''State Secret'' is a 1950 British

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

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

Sidney Gilliat Sidney Gilliat (15 February 1908 – 31 May 1994) was an English film director, producer and writer. In the 1930s he worked as a scriptwriter, most notably with Frank Launder on ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938) for Alfred Hitchcock, and '' Nig ...

and starring

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Jr. (December 9, 1909 – May 7, 2000) was an American actor, producer, and decorated naval officer of World War II. He is best-known for starring in such films as '' The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937), '' Gunga Din'' (1939), ...

, Jack Hawkins,

Glynis Johns Glynis Margaret Payne Johns (5 October 1923 – 4 January 2024) was a British actress. In a career exceeding seven decades on stage and screen, Johns appeared in more than 60 films and 30 plays. She received various accolades throughout her ca ...

, Olga Lowe and

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegan ...

. It was made at Isleworth Studios with Italian location shooting in

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin language, Ladin and ; ; ; ; ; ), also known in English as Trent, is a city on the Adige, Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the Trentino, autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th ...

and the

Dolomites The Dolomites ( ), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range in northeastern Italy. They form part of the Southern Limestone Alps and extend from the River Adige in the west to the Piave Va ...

. It was released in the United States under the title ''The Great Manhunt''.

Plot

John Marlowe is an American surgeon visiting England when he is invited to Vosnia (a fictitious East-European country) to receive the "Kepler Gold Medal" for his contributions to medical science, and, coincidentally, to demonstrate his new techniques on a patient. Midway through the operation, he discovers that he is operating on the Vosnian dictator, General Niva. Niva dies during the recovery period. From talking beforehand with Colonel Galcon, the Minister of Health, Minister of Public Services and Minister for State Security, Marlowe is certain he is doomed—he knows too much—so he makes his escape while Galcon is distracted by Niva's death. With elections coming soon, the general is replaced by a double, and Marlowe is hunted by the state police. Marlowe's attempts to telephone and reach the American embassy nearly get him captured. While hiding in a theater during a show, he notices a woman singing in English. He goes backstage and enlists the help of the reluctant, half-English Lisa. Marlowe has an idea: inside the coat he was accidentally given in a barber shop, by the barber, they find a wallet containing the ID of a Karl Theodor, and foreign currency, the possession of which is a capital offense in Vosnia. They blackmail the smuggler Theodor into helping them. They are pursued across the country and are on the point of escaping across the border when one of Karl's men, who is leading them across the mountains, is shot by a border guard and killed, and Lisa is wounded. Marlowe refuses to abandon her, and is captured by Galcon's men. Galcon arranges a "shooting accident" for Marlowe, but as he is about to walk outside to his fate, the substitute for dictator Niva makes a live speech on the radio, and shots are heard. Galcon confirms by telephone that the stand-in has been assassinated. As the people have witnessed the death of Niva, albeit the fake Niva, it is no longer necessary to maintain the cover-up, nor to eliminate Marlowe and Robinson, who are subsequently released and fly to freedom in the West, and ultimately to their new life together in America.

Cast

as Dr. John Marlowe *

as Lisa Robinson * Olga Lowe as Baba (the taller "Sister Robinson") * Therese van Kye as Teresa (the shorter "Sister Robinson") * Jack Hawkins as Colonel Galcon *

Walter Rilla Walter Rilla (22 August 1894 – 21 November 1980) was a German film actor of Jewish descent. Siegbert Salomon Prawer, ''Between Two Worlds: The Jewish Presence in German and Austrian Film, 1910-1933'', Berghahn Books (2007), pg. 213 He app ...

as General Niva *

Karel Stepanek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley (born 1962), American talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel (1921–2006), Dutch painter and sculptor Business * Karel Elec ...

as Dr. Revo *

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated ...

as Dr. Poldoi *

as Theodor * Robert Ayres as Buckman * Howard Douglas as Clubman *

Martin Boddey Albert Martin Boddey (16 April 1907 – 24 October 1975) was a British film and television actor. Boddey started acting when he was nearly 40, often portraying irritable authority figures such as police officers or magistrates. He was a fo ...

as Clubman *

Russell Waters Russell Waters (10 June 1908 – 19 August 1982) was a British film actor. Waters was educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School, Glasgow and the University of Glasgow. He began acting with the Old English Comedy and Shakespeare Company then app ...

as Clubman *

Arthur Howard Arthur Howard (born Arthur John Steiner; 18 January 1910 – 18 June 1995) was an English stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Camberwell, London, Howard was the younger son of Lilian (née Blumberg) and Ferdinand "Frank" ...

as Clubman * Carl Jaffé as Prada *

Gerard Heinz Gerard Heinz (born Gerhard Hinze; 2 January 1904 – 20 November 1972) was a German actor. Heinz was born in Hamburg, Germany and later moved to Britain, where he changed his name and became a British citizen. He appeared in almost 60 films (in ...

as Bendel * Leo Bieber as Man at Telephone Box * Nelly Arno as Shop Woman * Paul Demel as Barber * Danny Green as Taxi Driver *

Anton Diffring Anton Diffring (born Alfred Pollack; 20 October 1916 – 19 May 1989) was a German actor. He had an extensive film and television career in the United Kingdom from the 1940s to the 1980s, latterly appearing in international films. Primarily a c ...

as State Policeman *

Peter Illing Peter Illing (4 March 1899 – 29 October 1966) was an Austrian-born British film and television actor. Selected TV series * '' The Four Just Men'' (1959) as Dr Mozek * '' Deadline Midnight'' (1961) as Captain Dnieprovsky * '' The Saint'' (1962 ...

as Macco * Arthur Reynolds as Compere * Richard Molinas as Red Nose *

Eric Pohlmann Eric Pohlmann (; born Erich Pollak; 18 July 1913 – 25 July 1979) was an Austrian theatre, film and television character actor who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. He is known for voicing Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the primary antagonist of t ...

as Cable Car Conductor * Hans Moser as Sigrist * Louis Wiechert as Christian * Gerik Schjelderup as Bartorek * Henrik Jacobsen as Mountain Soldier *

Guido Lorraine Guido Lorraine (2 September 1912 – 31 December 2009) was a Polish-born actor, musician and singer, known primarily for his roles in war films. He was also sometimes known by the stage name Guy Borucki. Lorraine appeared in twenty-eight films ...

as Lieutenant Prachi

Production

Development

Gilliat got the idea for making the film from a newspaper article he read shortly before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He decided it would make a "chase thriller" in the style of films he had written for

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

and

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), '' The Third Man'' (1949), and '' Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded th ...

, notably ''

The Lady Vanishes ''The Lady Vanishes'' is a 1938 British Mystery film, mystery Thriller (genre), thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder, based on the 1936 novel '' ...

'' and '' Night Train to Munich''.FILM IN THE MAKING: "State Secret" Enley, Frank. Sight and Sound; London Vol. 18, Iss. 71, (Fall 1949): 10. He found it difficult to do during the war years but reactivated it after the war. The fictitious "Vosnian" language was constructed for the film by a linguistics expert, combining Latin and Slavic elements. The star role went to Douglas Fairbanks Jr., who had made a number of British films in the 1930s and was keen to work in the country again. His casting was announced in May 1949. Fairbanks later said "We have definitely reached a One World status in pictures. British comedy and character acting do not seem remote to us any more." In July it was announced that another Hollywood star would play the female lead but by August, actress

got the role.

Filming

Filming began in August 1949. Although there was some filming done at Isleworth Studios in London, Gilliat wanted to make as much of the film on location. There was eight weeks on location filming, in

and the

. Trento stood in for the fictitious capital. Filming finished by November 1949. Fairbanks later said filming was difficult as some in Italy thought the film was anti-communist while others said it was pro-communist, and the film unit had to avoid riots. Gilliat said the filming unions were particularly difficult during the making of this film.

Reception

Critical reception

In ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'',

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though some ...

wrote, "... this picture is just about as lively as they come, and under Mr. Gilliat's direction, it moves like an auto gaining speed ... Beautifully photographed in Italian cities and in the Italian

, the whole adventure has the eminent advantage of a sparkling Continental atmosphere. And it also has the advantage of good performance by all concerned—by Mr. Fairbanks as the kidnapped surgeon, looking a little like

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

; by Miss Johns, very saucy and explosive, as the music-hall girl; by Jack Hawkins as the Vosnian premier ic with an Oxford accent and a Nazi attitude; by Herbert Lom as the Balkan shyster and any number of others in small roles."

Box office

Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1950. It was one of five successful movies from London Films that year, the others being '' The Wooden Horse'', '' The Happiest Days of Your Life'', ''Odette'' and ''

Seven Days to Noon ''Seven Days to Noon'' (also known as ''Ultimatum'') is a 1950 British political thriller film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting and starring Barry Jones, Olive Sloane and André Morell. It was written by Frank Harvey and Roy Bou ...

''. ''State Secret'' was less popular in the US but Fairbanks Jr. said "I thought I did my best work ever; Sidney really kept the pot boiling."Bawden and Mille
2016, p. 104
at Google Books Gilliat thought the film was "underrated" and suffered from being released so closely after ''The Third Man''. He also felt the film "suffered from Douglas Fairbanks Jnr, you needed a very warm personality and we got rather a cold one. But the picture otherwise came off, the thing was highly profitable, got good notices."

References

Bibliography

* Bawden, James and Ron Miller. ''Conversations with Classic Film Stars: Interviews from Hollywood's Golden Era''. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, 2016. . * Murphy, Robert. ''Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48''. London: Routledge, 2003, First edition 1992. .

External links

*
''State Secret''
at BFI

at

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

{{Launder and Gilliat 1950 films 1950s thriller films British thriller films British black-and-white films Films set in 1950 Films set in Europe Films set in London London Films films Films directed by Sidney Gilliat Films scored by William Alwyn Films set in fictional countries Films shot at Isleworth Studios Films shot in Italy 1950s English-language films 1950s British films English-language thriller films