6.7? Argh!


I won't get into it, but this is by far my favorite of the "old" Hitchchock films. Sure, it's no great technical masterpiece, and comes off a bit confusing at times, but it is an all-around pleasure to watch. This was also the first time I saw Gielgud in a movie (at least, the first time I recognized him by name), and was fascinated by his suave, tongue-in-cheek approach to his character. Peter Lorre is both hilarious and nerve-racking at once as The Hairless Mexican, and the darkness of the plot is alleviated by continuous injections of the kind of humour only Hitchcock can provide. I give it a "9," for pure enjoyment and atmosphere.

"Do you love your country, sir?"
"Well, I've just died for it."



"If you're going to be crazy, you have to get paid for it or you'll end up in jail."

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I agree. "The Secret Agent" is a very underrated movie and one of the best of Hitchcock's British films.

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Agreed - its quirky wit, pace, drama and good humour make it a real pleasure to watch.

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I just watched it and must say I agree with you; it was a good thriller but also had a decent number of laughs. Gielgud was fine in the lead role, Madeleine Carroll was good as his 'wife'... I certainly won't forget her introductory scene and Lorre was a lot of fun as The General.

I'm only going to say this once: stay out of Camberwick Green - Sam Tyler

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One of my favorites. Hitchcock directing with Somerset Maugham writing. What could go wrong?

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I get the feeling that this film would would have a generally better reputation if someone like Criterion would give it a nice restoration. There's some great stuff in here, but when many DVD's of this picture have really poor sound quality and video quality that only edges on being passable, its a little hard to actually pay attention this film.

But even with all those issues, there's still greatness that shines through.

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Really? Even looking past the insanely bad DVD release, it's a very weird movie. It's mostly alternating silly and slight while there is (we are assured, but hardly shown) deep undercurrents of deadly seriously.

And it doesn't drag, but gets distracted itself. SO much time in hotel rooms, cabs, casinos, to no end at all. Bantering with the faux wife gets tiring after about two minutes but continues for another hour, and does not one thing to drive the plot.

I love the early Hitchcock, and have apparently missed this one till now because it's simply not very good. I'd watch again if the Criterion laserdisc came to DVD, but I bet I still wouldn't enjoy it.

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I don´t agree it´s an ordinary film, I give it "6". The 39 Steps, Tha Lady Vanishes and even Sabotage are much better films, in my opinion the best British Hitchcock.

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