Master Spy

Last updated

Master Spy
"Master Spy" (1964).jpg
US release film poster
Directed by Montgomery Tully
Screenplay byMaurice J. Wilson
Montgomery Tully
Based onThey Also Serve
by Gerald Anstruther and Paul White
Produced byMaurice J. Wilson
Starring Stephen Murray
June Thorburn
Alan Wheatley
John Carson
Cinematography Geoffrey Faithfull
Edited byEric Boyd-Perkins
Music by Ken Thorne
Production
company
Eternal Films
Distributed byGrand National Pictures
Release dates
August 19, 1963 [1] (UK)
August 19, 1964 (US)
Running time
70 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Master Spy (also known as Checkmate) [2] [3] is a 1963 British spy film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Stephen Murray, June Thorburn and Alan Wheatley. [4] The film was based on the short story "They Also Serve" by Gerald Anstruther and Paul White.

Contents

The US release film poster identifies the Master Spy as Agent 909.

Plot

A Russian nuclear scientist, Dr Boris Turganev, defects from an unnamed country to the West. He is employed by the UK Government at a top secret scientific establishment to continue his work on neutron rays. He is introduced to a wealthy local man, Paul Skelton, and they identify themselves to each other as spies. Turganev's colleagues start to suspect he is stealing secrets for the communists; Turganev passes information to Skelton under the cover of their private games of chess. British Intelligence arrests them, and they are tried and sentenced to long prison terms.

Turganev's colleague is puzzled that the secret document which Turganev was passing to Skelton had been altered and would not work. In a plot twist, it is revealed that Turganev was working for British Intelligence, who suspected Skelton and wanted to catch his spy ring. A prison escape is engineered for Turganev so that he can return to his own country and continue his activities for the British with his cover intact.

Cast

Critical reception

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Howard (British actor)</span> British actor (1918–1996)

Ronald Howard was an English actor and writer. He appeared as Sherlock Holmes in a weekly television series of the same name in 1954. He was the son of the actor Leslie Howard.

<i>The Spy in Black</i> 1939 film by Michael Powell

The Spy in Black is a 1939 British film, and the first collaboration between the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. They were brought together by Alexander Korda to make the World War I spy thriller novel of the same title by Joseph Storer Clouston into a film. Powell and Pressburger eventually made over 20 films during the course of their partnership.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Basil Dignam</span> English actor

Basil Dignam was an English character actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorley Walters</span> English actor (1913–1991)

Thorley Swinstead Walters was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in Two-Way Stretch and Carlton-Browne of the FO.

John Ernest Briggs was an English actor. He was known for his role as Mike Baldwin in the soap opera Coronation Street, in which he appeared from 1976 to 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ernest Clark</span> British actor

Ernest Clark MC was a British actor of stage, television and film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finlay Currie</span> Scottish actor (1878–1968)

William Finlay Currie was a Scottish actor of stage, screen, and television. He received great acclaim for his roles as Abel Magwitch in the British film Great Expectations (1946) and as Balthazar in the American film Ben-Hur (1959).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Carpenter (actor)</span> Canadian actor and singer

Paul Carpenter was a Canadian actor and singer.

<i>The Deadly Affair</i> 1967 film by Sidnet Lumet

The Deadly Affair is a 1967 British spy film based on John le Carré's first novel, Call for the Dead (1961). The film stars James Mason and was directed by Sidney Lumet from a script by Paul Dehn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howard Marion-Crawford</span> English actor (1914–1969)

Howard Marion-Crawford, the grandson of writer F. Marion Crawford, was an English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Marner</span> Actor (1921–2004)

Richard Marner was a Russian-British actor. He was probably best known for his role as Colonel Kurt von Strohm in the British sitcom 'Allo 'Allo!.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Sofaer</span> Burmese-British actor (1896–1988)

Abraham Isaac Sofaer was a Burmese-born British actor who began his career on stage and became a familiar supporting player in film and on television in his later years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Carson (actor)</span> English actor

John Derek Carson-Parker, known as John Carson, was an English actor known for his appearances in film and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Caldicot</span> British actor

Richard Caldicot was an English actor famed for his role of Commander Povey in the BBC radio series The Navy Lark. He also appeared often on television, memorably as the obstetrician delivering Betty Spencer's baby in Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em.

<i>British Intelligence</i> (film) 1940 film by Terry O. Morse

British Intelligence is a 1940 spy film set in World War I. It was directed by Terry O. Morse and stars Boris Karloff and Margaret Lindsay. The film, also known as Enemy Agent, was released in the United States in January 1940. The Warner Bros. B picture was based on a 1918 play Three Faces East written by Anthony Paul Kelly and produced on the stage by George M. Cohan. Two film adaptations of Three Faces East in 1926 and 1930 preceded British Intelligence.

<i>Cottage to Let</i> 1941 film by Anthony Asquith

Cottage to Let is a 1941 British spy thriller film directed by Anthony Asquith starring Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim and John Mills. Filmed during the Second World War and set in Scotland during the war, its plot concerns Nazi spies trying to kidnap an inventor.

<i>The Double Man</i> (1967 film) 1967 British spy film by Franklin Schaffner

The Double Man is a 1967 British spy film directed by Franklin Schaffner. Its plot is very loosely based on the critically acclaimed 1958 novel Legacy of a Spy by Henry S. Maxfield. As in the novel, much of the action takes place in the Austrian Alps. The film stars Yul Brynner as a CIA agent investigating his son's fatal "accident": although he learns a few things from others, he slowly is convinced something else is happening and discovers a fiendish Russian plan.

<i>The Mind Benders</i> (1963 film) 1963 British film

The Mind Benders is a 1963 British thriller film produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant and Wendy Craig. Screenwriter James Kennaway turned his screenplay into his 1963 novel of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Benson (actor)</span> English character actor (1918–2010)

Martin Benjamin Benson was a British character actor who appeared in films, theatre and television. He appeared in both British and Hollywood productions.

<i>Delayed Action</i> 1954 film

Delayed Action is a 1954 British film noir mystery film directed by John Harlow and starring Robert Ayres, June Thorburn and Alan Wheatley. It was produced as a second feature for release by General Film Distributors. It was shot at Twickenham Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Wilfred Arnold.

References

  1. https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150043577
  2. "Master Spy". BFI Filmography. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021.
  3. "Master Spy (1963)". BFI. Archived from the original on 4 May 2019.
  4. "BFI | Film & TV Database | MASTER SPY (1962)". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. 16 April 2009. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  5. Master Spy , retrieved 7 March 2022
  6. Master Spy (1963) , retrieved 7 March 2022
  7. Howard Thompson (20 August 1964). "Movie Review - Master Spy - Master Spy' at Local Theaters". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 7 April 2014.
  8. "Master Spy (1964) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 7 April 2014.