The Spy in Black Backdrop Blur
The Spy in Black Poster

The Spy in Black

"Today's U-boat terror makes this the year's timeliest picture!"

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

Top Cast

  • Conrad Veidt

    Conrad Veidt

    Captain Ernst Hardt

  • Sebastian Shaw

    Sebastian Shaw

    Ashington

  • Valerie Hobson

    Valerie Hobson

    The School Mistress

  • Marius Goring

    Marius Goring

    Lieutenant Felix Schuster

  • June Duprez

    June Duprez

    Anne Burnett

  • Athole Stewart

    Athole Stewart

    The Rev. Hector Matthews

  • Agnes Lauchlan

    Agnes Lauchlan

    Mrs. Matthews

  • Helen Haye

    Helen Haye

    Mrs. Sedley

  • Cyril Raymond

    Cyril Raymond

    The Rev. John Harris

Overview

A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.

Rating

6.5 / 10
63 Reviews
1 Popular

2 Reviews

  • Peter McGinn
    Peter McGinn
    7 Apr 27, 2021

    This is a classic black and white spy thriller, thought of highly enough to be part of a national project to restore old films. The movie is entertaining, with a couple of departures from normal thrillers, I think (though I am not a follower of the genre). The bulk of the story is told from the perspective of the Germans, the enemy, as it were. It would be like the movie The Alamo being told from the perspective of Santa Anna’s Mexican army. Also, the ending is unusual compared to a modern thriller, where then good guy and bad guy usually square off and settle things in a climactic final scene. But they do produce a plot twist, the norm for any spy movie, and it works. It is a short movie, well under 90 minutes, and it moves right along. The lack of color adds to the atmosphere of the film. The script is fine. Oddly, several lines are delivered in German with no translation, but obviously nothing critical is left out because of it. You can sort of get what they must be saying and they are brief bits of dialogue. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch this movie a second time, but I don’t regret the time spent watching it.

  • CinemaSerf
    CinemaSerf
    7 Mar 28, 2022

    Valerie Hobson steals the show here in this dark, tense, wartime espionage drama about a German U-boat captain (Conrad Veidt) sent to the Orkney Islands in WWI to gather intelligence on the British Grand Fleet. Released at the start of the Second World War, this first outing for Powell/Pressberger delivers in a much more ominous tone than that of a mere piece of propaganda. There is a depth to the writing and a sinisterness to the story that is gripping for just shy of 90 minutes before culminating in the sort of "gallant" ending that I suspect would not have been considered appropriate five years later.

Trailers & Clips

Recommendations

Action in the North Atlantic

Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as part of a sea convoy. When the group of ships comes under attack from a German U-boat, Rossi and Jarvis navigate through dangerous waters to evade Nazi naval forces. Though their mission across the Atlantic is extremely treacherous, they are motivated by the opportunity to strike back at the Germans, who sank one of their earlier ships.

Action in the North Atlantic

7.0 1943
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.

The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!

6.4 1966
Britannic

It was the sister ship of the infamous Titanic... and its final destiny was the same. Experience the true untold story of Britannic, a tumultuous, epic voyage of human passion, courage and betrayal aboard an ill-fated ocean liner bound for a shattering demise. With the world at war, an undercover British agent (Amanda Ryan), embarks the Britannic in search of a German spy believed to be on board to sabotage the ship. Posing as a governess, the undercover agent finds herself falling in love with the ship's chaplain (Edward Atterton). In a stunning discovery, the lovers suddenly find themselves enemies of war. And when a massive explosion deals a deathblow to the ship, their battle becomes one for their own survival. With a dynamic, international cast and a story line that hosts a chilling tale of espionage, politics and romance, Britannic brings one of history's most devastating events to riveting, new life.

Britannic

6.8 2000
Sink the Bismarck!

The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.

Sink the Bismarck!

6.9 1960