''Lancer Spy'' is a 1937 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

Gregory Ratoff Gregory Ratoff (born Grigory Vasilyevich Ratner; russian: Григорий Васильевич Ратнер, tr. ; April 20, c. 1893 – December 14, 1960) was a Russian-born American film director, actor and producer. As an actor, he was bes ...

and starring

Dolores Del Rio Dolores, Spanish for "pain; grief", most commonly refers to: * Our Lady of Sorrows or La Virgen María de los Dolores * Dolores (given name) Dolores may also refer to: Film * ''Dolores'' (2017 film), an American documentary by Peter Bratt * ' ...

and

George Sanders George Henry Sanders (3 July 1906 – 25 April 1972) was a British actor and singer whose career spanned over 40 years. His heavy, upper-class English accent and smooth, bass voice often led him to be cast as sophisticated but villainous chara ...

. Its plot concerns an Englishman who impersonates a German officer and a female German spy who falls in love with him.

Plot

Cast

Production

''Lancer Spy'' was based on a story written by Marthe McKenna, a Belgian woman who was a spy for England during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. She had previously written the 1932 memoir ''I Was a Spy'', the basis of a 1933 film of the same title. Gregory Ratoff signed a contract with

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film studio, film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm o ...

to write, produce and direct. The film was originally to star Michael Whalen in the part that was eventually played by George Sanders. French actor

Germaine Aussey Germaine Aussey (born Germaine Adrienne Agassiz, December 18, 1909 in Paris – March 15, 1979 in Geneva) was a French actress who worked with, among others, René Clair, Julien Duvivier, Paul Fejos, Jean Grémillon, Marc Allégret, and Sac ...

was to have made her American debut in the film but was replaced by

Dolores del Río María de los Dolores Asúnsolo y López Negrete (3 August 1904 – 11 April 1983), known professionally as Dolores del Río (), was a Mexican actress. With a career spanning more than 50 years, she is regarded as the first major female Latin Am ...

soon after filming began in May 1937. Peter Lorre was cast after his success in '' Think Fast, Mr Moto''. Fox bought his contract from the

Gaumont-British Picture Corporation The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...

Colin Clive Colin Clive (born Colin Glenn Clive-Greig; 20 January 1900 – 25 June 1937) was a British stage and screen actor. His most memorable role was Henry Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, in the 1931 film ''Frankenstein'' and its 1935 seque ...

, who had been cast in the film, collapsed during filming and died.

References

External links

* 1937 films 1930s spy thriller films American spy thriller films Films directed by Gregory Ratoff Films with screenplays by Philip Dunne American black-and-white films 20th Century Fox films World War I spy films Films set in London Films set in Norfolk Films set in Berlin 1930s English-language films 1930s American films {{1930s-thriller-film-stub