''Secret People'' is a 1952 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

, directed by

Thorold Dickinson Thorold Barron Dickinson (16 November 1903 – 14 April 1984) was a British film director, screenwriter, film editor, film producer, and Britain's first university professor of film. Dickinson's work received much praise, with fellow directo ...

and produced by

Sidney Cole Sidney Henry Cole (31 October 1908 – 25 January 1998) was a British film and television producer. Earlier in his career he worked as a film editor. Cole was educated at the London School of Economics (LSE), and entered the film industry as ...

for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever s ...

, with a screenplay from

, Wolfgang Wilhelm,

Joyce Carey Joyce Carey, OBE (30 March 1898 – 28 February 1993) was an English actress, best known for her long professional and personal relationship with Noël Coward. Her stage career lasted from 1916 until 1987, and she was performing on television ...

and

Christianna Brand Mary Christianna Lewis (née Milne; 17 December 1907 – 11 March 1988), known professionally as Christianna Brand, was a British crime writer and children's author born in British Malaya. Biography Christianna Brand was born Mary Chris ...

. ''Secret People'' stars

Valentina Cortese Valentina Cortese (1 January 1923 – 10 July 2019) was an Italian actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in François Truffaut's ''Day for Night'' (1973). Personal life Cortese was born ...

Serge Reggiani Serge Reggiani (2 May 1922 – 23 July 2004) was an Italian-French actor and singer. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight. After studying acting at the Conservatoire des arts cinématogr ...

and Audrey Hepburn and premiered in the U.K. on 8 February 1952. The film provided Audrey Hepburn with her first significant film role, leading to her big breakthrough in ''

Roman Holiday ''Roman Holiday'' is a 1953 American romantic comedy film directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess out to see Rome on her own and Gregory Peck as a reporter. Hepburn won an Academy Award for Best Actress f ...

''.

Plot

In 1930, Maria Brentano (Valentina Cortese) and her younger sister Nora (Audrey Hepburn) flee to London as their father is about to be executed by his country's dictator. Seven years later, Maria unexpectedly meets Louis (Serge Reggiani), her childhood sweetheart, who is engaged in a plot to assassinate the dictator. Maria is persuaded to play an active part in the plan, but it all goes horribly wrong when the bomb they plant kills an innocent waitress, causing Maria much distress.

Cast

Audrey Hepburn

After having appeared in a string of bit parts and small speaking roles, the film provided Audrey Hepburn with her first significant film role, leading to her big breakthrough in ''

'': on 18 September 1951, shortly after ''Secret People'' was finished but before its premiere, Thorold Dickinson made a screen test with the young starlet and sent it to director

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), ''The Best Years of ...

, who was in Rome preparing ''Roman Holiday''. Wyler wrote a glowing note of thanks to Dickinson, saying that "as a result of the test, a number of the producers at Paramount have expressed interest in casting her."

Release

Although finished before August 1951 (the film was screened by the

BBFC The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

censors on 7 August 1951), it didn't premiere at

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

in London until 8 February 1952.The Times, Friday 8 Feb. 1952, page 2, col. 1: ''Opera And Ballet - Picture Theatres''
Retrieved 2015-04-20

Reception

The film reviewer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' found ''Secret People'' to be "a confused, inarticulate, disappointing film, neither as imaginative nor as intellectually exciting as it should be." In contrast, George Perry wrote in ''Forever Ealing'' that "...there is much of interest in the Ealing film, such as the moral dilemma of those who have to resort to force to overcome force." He also praised "a sensitive performance by Valentina Cortesa, ...a substantial role for Audrey Hepburn", and felt that the film had been misinterpreted and "was in some respects ahead of its time." Retrieved 2015-11-14 The film was a box office flop.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Secret People 1952 films 1950s spy drama films British spy drama films Films directed by Thorold Dickinson Films about assassinations Films set in London Films set in Paris Films set in Dublin (city) Films set in the 1930s Ealing Studios films British black-and-white films Compositions by Robert Gerhard 1950s English-language films 1950s British films