''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 such ...

and also featuring

Maria Matray Maria Matray (born Maria Charlotte Stern; 14 July 1907 – 30 October 1993) was a German screenwriter and film actress. Matray became a star of late Weimar cinema. Biography Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, Matray, who was Jewish, went into ...

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-JewishSiegbert 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 scr ...

.DeCelles p.73 It was shot at the

Staaken Staaken () is a locality at the western rim of Berlin within the borough of Spandau. Geography Staaken borders on the localities of Spandau proper, Falkenhagener Feld and Wilhelmstadt. In the west it shares border with the Brandenburg municipal ...

and Grunewald Studios in

Berlin Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...

. The film's sets were designed by the art director

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) * '' The Flight into Marriage'' (1922) ...

. It was distributed by the German branch of

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Synopsis

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe ...

has developed a deadly new

poison gas Many gases have toxic properties, which are often assessed using the LC50 (median lethal dose) 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 or perm ...

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

Cast

as Harry Parker *

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 ...

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) * '' Unde ...

as Brandes *

Ferdinand von Alten Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "c ...

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 and died in Hagen, Germany. Selected filmography * '' The King of Par ...

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 and ...

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) * '' Th ...

Paul Moleska Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

* 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 indiv ...

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 {{1930s-Germany-film-stub