''Cloak Without Dagger'' (U.S title ''Operation Conspiracy'') is a 1956 British second feature ('B') comedy thriller film directed by Joseph Sterling and starring

Philip Friend Philip Wyndham Friend (20 February 1915 in Horsham, Sussex – 1 September 1987 in Chiddingfold, Surrey) was a British film and television actor. Career Britain Friend went to Bradfield College where he became interested in acting. He began a ...

Mary Mackenzie Mary Mackenzie (3 May 1922 – 20 September 1966) was an English actress. One of her earliest credited TV roles was in 1950 on BBC's ''Sunday Night Theatre'', as Miriam in an adaptation of H. G. Wells' ''The History of Mr Polly'', a role she r ...

and

Leslie Dwyer Leslie Gilbert Dwyer (28 August 1906 – 26 December 1986) was an English film and television actor. Career He was born in Catford, the son of the popular music hall comedian Johnny Dwyer, and acted from the age of ten and appeared in his firs ...

. It was written and produced by A. R. Rawlinson.

Plot

A fashion reporter is united with a former boyfriend, after a chance meeting, and helps him to track down an enemy spy.

Cast

as Major Felix Gratton *

as Kyra Gabaine *

as Fred Borcombe *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, Western Austra ...

as Colonel Packham * John G. Heller as Peppi Gilroudian dress designer * Chin Yu as Yan Chu * Bill Nagy as Mario Oromonda *

Patrick Jordan Albert Patrick Jordan (10 October 1923 – 10 January 2020) was a British stage, film and television actor. Biography He was born and raised in Harrow, Middlesex, the son of Margaret, a cook, and Albert Jordan, a regimental sergeant major. An ...

as Captain Willis *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone app ...

as Mrs. Markley *

Frank Thornton Frank Thornton Ball (15 January 192116 March 2013), professionally known as Frank Thornton, was an English actor. He was best known for playing Captain Peacock in the TV sitcom ''Are You Being Served?'' and its sequel '' Grace & Favour'' (''A ...

as Mr. Markley * Gerrey Levey as night club entertainer * Boris Ranevsky as Antoine * María Mercedes as Spanish girl *

Larry Taylor Samuel Lawrence Taylor (June 26, 1942 – August 19, 2019) was an American bass guitarist, best known for his work as a member of the blues rock band Canned Heat. Before joining Canned Heat, he had been a session musician, session bassist for T ...

as Sergeant Blake

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' wrote: "Medium-paced British comedy thriller. Despite an obvious denouement and a somewhat disconcerting number of loose ends, the plot builds up a reasonable degree of suspense; and the leading players, notably John Heller as the professional spy, give confident performances." The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' described it as "an uncomfortable mix of romance and myster.y" ''Britmovie'' called it a "light-hearted spy story with a touch of romance." In ''British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959'' David Quinlan rated the film as "mediocre", writing: "Some thrills, some unintentional laughs."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 0050804 1956 films 1950s thriller films British thriller films Butcher's Film Service films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films British black-and-white films Films scored by Wilfred Burns English-language thriller films