The Spy in Black

1939 82 min ★ 6.5 War, Thriller

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

▶ Watch Trailer

Cast

Conrad Veidt

Captain Ernst Hardt

Sebastian Shaw

Ashington

Valerie Hobson

The School Mistress

Marius Goring

Lieutenant Felix Schuster

June Duprez

Anne Burnett

Athole Stewart

The Rev. Hector Matthews

Agnes Lauchlan

Mrs. Matthews

Helen Haye

Mrs. Sedley

Cyril Raymond

The Rev. John Harris

George Summers

Captain Ratter

Details

Director

Michael Powell

Screenplay

Emeric Pressburger

Tagline

"Today's U-boat terror makes this the year's timeliest picture!"

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$4,700,000

Production

Irving Asher Productions, London Films Productions

Reviews

P

Peter McGinn

April 27, 2021

★ 7/10

This is a classic black and white spy thriller, thought of highly enough to be part of a national project to restore old films. The movie is entertaining, with a couple of departures from normal thrillers, I think (though I am not a follower of the genre). The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of the Germans, the enemy, as it were. It would be like the movie The Alamo being told fr...

C

CinemaSerf

March 28, 2022

★ 7/10

Valerie Hobson steals the show here in this dark, tense, wartime espionage drama about a German U-boat captain (Conrad Veidt) sent to the Orkney Islands in WWI to gather intelligence on the British Grand Fleet. Released at the start of the Second World War, this first outing for Powell/Pressberger delivers in a much more ominous tone than that of a mere piece of propaganda. There is a depth to the...