The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, le Carré, Ian Fleming (Bond) and Len Deighton. It is a significant aspect of British cinema, with leading British directors such as Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed making notable contributions and many films set in the British Secret Service.
Thriller is a genre of fiction with numerous, often overlapping, subgenres, including crime, horror, and detective fiction. Thrillers are characterized and defined by the moods they elicit, giving their audiences heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety. This genre is well suited to film and television.
Freedom Radio is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War and concerns an underground German resistance group who run a radio station broadcasting against the totalitarian Third Reich.
Ian McNeice is an English film and television actor, best known for playing Bert Large in the dramedy Doc Martin. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series Edge of Darkness, and went on to feature in popular films such as The Englishman Who Went up a Hill but Came down a Mountain, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and Frank Herbert's Dune.
The Ghost of St. Michael's is a 1941 British comedy-thriller film, produced by Ealing Studios.
John Derek Carson-Parker, known as John Carson, was an English actor known for his appearances in film and television.
Interpol is a 1957 British-American CinemaScope crime film noir directed by John Gilling and starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sid James. The screenplay was by John Paxton, based on the 1955 novel of the same name by A.J. Forrest. The film was produced by Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli for Warwick Films.
Double Confession is a 1950 British crime film directed by Ken Annakin and starring Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, William Hartnell and Peter Lorre. The screenplay by William Templeton is based on the novel All On A Summer's Day by H.L.V. Fletcher, written under the pen name John Garden.
Operation Long Jump was an alleged German plan to simultaneously assassinate Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the "Big Three" Allied leaders, at the 1943 Tehran Conference during World War II. The operation in Iran was to be led by SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny of the Waffen SS. A group of agents from the Soviet Union, led by Soviet spy Gevork Vartanian, uncovered the plot before its inception and the mission was never launched. The assassination plan and its disruption have been popularized by the Russian media with appearances in films and novels.
Derrick Capel Farr was an English actor who appeared regularly in British films and television from 1938 until his death in 1986. His more famous roles include Group Captain John Whitworth in The Dam Busters.
The Man in the Road is a 1956 British second feature thriller film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Derek Farr, Ella Raines, Donald Wolfit and Cyril Cusack. It was based on the 1952 novel He Was Found in the Road by Anthony Armstrong.
Murder Without Crime is a 1950 British crime film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Dennis Price, Derek Farr and Patricia Plunkett. J. Lee Thompson also wrote the screenplay adapted from Double Error, his own successful West End play.
The Echo Murders is a 1945 British thriller film directed by John Harlow and starring David Farrar and Dennis Price. It was one of two films directed by John Harlow in which David Farrar played Sexton Blake, the other being Meet Sexton Blake (1945).
Mollenard is a 1938 French drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and starring Harry Baur, Gabrielle Dorziat and Pierre Renoir. It was also known by the alternative titles of Hatred and Capitaine Corsaire. The film's sets were designed by Alexandre Trauner. It is based on the novel of the same name by the Belgian writer Oscar-Paul Gilbert. The film's plot divides sharply into halves, with the first an action thriller set in China while the second is a social drama with the title character struggling to cope with what he regards as the suffocating atmosphere of his home port in France.
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. Tension is created by delaying what the audience sees as inevitable, and is built through situations that are menacing or where escape seems impossible.
Bang! You're Dead, also known as Game of Danger, is a 1954 British psychological drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Jack Warner, Anthony Richmond, Veronica Hurst, Derek Farr and Sean Barrett. When a child accidentally kills a man, the child and his companion struggle to comprehend the gravity of what has happened.
No Trace is a 1950 British second feature crime film directed by John Gilling and starring Hugh Sinclair, Dinah Sheridan and John Laurie. A crime writer murders a blackmailer, and is then asked to help solve the case by the police.
Manning Hedges Whiley was a British actor.
Marta Labarr was a French-American singer and actress who appeared in 11 British and French films, usually as a leading lady. Her final film was the 1946 thriller Tehran, playing opposite Derek Farr. She also appeared on the London stage in musicals. She later worked as a language coach, teaching Gina Lollobrigida amongst others. She is buried in Hautefort (France).
Passport to Treason is a 1956 British second feature mystery thriller directed by Robert S. Baker and starring Rod Cameron, Lois Maxwell, and Clifford Evans. It was written by Kenneth R. Hayles and Norman Hudis, based on the Manning O'Brine novel of the same name.
