Reviews (3)

Hitch's Mix....Suspense and Humor...
This review refers to the Platinum Disc Corp DVD edition...

From 1936..."The Secret Agent". You'll find Hitch's unique sense of humor well intergrated with the suspense in this terrific film about espinoge at the onset of WWI. A recluctant spy is recruited to kill an enemy spy. He is given a false name and a fake wife to keep up appearances. He goes after the target, but does he have the right man? Could there be another who is the real culprit? And what a cast.. John Gielgud stars with Madeline Carroll,Robert Young and Peter Lorre(fabulous as always) as his very strange accomplice.Other notables to look for include Lilli Palmer and Michael Redgrave.

The transfer of this nearly 70 year old film by Platinum is decent, but probably not as good as some of the more expensive editons. The picture is nice and clear but there are quite a few scratches.The sound in Dolby Dig is clear and distinguishable. I did find it to be very viewable and perfectly enjoyable.It includes a short trivia quiz of the film, a bio of Sir John Gielgud and a few chapter stops.It comes in a nice jewel case, with an insert that also includes the same extras that are on the disc.

Where's Hitch.....alas, there seems to be no appearance by Sir Alfred here.

I would recommend this editon of "Secret Agent" to Hitch fans who want to build up their collection without spending too much.

enjoy...Laurie

Often-overlooked Hitchcock is worth several viewings!
SECRET AGENT was Hitchcock's follow-up to the hugely successful THE 39 STEPS, and continues that film's explorations of moral ambiguity and instability of identity. A very young John Gielgud portrays Edgar Brodie, an English soldier whose identity is deliberately eliminated by the government so his talents may be put to use as a professional spy under the name of Richard Ashenden. His mission: travel to Switzerland and execute a German spy before he crosses the Swiss border. Ashenden's accomplices in this state-sanctioned murder are the bizarre and campy bisexual "General" (Peter Lorre), who claims to be Spanish but is obviously nothing of the sort, and Elsa (Madeleine Carroll) a rather bloodthirsty woman assigned to play Mrs. Ashenden, who seems to have become an agent just to get a few thrills. Elsa's gung-ho mindset changes rapidly when the little group deceives and assassinates the wrong man. Elsa distracts the man's wife by asking for German lessons while Ashenden and the General take him on a mountain trek from which he will not return. Although the General actually does the killing, Ashenden is complicit in the unwitting crime, and seems to accept it as a matter of course. This murder sequence is extremely suspenseful, cross-cutting the male plot with the gradual realization of the doomed man's wife that something has happened to her husband because of the increasing agitation of the man's faithful dog. At the moment of the killing, the dog breaks out into eerie, unforgettable howls. After this event, Elsa realizes that what she thought was a game was actually in deadly earnest, and she tries to stop Ashenden from going through with the actual muder of the real agent, whose identity is uncovered almost by accident. The final sequences, including a fire alarm in a chocolate factory and a stunning train wreck, result in the deaths of the German agent and the General, leaving Elsa and Ashenden free to marry and quit the spy business. As another reviewer has noted, there is a strange and disquieting undercurrent of homosexuality among all the major male characters, who seem to be more interested in each other than any of them is in Elsa. Indeed, Madeleine Carroll has almost nothing to do in the last half of the film, and the usual sexualized banter between Hollywood lovers is actually given to Ashenden and the General! Indeed, Ashenden seems oddly reluctant to touch Elsa throughout the film and their love scenes are awkward at best. I can't say whether any of this was deliberate on Hitchcock's part, or whether was simply the result of casting a trio of homosexual or bisexual actors as the male leads, but the function of this choice undercuts the usual romance angle that we find in this type of story and renders the conclusion quite unbelievable, which perhaps makese sense, considering that no one in the world of this film is what he or she seems to be on the surface. Still, this is a surprisingly accomplished film which, despite some jarring shifts in tone, is watchable throughout. By the way, the film is supposedly set in 1916 and the events it chronicles deal with WW I, but don't you believe it for a second! The costumes and decors are strictly mid-30's, as is the language! Hitchcock obviously wished to comment on the moral choices forced on people by the deteriorating international situation of the times, and it isn't much of a stretch to relate these people to choices present only in the 1930's!

An Odd Little British Curio From The Master Of Suspense!
Another one of Hitchcock's early British films. Made just one year after Hitchcock's classic 'The 39 Steps'. Hitchcock's trademarks and usual suspense are greatly tampered making a more comic (?) film with some tense sexual undercurrents. John Gielgud, who is a master in stage acting and one of the most respected performers since Olivier stars as the secret agent who is sent to knock off an assassin. There are some surprising homosexual undercurrents to his character, he has the opportunity with Madeline Carroll but never does anything about it. Peter Lorre is also memorable as the Spanish (?) assassin, a bit too over the top at times but still delivers. The accents are extremely thick and lots of close-ups of letters and messages make the plot hard to follow at times. Madeleine Carroll also stars, Hitchcock had used her as the icy blonde who charms Robert Donat in 'The 39 Steps' just one year earlier. Less suspenseful than most of Hitchcock's other films and has a lot less to offer. One of the master of suspense's lesser efforts. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 5! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Hitch's Mix....Suspense and Humor...
This review refers to the Platinum Disc Corp DVD edition...

From 1936..."The Secret Agent". You'll find Hitch's unique sense of humor well intergrated with the suspense in this terrific film about espinoge at the onset of WWI. A recluctant spy is recruited to kill an enemy spy. He is given a false name and a fake wife to keep up appearances. He goes after the target, but does he have the right man? Could there be another who is the real culprit? And what a cast.. John Gielgud stars with Madeline Carroll,Robert Young and Peter Lorre(fabulous as always) as his very strange accomplice.Other notables to look for include Lilli Palmer and Michael Redgrave.

The transfer of this nearly 70 year old film by Platinum is decent, but probably not as good as some of the more expensive editons. The picture is nice and clear but there are quite a few scratches.The sound in Dolby Dig is clear and distinguishable. I did find it to be very viewable and perfectly enjoyable.It includes a short trivia quiz of the film, a bio of Sir John Gielgud and a few chapter stops.It comes in a nice jewel case, with an insert that also includes the same extras that are on the disc.

Where's Hitch.....alas, there seems to be no appearance by Sir Alfred here.

I would recommend this editon of "Secret Agent" to Hitch fans who want to build up their collection without spending too much.

enjoy...Laurie

Often-overlooked Hitchcock is worth several viewings!
SECRET AGENT was Hitchcock's follow-up to the hugely successful THE 39 STEPS, and continues that film's explorations of moral ambiguity and instability of identity. A very young John Gielgud portrays Edgar Brodie, an English soldier whose identity is deliberately eliminated by the government so his talents may be put to use as a professional spy under the name of Richard Ashenden. His mission: travel to Switzerland and execute a German spy before he crosses the Swiss border. Ashenden's accomplices in this state-sanctioned murder are the bizarre and campy bisexual "General" (Peter Lorre), who claims to be Spanish but is obviously nothing of the sort, and Elsa (Madeleine Carroll) a rather bloodthirsty woman assigned to play Mrs. Ashenden, who seems to have become an agent just to get a few thrills. Elsa's gung-ho mindset changes rapidly when the little group deceives and assassinates the wrong man. Elsa distracts the man's wife by asking for German lessons while Ashenden and the General take him on a mountain trek from which he will not return. Although the General actually does the killing, Ashenden is complicit in the unwitting crime, and seems to accept it as a matter of course. This murder sequence is extremely suspenseful, cross-cutting the male plot with the gradual realization of the doomed man's wife that something has happened to her husband because of the increasing agitation of the man's faithful dog. At the moment of the killing, the dog breaks out into eerie, unforgettable howls. After this event, Elsa realizes that what she thought was a game was actually in deadly earnest, and she tries to stop Ashenden from going through with the actual muder of the real agent, whose identity is uncovered almost by accident. The final sequences, including a fire alarm in a chocolate factory and a stunning train wreck, result in the deaths of the German agent and the General, leaving Elsa and Ashenden free to marry and quit the spy business. As another reviewer has noted, there is a strange and disquieting undercurrent of homosexuality among all the major male characters, who seem to be more interested in each other than any of them is in Elsa. Indeed, Madeleine Carroll has almost nothing to do in the last half of the film, and the usual sexualized banter between Hollywood lovers is actually given to Ashenden and the General! Indeed, Ashenden seems oddly reluctant to touch Elsa throughout the film and their love scenes are awkward at best. I can't say whether any of this was deliberate on Hitchcock's part, or whether was simply the result of casting a trio of homosexual or bisexual actors as the male leads, but the function of this choice undercuts the usual romance angle that we find in this type of story and renders the conclusion quite unbelievable, which perhaps makese sense, considering that no one in the world of this film is what he or she seems to be on the surface. Still, this is a surprisingly accomplished film which, despite some jarring shifts in tone, is watchable throughout. By the way, the film is supposedly set in 1916 and the events it chronicles deal with WW I, but don't you believe it for a second! The costumes and decors are strictly mid-30's, as is the language! Hitchcock obviously wished to comment on the moral choices forced on people by the deteriorating international situation of the times, and it isn't much of a stretch to relate these people to choices present only in the 1930's!

An Odd Little British Curio From The Master Of Suspense!
Another one of Hitchcock's early British films. Made just one year after Hitchcock's classic 'The 39 Steps'. Hitchcock's trademarks and usual suspense are greatly tampered making a more comic (?) film with some tense sexual undercurrents. John Gielgud, who is a master in stage acting and one of the most respected performers since Olivier stars as the secret agent who is sent to knock off an assassin. There are some surprising homosexual undercurrents to his character, he has the opportunity with Madeline Carroll but never does anything about it. Peter Lorre is also memorable as the Spanish (?) assassin, a bit too over the top at times but still delivers. The accents are extremely thick and lots of close-ups of letters and messages make the plot hard to follow at times. Madeleine Carroll also stars, Hitchcock had used her as the icy blonde who charms Robert Donat in 'The 39 Steps' just one year earlier. Less suspenseful than most of Hitchcock's other films and has a lot less to offer. One of the master of suspense's lesser efforts. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 5! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Can Life Imitate Art?
This movie was made during a rather poignant time in Rex's life. Not an MAreicna made movie but it was the first since Rex's involvement with the suicide of American Actress Carol Landis. They claimed he was her lover and she comitted suicide when he wanted to break it off. IT was mentioned that she was carrying his child too. All this reached second wife Lili Palmer who was on the East coast acting in the theater. Rex denied it, Lili supported him throughout the trial and no one will know the truth. This movie is about a man who is accused of killing his lover and how his wife finds out and stands by his side. The ending is truly suspenseful! Get this Video! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The 1980s weren't too kind to John Frankenheimer, but this filmstands out as a top-notch spy thriller. A Nazi pact to steal a fortune from theThird Reich to aid Holocaust survivors results in a bizarre inheritance 40years later, with architect Michael Caine having to come to terms with his father's past and the terrifying prospects of a Fourth Reich. The whole thing becomes a metaphor for a witches' covenant. It's exciting and well-paced and full of precious little moments (though Caine andVictoria Tennant fall short of being interesting characters). Supporting actors Mario Adorf, Michael Lonsdale, and Bernard Hepton really shine. Thefilm was based on Robert Ludlum's bestseller and coscripted by George Axelrod (The Manchurian Candidate). --Bill Desowitz ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Director's Edition
Ok, rent the DVD and watch the movie straight through. Then watch it again with John Frankenheimer's audio commentary. It's the only way you can figure this thing out. He explains the plot, which is not Ludlum's complete story. And Ludlum was a very entertaining author, although I think he got paid by the word. In fact, since great chunks of the novel are missing (the ending is completely invented by the screen writers), you need the director giving you notes as you watch. I was surprised that there were 3 writerss credited with the screenplay. That's usually a bad sign to begin with.

The movie is a heck of a lot more interesting to watch with the director's notes, but it doesn't help the plot or pacing, which are deathly dull. Far too much chit-chat, and exposition, exposition, exposition.

Some of the scenes were played in a certain location simply because Frankenheimer found real locations that appealed to him and he just changed the script to accomodate his choice, even if it didn't make a darn bit of sense to the story-line. For example, the scene of the sexual carnival was added simply because Frankenheimer wanted to make a statement about the decadence of Berlin in the '20s and '30s, and for no other reason. The carnival, I learned, was Frankenheimer's total invention; it doesn't actually exist.

The scene of Caine riding a horse is there simply because Frankheimer found a restaurant in Germany with a riding area attached. The scene, however, was set in London, so London buses had to be brought in to convince you that it was London.

The scene where Michael caine says he doesn't drive wasn't in the original script. It was added to cover the fact that Michael Caine doesn't drive and never has. Does knowing this little tid-bit help you enjoy the story? Not for a second. This is sub-rate Frankenheimer.

Only Michael Caine Had Any Class (But Not Much)
It is hard to imagine how any film that stars Michael Caine and is directed by John Frankenheimer could go so wrong in so many ways. There is nothing wrong with any plot that suggests the fall of the Third Reich could lay the seeds for a future resurgent Fourth Reich, but the problem with THE HOLCROFT COVENANT is that things went fuzzy from the start. A Nazi general in Berlin in April of 1945 arranges for billions of US dollars to be used ostensibly to compensate for the atrocities of Hitler's wars of conquest and genocide. He realizes that decades must pass before his son (Caine) would grow to maturity to carry out his grand design. The film suggests, however, that the real purpose of all these billions is not philanthropic at all. There is more than a hint that this general merely used verbal chicanery in his death note to propagate a new Reich. Now if this money were truly intended to spark a new Reich, then the result would have been logical, and hence believable. It is not until the very last two minutes of the film that director Frankenheimer, with no warning, pulls a switch about the true purpose of the legacy.

Caine, of course, tries hard to pull things together, but he gives what is probably the worst performance of an otherwise glittering career. Compare his fumbling Holcroft with the sureness of his recent THE QUIET AMERICAN. It is strange to see and hear Caine look like a bumbling fool who can neither drive a car nor shoot a gun. By the end, however, he somehow matures enough to figure out a convoluted plot and clearly wants his character to be seen as suave, confident, and in control. When he tells the audience how he manages to figure this all out, his explanation makes no more sense than the rest of the plot. On a technical note, the sound track was hard to hear, and the scenes of nudity were thrown in to make sure your attention does not wander, which it did. Rent this only if you are a die-hard Caine fan.

My copy of the DVD was defective,
The DVD lacked some chunks of the movie. There was no viewer menu, no ability to navigate the scenes.

As for the show, it was pretty good. For some reason, however, the bad guys had to prove they were evil by engaging in incest. I guess Hollywood couldn't expect an audience to understand killing for money as a bad thing. The plot is somewhat corny and ripe for satire, but the movie has good production values. Michael Caine plays his role perfectly, of course.

O
I rented John Frankenheimer's "The Holcroft Covenant" back in the late-1980s when I was a big fan of Michael Caine spy movies. This movie is a disappointment.

"The Holcroft Covenant" is one of the very worst films of both actor Michael Caine and director John Frankenheimer. I couldn't make much sense out of the story. The screenplay is absolutely ludicrous. At times, the movie can't seem decide whether it wants to be a bizarre satire or a spy thriller. The superior Caine is absolutely wasted in this picture.

John Frankenheimer simply forgot how to make great movies. As a Frankenheimer film, "The Holcroft Covenant" is even worse than "Dead Bang" and "99 and 44/100% Dead." I am disappointed that the director of the unforgettable "The Manchurian Candidate" made this piece of nonsense. I don't understand why efforts were made to transfer such an inferior Frankenheimer movie from videotape to DVD when the director's vastly superior "The Iceman Cometh" hasn't yet been released to home video in ANY form.

"The Holcroft Covenant" is a failure. For a great Michael Caine spy movie, see "The Ipcress File."

Stank
This film was one confusing blob of a mess. One of the worst films I've ever seen. It made me never want to read a Ludlum novel, since that's what it was based on. When I heard an audiotape of Ludlum's memoirs, and he said how he LIKED this film, it REALLY made me never want to read one of his books. Even Michael Caine in his autobiography says that when he got on the set, he read the script more closely, only then to realize it didn't make any sense. But he was stuck, and had to film the darn thing. ... Read more