson, Greta Gynt and Herbert Lom. The screenplay was by John Gilling. It was released in the United States by RKO Pictures.

<i>Keep It Clean</i> 1956 British film by David Paltenghi

Keep It Clean is a 1956 British black-and-white comedy film directed by David Paltenghi and starring Ronald Shiner and Joan Sims. The screenplay was by Carl Nystrom and R. F. Delderfield.

Three Steps to the Gallows is a 1953 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Scott Brady, Mary Castle and Gabrielle Brune. It was written by Paul Erickson and Gilling, and released in the US by Lippert Pictures as White Fire.

<i>Mr. Reeder in Room 13</i> 1938 film

Mr. Reeder in Room 13 is a 1938 British crime film directed by Norman Lee and starring Peter Murray-Hill, Sally Gray and Gibb McLaughlin. It is based on the first J. G. Reeder book, Room 13 by Edgar Wallace. The film was released in the U.S. in 1941 as Mystery of Room 13.

<i>Naked Fury</i> 1959 British film by Charles Saunders

Naked Fury is a 1959 British crime thriller directed by Charles Saunders and starring Reed De Rouen, Kenneth Cope and Leigh Madison. It was written by Guido Coen and Brock Williams.

<i>Landslide</i> (1937 film) 1937 British film

Landslide is a 1937 British drama film directed by Donovan Pedelty and starring Jimmy Hanley, Dinah Sheridan and Jimmy Mageean. It was written by Pedelty and David Evans.

<i>The Scarlet Web</i> 1954 British film by Charles Saunders

The Scarlet Web is a 1954 British second feature crime film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Griffith Jones, Hazel Court and Zena Marshall. It was written by Doreen Montgomery.

<i>13 East Street</i> 1952 film

13 East Street is a 1952 British second feature ('B') crime thriller film directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Patrick Holt, Sandra Dorne and Sonia Holm. It was written by John Gilling, Carl Nystrom and Baker and produced by Tempean Films.

<i>The Hornets Nest</i> (1955 film) 1955 film directed by Charles Saunders

The Hornet's Nest is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime comedy film directed by Charles Saunders and starring Paul Carpenter, June Thorburn, and Marla Landi. It was written by Allan MacKinnon.

<i>The Hideout</i> (1956 film) 1956 film by Peter Graham Scott

The Hideout is a 1956 British crime film directed by Peter Graham Scott and starring Dermot Walsh, Rona Anderson and Ronald Howard. It was produced as a second feature by John Temple-Smith. The screenplay was by Kenneth Hayles.

References

  1. ↑ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 249. ISBN   978-1-8445-7319-6.
  2. ↑ "Counterspy". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  3. ↑ "Counterspy". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 20 (228): 133. 1 January 1953. ProQuest   1305818851 – via ProQuest.
  4. ↑ "Counterspy" . Kine Weekly . 436 (2405): 18. 30 July 1953 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ "Counterspy" . Picture Show . 61 (1595): 10. 24 October 1953 – via ProQuest.
  6. ↑ "Counterspy" . Picturegoer . 26: 21. 7 September 1953 – via ProQuest.
  7. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 295. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  8. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 204. ISBN   9780992936440.
  9. ↑ "Undercover Agent". TV Guide . Archived from the original on 15 March 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.