![]() Spies (1928), black & white, 150 minutes, not rated. On the whole, Lang’s fascinating tale of super spy intrigue gets sidetracked by von Harbou’s love story but we still enjoy this film during multiple viewings. Incidently, we want to point out the similarity of the scene where the spy Kitty manipulates her way into Matsumoto’s apartment to the scene in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner (1982) where the Daryl Hannah character, Pris, manipulates her way into J.F. We also love the character of traitorous Colonel Jellusic as portrayed to delicious effect by the great Fritz Rasp. But, Klein-Rogge is the star of this production as the slick and conniving master criminal Haghi. For example, we love the shot of the three dead couriers returning their treaty envelopes to Japanese agent Matsumoto (Lupu Pick), and the shot of Sonja seen behind the roses she has just received from 326.įritsch is charming as the versatile Agent 326, and Maurus engaging as Sonja. Lang’s film plays better in its restored form that contains more action sequences and stylish visuals. ![]() ![]() The loving pair have to wrestle with their feelings, à la Romeo and Juliet, as they are forced to perform their sworn tasks.Īt times the Thea von Harbou scenario plays like a sappy love story, an aspect that is exacerbated in the shortened American-release version which excised a substantial amount of the espionage and retained nearly all of the love interaction. Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch) - a master of disguise who doesn’t seem to fool the bad guys since they have pictures of him in disguise - is fighting to uncover the criminal organization but doesn’t count on falling mutually in love with a Russian-born spy, Sonja (Gerda Maurus, in her film debut). The film begins with the theft of secret documents that change hands violently, and several secret agents have been murdered. Rudolph Klein-Rogge, of Rotwang- Metropolis infamy, portrays the criminal mastermind that seeks to disrupt a European-Japanese treaty (presumably for economic and anarchic reasons). Unable to rid themselves of Lang for contractual reasons and with two more films left to direct, Lang responded by forming his own production company and returned - with Spies (1928) - to the familiar (and popular) territory of his early 1920s super crime/spy films. Reviews of silent film releases on home video.Īfter the financial disaster that was Metropolis (1927), UFA hung Fritz Lang out to dry. Silent Era Home Page > Home Video > Spies ![]()
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