''Confidential Agent'' is a 1945 American

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

starring

Charles Boyer Charles Boyer (; 28 August 1899 – 26 August 1978) was a French-American actor who appeared in more than 80 films between 1920 and 1976. After receiving an education in drama, Boyer started on the stage, but he found his success in American fi ...

and Lauren Bacall which was a

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

production. The movie was directed by

Herman Shumlin Herman Shumlin (December 6, 1898, Atwood, Colorado – June 4, 1979, New York City) was a prolific Broadway theatrical director and theatrical producer beginning in 1927 with the play ''Celebrity'' and continuing through 1974 with a short run of ' ...

and produced by

Robert Buckner Robert Buckner (May 28, 1906 – August 18, 1989) was an American film screenwriter, producer and short story writer. Biography Buckner studied at the University of Virginia and the University of Edinburgh. He began his professional writing ca ...

with Jack L. Warner as executive producer. The screenplay was by Robert Buckner, based on the 1939 novel '' The Confidential Agent'' by

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...

. The music score was by

Franz Waxman Franz Waxman (né Wachsmann; December 24, 1906February 24, 1967) was a German-born composer and conductor of Jewish descent, known primarily for his work in the film music genre. His film scores include ''Bride of Frankenstein'', ''Rebecca'', ' ...

and the cinematography by

James Wong Howe Wong Tung Jim, A.S.C. (; August 28, 1899 – July 12, 1976), known professionally as James Wong Howe (Houghto), was a Chinese-born American cinematographer who worked on over 130 films. During the 1930s and 1940s, he was one of the most soug ...

. The supporting cast includes

George Coulouris George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor. Early life Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...

and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...

Plot

In the midst of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, Luis Denard (

), a former concert pianist and composer, travels to England as a confidential agent of the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

government. His mission is to buy coal or to deny it to the Fascist rebels. On the ship, he meets bored rich girl Rose Cullen ( Lauren Bacall), whose father, Lord Benditch (

Holmes Herbert Holmes Herbert (born Horace Edward Jenner; 30 July 1882 – 26 December 1956) was an English character actor who appeared in Hollywood films from 1915 to 1952, often as a British gentleman. Early life Born Horace Edward Jenner, (some sou ...

), heads the firm with which Denard will negotiate. On the road to London, he is beaten and robbed by Fascist agents, who do not find the documents he hid in his shoe. At his hotel he enlists the aid of the young maid, Else (

Wanda Hendrix Dixie Wanda Hendrix (November 3, 1928 – February 1, 1981) was an American film and television actress. Early life Hendrix's father was a logging foreman, and she was born in Jacksonville, Florida. She was performing in a school play in Ja ...

), who hides his documents in her stocking. When he meets his contacts, Contreras (

) and Maria Melandez ( Katina Paxinou), he finds they have sold out to the Fascists and want him discredited or killed. They kill the maid, for which Denard takes revenge. Contreras dies of a heart attack as Denard prepares to shoot him, after which Mrs. Melandez takes poison. Unable to buy any coal, Denard tries to persuade the miners to support their fellow workers in Spain, but they put work ahead of principle. His mission a failure, Rose gets an admirer to help him leave the country secretly. Reaching the coast at Bexhill-on-Sea, he learns that Benditch's firm have repudiated their contract with the Fascists, so he has succeeded after all. On the ship, he finds Rose, to whose life he has given meaning.

Cast

as Luis Denard * Lauren Bacall as Rose Cullen * Katina Paxinou as Mrs. Melandez *

Victor Francen Victor Francen (born Victor Franssens, 5 August 1888 – 18 November 1977) was a Belgian-born actor with a long career in French cinema and in Hollywood. Biography Francen was born in 1888 in Tienen, the son of a chief of police. According ...

as Licata *

as Else *

as Captain Currie *

as Contreras * John Warburton as Neil Forbes *

as Lord Benditch *

Dan Seymour Dan Seymour (February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''To Have and Have Not'' ...

as Mr. Muckerji * Art Foster as Chauffeur *

Miles Mander Miles Mander (born Lionel Henry Mander; 14 May 1888 – 8 February 1946), was an English character actor of the early Hollywood cinema, also a film director and producer, and a playwright and novelist. He was sometimes credited as Luther Mile ...

as Mr. Brigstock *

Lawrence Grant Percy Reginald Lawrence-Grant (30 October 1870 in Bournemouth, Hampshire, England – 19 February 1952 in Santa Barbara, California, USA) was an English actor known for supporting roles in films such as ''The Living Ghost'', '' I'll Tell ...

as Lord Fetting *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as a ...

as Dr. Bellows * George Zucco as Detective Geddes * Gordon Richards as Immigration Officer (uncredited) *

Marie De Becker Marie Kathleen De Becker (13 June 1880 – 23 March 1946) was an English-American stage and screen actress. Family She was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Benevenuto Nicola de Becker, a shipping clerk, and his wife Catherine (or Kate) ...

as Miner's Wife (uncredited) *

John Goldsworthy John Goldsworthy (1884–1958) was a British-born stage and film actor. After emigrating to the United States he was active on Broadway appearing in a variety of plays, as well as several musicals.Bordman p.460 During the silent era he appeared ...

as Beggar (uncredited)

Production

The screenplay was based on a

novel, of the same name. There is evidence of

jump cuts A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which a single continuous sequential shot of a subject is broken into two parts, with a piece of footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positions of the subje ...

, which suggest that editing, to get the running time under two hours, did not help. Though regarded as overly long, the film remains true to Greene's original story.

Reception

Critical response

According to "The Big Sleep Comparisons 1945/46", a featurette on the 2000 DVD release of Bacall's film ''

The Big Sleep ''The Big Sleep'' (1939) is a hardboiled crime novel by American-British writer Raymond Chandler, the first to feature the detective Philip Marlowe. It has been adapted for film twice, in 1946 and again in 1978. The story is set in Los Angel ...

'', her reviews for ''Confidential Agent'' were largely negative, with particular aspersions cast on Bacall's performance, as a "pretty amateur". According to film historian Robert Gitt, host of the featurette, Warner studio head Jack L. Warner was lobbied to order certain scenes in ''The Big Sleep'' re-shot in order to rectify performance issues with Bacall identified in ''Confidential Agent'', which he did. In her own autobiography, Bacall said that she begged not to have to do the film, but couldn't break her contract that early, though her career never fully recovered from ''Confidential Agent''.

Graham Greene's response

Greene Greene may refer to: Places United States *Greene, Indiana, an unincorporated community *Greene, Iowa, a city *Greene, Maine, a town ** Greene (CDP), Maine, in the town of Greene *Greene (town), New York ** Greene (village), New York, in the town ...

, generally critical of film adaptations of his works, disagreed with the critics. In 1979, when Philip Purser returned to the question of the casting of Bacall in ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings. It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...

'', Greene responded and commended the acting of both Bacall and Boyer. He also praised Shumlin as the only American director to make a good film from one of his stories. In a letter to the paper entitled "An Honourable Performance", Greene wrote: :Mr Philip Purser writes that Lauren Bacall was 'insanely miscast in her third picture ''The'' 'sic''''Confidential Agent'' and having given—as she admits—a lousy performance, she nevertheless bitterly resented the cool notices that came her way'. I also as the author of the book resent those cool notices. This remains the only good film ever made from one of my books by an American director and Miss Bacall gave an admirable performance and so did Charles Boyer.''

''; January 28, 1979.

References

External links

* * * *
''Confidential Agent''
film review by Dan Stumpf in Mystery*File * {{YouTube, pKt0i3XXFlI, ''Confidential Agent'' film trailer 1945 films 1940s spy drama films American spy drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films based on British novels Films based on thriller novels Films based on works by Graham Greene Spanish Civil War films Warner Bros. films Films set in London Films set in Kent 1945 drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films