''Secret Agent'' (German: ''Der Geheimagent'') is a 1932 German

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 and starring

Harry Piel Heinrich Piel (12 July 1892 – 27 March 1963), known professionally as Harry Piel, was a prolific German actor, film director, screenwriter, and film producer who was involved in over 150 films. Piel became a director in 1912, turning out suc ...

and also featuring Maria Matray,

Eduard von Winterstein Eduard Clemens Franz Anna Freiherr von Wangenheim (1 August 1871 – 22 July 1961), known as Eduard von Winterstein, was an Austrian-German film actor who appeared in over one hundred fifty German films during the silent and sound eras. He was ...

and

Leonard Steckel Leonard Steckel (18 January 1901 – 9 February 1971) was a German-Jewish Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), p. 213 actor and director of stage and sc ...

.DeCelles p.73 It was shot at the

Staaken Staaken () is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. History First mentioned in a 1273 deed as ''Stakene'' (from Middle Low German: ''staken'', "stakes") in the Mittelmark region of the Margraviate of Brandenbur ...

and

Grunewald Grunewald is the name of both a locality and a forest in Germany: * Grunewald (forest) * Grunewald (locality) Grünewald may refer to: * Grünewald (surname) * Grünewald, Germany, a municipality in Brandenburg, Germany * Grünewald (Luxembourg), ...

Studios in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Gustav A. Knauer Gustav A. Knauer (1886–1950) was a German art director.Gemünden p.171 He designed the sets of more than a hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * ''The White Roses of Ravensberg (1919 film), The White Roses of Ravensberg'' (1919 ...

. It was distributed by the German branch of

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Synopsis

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

has developed a deadly new

poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal concentration) measure. In the United States, many of these gases have been assigned an NFPA 704 health rating of 4 (may be fatal) or 3 (may cause serious ...

that could wipe out humanity. Adventurer Harry Parker sets out to get his hands on the formula and destroy it.

Cast

as Harry Parker * Maria Matray as Ruth Managan *

as Professor Managan *

as Oberst Salit *

Reinhold Bernt Reinhold Bernt (19 December 1902 – 26 October 1981) was a German film actor. Bernt was born Reinhold Bienert in Berlin and died in West Berlin. Career Bernt's acting career began in Stuttgart with a theater debut. Soon after, he traveled to B ...

as Baschin *

Ferdinand Hart Ferdinand Hart (28 October 1893 in Písek – 12 January 1937 in Prague) was a film actor from Czechoslovakia. Selected filmography * '' The Hungarian Princess'' (1923) * ''The Queen of the Baths'' (1926) * '' You Walk So Softly'' (1928) * '' Und ...

as Brandes *

Ferdinand von Alten Ferdinand von Alten (born Baron von Lamezan auf Altenhofen; 13 April 1885 – 16 March 1933) was a Russian-German actor. Selected filmography * '' The Blue Lantern'' (1918) * '' Madame Récamier'' (1920) * '' Anna Boleyn'' (1920) * ''Catherine t ...

as Minister * Kurt Mühlhardt as Sänger *

Wilhelm Diegelmann Wilhelm Diegelmann (28 September 1861 – 1 March 1934) was a German actor. Career Diegelmann's first stage appearance was in 1878 in the chorus for the Frankfurt Opera. In 1881 he debuted at the Frankfurt City Theater, playing King Lear, Wil ...

Erich Dunskus Erich Adolf Dunskus (27 July 1890 – 25 November 1967) was a German film actor. He appeared in 170 films between 1927 and 1966. He was born in Pillkallen, East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom o ...

Gerhard Dammann Gerhard Dammann (30 March 1883 – 21 February 1946) was a German film actor. Selected filmography * '' The Man in the Cellar'' (1914) * '' Under the Lantern'' (1928) * '' Eva in Silk'' (1928) * '' Lemke's Widow'' (1928) * '' When the Mother an ...

Leopold von Ledebur Leopold von Ledebur (18 May 1876 – 22 August 1955) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * ''Carmen'' (1918) * '' The Serenyi'' (1918) * ''Midnight'' (1918) * '' The Foolish Heart'' (1919) * ''The Golden Lie'' (1919) * '' T ...

Paul Moleska Paul may refer to: People * Paul (given name), a given name, including a list of people * Paul (surname), a list of people * Paul the Apostle, an apostle who wrote many of the books of the New Testament * Ray Hildebrand, half of the singing duo P ...

* Charly Berger *

Hans Wallner Hans Wallner (born 29 May 1953) is an Austrian former ski jumper. Career He won a silver medal in the team large hill event at the 1982 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Oslo. Wallner's best finish at the Winter Olympics was 6th in the indi ...

References

Bibliography

* DeCelles, Naomi. ''Recollecting Lotte Eisner: Cinema, Exile, and the Archive''. University of California Press, 2022. * Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1932''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988. .

External links

* 1932 films Films of the Weimar Republic 1930s action films German action films 1930s German-language films Films directed by Harry Piel German black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot in Berlin Universal Pictures films Films shot at Staaken Studios Films scored by Fritz Wenneis Films with screenplays by Werner Scheff {{1930s-Germany-film-stub