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Thursday, September 8, 2022

THE SPY IN BLACK (1939)

Don’t bother looking for a Spy in Black, the black dressed minister of the novel disappeared when director Michael Powell, charged with a dud script, was saved by exec-producer Alex Korda setting him up with dream collaborator Emeric Pressburger who kept only the WWI naval background and leading roles for Valerie Hobson & Conrad Veidt.  These two play German spies (she’s a Brit turncoat) meeting blind under assumed identities in the North of Scotland where half the British Fleet is a sitting duck for destruction once Veidt gets coordinates & timings.  These to be supplied by Hobson & fellow agent Sebastian Shaw on a small island post.  Then, back to the U-Boat* that snuck him in for Veidt to complete his mission.  Short & economical, made with Powell’s signature abrupt pacing and his unique editing style.  (Something  hand-made/artisanal about it.)  It 's a tremendous early effort; Powell hitting the A-list after a score of ‘quota-quickies.’  With good studio trickery for the tight budget (only a phony model boat at the climax seriously disappoints); great atmospheric sets from Vincent Korda and cinematography from lenser Bernard Browne.  (Too little known as he died early in the war.)  Plus an excellent Miklós Rózsa score and loads of character actors you’ll recognize from many Korda & Powell films ahead.  A great start to one of film’s greatest partnerships, already irresistibly good.  Look for the fine BFI restoration; many lousy Public Domain editions still out there.

DOUBLE-BILL/LINK: Powell & Pressburger had a thing for wartime adventures told from the enemy POV.  SPY something of a test run for their first masterpiece, 49TH PARALLEL/’41 which follows a German U-Boat crew crossing Canada.  https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2008/06/49th-parallel-1941.html

ATTENTION MUST BE PAID:  *Hence titled U-BOAT 29  in the States.

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