I Was a Spy

1933 film

I Was a Spy

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Victor Saville
Herbert Mason (Assistant Director)
Frank Sherwin Green (Assistant Director)
Screenplay by|

* Ian Hay
* W. P. Lipscomb
* Edmund Gwenn

Based on| I Was a Spy
by Marthe Cnockaert
Produced by| Michael Balcon
Starring|

* Madeleine Carroll
* Herbert Marshall
* Conrad Veidt

Cinematography| Charles Van Enger
Edited by| Frederick Y. Smith
Music by| Louis Levy (music director)

Production
company

Gaumont British Picture Corporation

Distributed by|

* Woolf & Freedman Film Service (UK)
* Fox Film Corporation (USA)

Release dates

* 4 September 1933 (1933-09-04) (UK)
* 15 December 1933 (1933-12-15) (USA)

Running time

| 89 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English

I Was a Spy is a 1933 British thriller film directed by Victor Saville and produced by Michael Balcon. It stars Madeleine Carroll as Marthe Cnockaert, Herbert Marshall, and Conrad Veidt. Based on the 1932 memoir I Was a Spy by Marthe Cnockaert, the film is about her experiences as a Belgian woman who nursed German soldiers during World War I while passing intelligence to the British.[1] The film was produced by Gaumont British Picture Corporation with Woolf & Freedman Film Service and Fox Film Corporation distributing in the United Kingdom and the United States respectively.

I Was a Spy was also the first film dubbed in Poland (while there were earlier examples of films dubbed in Polish, they were recorded in Paramount studio in Joinville, France), released in 1935 as Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem, starring Lidia Wysocka as Martha Cnockhaert's voice. The screenplay was written by Ian Hay, W. P. Lipscomb and Edmund Gwenn.[2]

I was a Spy was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom on 4 September 1933. It was voted the best British film of 1933 and the performance of Carroll was praised.

* 1935: Flyer for I Was a Spy playing in a local cinema in Prilep, Macedonia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia)

## Plot

[edit]

In German-occupied Belgium in 1914, a local woman nurses injured German soldiers while passing information to the British.[3]

## Cast

[edit]

* Madeleine Carroll as Marthe Cnockaert
* Herbert Marshall as Stephan
* Conrad Veidt as Commandant Oberaertz
* Edmund Gwenn as Burgomaster
* Gerald du Maurier as Doctor
* Donald Calthrop as Cnockhaert
* May Agate as Madame Cnockhaert
* Eva Moore as Canteen Ma
* Martita Hunt as Aunt Lucille
* Nigel Bruce as Scottie
* George Merritt as Captain Reichmann
* Anthony Bushell as Otto

## Production

[edit]

Filming took place in Shepherds Bush. Producer Michael Balcon sent Herbert Mason (who was initially production manager before becoming an assistant director) to take the script to Belgium and give it to Marthe Cnockaert to look at.[4][3][5]

The script was written by Edmund Gwenn who also portrayed the burgomaster.[6]

## Release

[edit]

I Was a Spy was screened at the Lyric.[7]

## Reception

[edit]

In a poll conducted by the magazine Film Weekly, the film was voted the best British movie of 1933,[5][8][9] and Madeleine Carroll's performance was voted the best in a British movie.[10][11]

The Daily Mail (21 November 1933) described it as "the most splendid film produced in this country."[11] The Daily Despatch (21 November 1933) described it as a film "equal to Hollywood's best."[11] Variety and motion picture critic Mordaunt Hall (for The New York Times) praised Carroll's acting.[11]

William Troy for The Nation said, "It is the kind of picture calculated to make us believe that there is something beautiful and touching about war, after all."[12]

Film historian and critic Paul Rotha for Cinema Quarterly said, "I raise my hat to Gaumont for attempting a film of serious stature, but replace it when I see the spirit in which the deed is done."[12]

The Evening News (Rockhampton) (30 May 1934) praised the acting and described it as "[spectacular] in its sweep, human in its emotions, dramatic in its intensity and profoundly gripping in its appeal."[13]

Although it was very successful at the box office,[3] this was not Saville's reaction. He watched the completed I Was a Spy with one of the Assistant Directors, Herbert Mason, and was devastated: however, Mason reassured him that it was his "best to date."[14]

Halliwell's Film & Video Guide described the film as "[good] standard war espionage melodrama."[15]

Adrian Turner for Radio Times said that, "Fans of vintage British cinema will enjoy this sprightly espionage yarn, set during the First World War and bearing a close resemblance to the Mata Hari legend."[16]

In 2021, film critic and author Derek Winnert praised the cast and their performances.[3]

## Home media

[edit]

I Was a Spy was released on DVD on 19 May 2014.[3][11]

## References

[edit]

Citations

1. ^ BFI Database
2. ^ Dolny, Zbigniew (24 March 2019). ""Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem" – przedwojenna recenzja dubbingu". Polski-dubbing.pl. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
3. ^ a b c d e Derek Winnert (25 January 2021). "I Was a Spy". derekwinnert.com. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
4. ^ Balcon, 1969, p. 74
5. ^ a b John Pascoe (17 April 2020). Madeleine Carroll (Paperback ed.). McFarland. p. 51\. ISBN 9781476675466.
6. ^ John Pascoe (17 April 2020). Madeleine Carroll (Paperback ed.). McFarland. p. 50\. ISBN 9781476675466.
7. ^ "I Was a Spy". trove.nla.gov.au. The Sun (Sydney). 13 May 1934. p. 46. Retrieved 6 August 2022. ""I Was a Spy," that phenomenal British success, is now being screened at the Lyric"
8. ^ "Film Weekly". 4 May 1934. p. 9.
9. ^ Brian McFarlane (2005). The Encyclopedia of British Film (2nd ed.). Methuen. p. 622\. "...the true war story I Was a Spy, voted Best British film of 1933"
10. ^ "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR". The Examiner (LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY ed.). Launceston, Tasmania. 9 July 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 4 March 2013 - via National Library of Australia.
11. ^ a b c d e John Pascoe (17 April 2020). Madeleine Carroll (Paperback ed.). McFarland. p. 52\. ISBN 9781476675466.
12. ^ a b "I Was a Spy - Movie Reviews". rottentomatoes.com. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
13. ^ "I Was a Spy". trove.nla.gov.au. Rockhampton, Australia: The Evening News. 30 May 1934. p. 13. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
14. ^ Moseley, 2000, p. 69
15. ^ John Walker (1998). Halliwell's Film & Video Guide (13 ed.). HarperCollins Publishers. p. 381.
16. ^ Adrian Turner. "I Was a Spy (1934)". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 6 August 2022.

## Bibliography

[edit]

### Primary sources

[edit]

* Film Weekly, 4 May 1934, p. 9
* Daily Despatch, 21 November 1933
* Daily Mail, 21 November 1933
* The Sun (Sydney), 13 May 1934
* The Evening News (Rockhampton), 30 May 1934

### Secondary sources

[edit]

* Balcon, Michael. (1969). Michael Balcon Presents...A Lifetime of Films. Hutchinson & Co Ltd
* McFarlane Brian. (ed). The Encyclopedia of British Film. Methuen (2nd edition)
* Moseley, Roy. (2000). Evergreen: Victor Saville in His Own Words. Southern Illinois University Press
* Pascoe, John. (2020). Madeleine Carroll: Actress and Humanitarian, from The 39 Steps to the Red. McFarland. Paperback
* Walker, John. (ed). (1998). Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1998. HarperCollins Entertainment. 13th edition

## External links

[edit]

* I Was a Spy at IMDb
* I Was a Spy at BFI
* I Was a Spy (1933) at Britmovie | Home of British Films
* I Was a Spy at Park Circus
* I Was a Spy at Rotten Tomatoes

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Victor Saville

* The Arcadians (1927)
* Tesha (1928)
* Kitty (1929)
* Woman to Woman (1929)
* The W Plan (1930)
* A Warm Corner (1930)
* The Sport of Kings (1931)
* Hindle Wakes (1931)
* Michael and Mary (1931)
* Sunshine Susie (1931)
* The Faithful Heart (1932)
* Love on Wheels (1932)
* The Good Companions (1933)
* I Was a Spy (1933)
* Friday the Thirteenth (1933)
* Evergreen (1934)
* Evensong (1934)
* The Iron Duke (1934)
* The Dictator (1935)
* Me and Marlborough (1935)
* First a Girl (1935)
* It's Love Again (1936)
* Action for Slander (1937)
* Dark Journey (1937)
* Storm in a Teacup (1937)
* South Riding (1938)
* The Earl of Chicago (1940)
* Forever and a Day (1943)
* Tonight and Every Night (1945)
* The Green Years (1946)
* Green Dolphin Street (1947)
* Desire Me (1947)
* If Winter Comes (1947)
* Conspirator (1949)
* Kim (1950)
* Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951)
* 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (1952)
* The Long Wait (1954)
* The Silver Chalice (1954)
* My Gun Is Quick (1957)

* v
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Films produced by Michael Balcon

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* Blighty (1927)
* Downhill (1927)
* The Rolling Road (1927)
* Easy Virtue (1927)
* One of the Best (1927)
* The Vortex (1927)
* A South Sea Bubble (1928)
* A Light Woman (1928)
* The First Born (1928)
* The Wrecker (1929)
* The Return of the Rat (1929)
* City of Play (1929)
* Taxi for Two (1929)
* Woman to Woman (1929)
* Jack's the Boy (1932)
* I Was a Spy (1933)
* It's a Boy (1933)
* Friday the Thirteenth (1933)
* Princess Charming (1934)
* Evergreen (1934)
* Red Ensign (1934)
* Along Came Sally (1934)
* The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)
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* First a Girl (1935)
* Me and Marlborough (1935)
* The 39 Steps (1935)
* Stormy Weather (1935)
* Things Are Looking Up (1935)
* The First Offence (1936)
* Tudor Rose (1936)
* The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936)
* Secret Agent (1936)
* Where There's a Will (1936)
* Windbag the Sailor (1936)
* Doctor Syn (1937)
* A Yank at Oxford (1938)
* The Gaunt Stranger (1938)
* The Four Just Men (1939)
* Cheer Boys Cheer (1939)
* Let George Do It! (1940)
* The Proud Valley (1940)
* The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941)
* Ships with Wings (1941)
* Turned Out Nice Again (1941)
* The Big Blockade (1942)
* Went the Day Well? (1942)
* The Black Sheep of Whitehall (1942)
* My Learned Friend (1943)
* The Foreman Went to France (1942)
* Undercover (1943)
* The Bells Go Down (1943)
* San Demetrio London (1943)
* Nine Men (1943)
* For Those in Peril (1944)
* Champagne Charlie (1944)
* The Halfway House (1944)
* Fiddlers Three (1944)
* Dead of Night (1945)
* Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945)
* They Came to a City (1945)
* Johnny Frenchman (1945)
* The Captive Heart (1946)
* The Overlanders (1946)
* Hue and Cry (1947)
* It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)
* The Loves of Joanna Godden (1947)
* The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (1947)
* Frieda (1947)
* Against the Wind (1948)
* Saraband for Dead Lovers (1948)
* Another Shore (1948)
* Scott of the Antarctic (1948)
* Train of Events (1949)
* Passport to Pimlico (1949)
* Whisky Galore! (1949)
* A Run for Your Money (1949)
* Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
* Cage of Gold (1950)
* The Blue Lamp (1950)
* The Magnet (1950)
* The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
* Pool of London (1951)
* The Man in the White Suit (1951)
* Mandy (1952)
* The Cruel Sea (1953)
* The Maggie (1954)
* The Night My Number Came Up (1955)
* Touch and Go (1955)
* The Ladykillers (1955)
* The Long Arm (1956)
* Barnacle Bill (1957)
* The Man in the Sky (1957)
* The Shiralee (1957)
* Dunkirk (1958)
* The Siege of Pinchgut (1959)
* The Scapegoat (1959)
* The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961)

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