13 Rue Madeleine
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13 Rue Madeleine
Plot
This film is not only a revealing glimpse into the workings of the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services) during WW II, but it is also a full-fledged spy thriller. An excellent cast includes James Cagney, Karl Malden, E.G. Marshall, and Red Buttons. Cagney stars as an O.S.S. training officer, bent upon discovering a German traitor within his ranks while at the same time completing highly dangerous espionage assignments. The risks increase when one of his men is murdered from within, and Cagney, convinced he knows who the murdering infiltrator is, vows revenge. Authentic O.S.S. film footage make this film historically significant as well as entertaining. ~ RoviReview
13 Rue Madeleine is never as gripping and thrilling a spy story as one may want, but it's serviceable and mildly engaging -- certainly worth a viewing by those who enjoy espionage tales. Modern audiences will probably be amused by the somewhat stiff documentary-style voice-overs that introduce the film, and there's something "square" about the entire enterprise, but these flaws don't seriously detract from the film. What is a bit more of a problem is the lack of real suspense. The audience is clued in on many important developments too early, almost as if director Henry Hathaway felt as if he couldn't string the viewer along and let the tension build up in any one sequence for too long. Things, therefore, are presented a little too straightforwardly for this kind of film, and this dampens its ultimate impact. Fortunately, Madeleine has a very fine cast to keep the viewer's interest, lead by the solid, persuasive performance of James Cagney. Frank Latimore is a bit amateurish as Lassiter, but he's the only real weak link. The real O.S.S. footage is also a plus, especially for history buffs. ~ Craig Butler, RoviCast
- James Cagney - Bob Sharkey
- Annabella - Suzanne de Bouchard
- Roland Belanger - Joseph
- Richard Conte - Bill O'Connell
- Frank Latimore - Jeff Lassiter
- Walter Abel - Charles Gibson
Credit
James Basevi - Art Director, Maurice Ransford - Art Director, Lyle Wheeler - Art Director, Meyer Mishkin - Casting, Rene Hubert - Costume Designer, Henry Hathaway - Director, Harmon Jones - Editor, David Buttolph - Composer (Music Score), Alfred Newman - Composer (Music Score), David Buttolph - Musical Direction/Supervision, Alfred Newman - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ben Nye, Sr. - Makeup, Norbert F. Brodin - Cinematographer, Louis de Rochemont - Producer, Thomas K. Little - Set Designer, Fred Sersen - Special Effects, Sy Bartlett - Screenwriter, John Monks, Jr. - Screenwriter| 13 Princess Trees (2006 Film), 13 Most Beautiful Boys (1965 Film) | |
| 13 Seconds (2003 Film), 13 Tzameti (2005 Film) |
Wikipedia on Answers.com:
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13 Rue Madeleine
| 13 Rue Madeleine | |
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 Film Poster |
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| Directed by | Henry Hathaway |
| Produced by | Louis De Rochemont |
| Written by | John Monks, Jr. Sy Bartlett |
| Narrated by | Reed Hadley |
| Starring | James Cagney Annabella Richard Conte |
| Music by | David Buttolph |
| Cinematography | Norbert Brodine |
| Editing by | Harmon Jones |
| Distributed by | Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | January 15, 1947 |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
13 Rue Madeleine is a 1947 World War II spy film starring James Cagney, Annabella and Richard Conte. The title refers to the Le Havre address where a Gestapo headquarters is located.
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Contents
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Plot
Bob Sharkey (James Cagney) is an instructor of would-be spies for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency). He is warned that one of the latest batch of students is a traitor. Sharkey is able to identify the traitor as Bill O'Connell (Richard Conte), who is too good at espionage in Sharkey's opinion. His boss, Charles Gibson (Walter Abel) confirms that O'Connell is really a top German agent named Wilhelm Kuncel, but tells Sharkey to pass him, as they intend to feed the mole false information about the impending D-Day invasion.
When they complete their training, three of Sharkey's pupils, Frenchwoman Suzanne de Beaumont (Annabella), American Jeff Lassiter (Frank Latimore) and Kuncel, are sent on two separate missions into German-occupied France. Sharkey tells Lassiter about Kuncel beforehand so he can keep watch on the traitor. However, when Kuncel casually talks to Lassiter, the inexperienced man lets his uneasiness show, alerting Kuncel. On the transport plane, Kuncel secretly cuts Lassiter's parachute cord, causing him to plummet to his death when they jump.
With no time to brief anybody else to be Lassiter's replacement, Sharkey volunteers. Gibson objects, since Sharkey knows the location of the planned invasion of Europe, but reluctantly gives in. He and de Beaumont complete their mission (getting a collaborator named Duclois back to England), but Sharkey is captured. De Beaumont is killed transmitting the news to England. Sharkey is tortured by Kuncel's men, but refuses to talk. Back in England, Gibson has no choice but to order a bombing raid to silence Sharkey. When the bombing starts, Sharkey realizes what is happening and laughs in Kuncel's face just before they both perish.
Cast
- James Cagney as Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey
- Richard Conte as Wilhelm Kuncel / William H. 'Bill' O'Connell
- Annabella as Suzanne de Beaumont
- Frank Latimore as Jeff Lassiter
- Walter Abel as Charles Gibson
- Melville Cooper as Pappy Simpson
- Sam Jaffe as Mayor Galimard
- Karl Malden as B-24 Jumpmaster (uncredited)
- E. G. Marshall as Emile (uncredited)
- Marcel Rousseau as Duclois (uncredited)
Production
Prohibited from mentioning the OSS during the war due to secrecy, several Hollywood studios made their own films about the agency after the war, such as Paramount's O.S.S., Warner Bros./United States Pictures Cloak and Dagger, and RKO/Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Though 13 Rue Madeleine was originally written to showcase the O.S.S., with Cagney playing a character based on William Donovan and featuring Peter Ortiz as a technical advisor, Donovan raised major objections to the film, including the idea that his agency had been infiltrated by an enemy agent.[1] The agency was renamed "O77" and Cagney's character had no similarities to Donovan.
The film followed Fox's The House on 92nd Street a true story of Federal Bureau of Investigation counter espionage which shared the same director, producer, and one of the writers.
Much of the filming was done in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The scene where Sharkey is leaving the "Local French HQ", on his way to meet with the local resistance was shot on rue Donnacona, with the Ursulines School in the background.
The Breen office also objected to the Americans bombing a building solely to kill Sharkey; the film made reference to the building being an acceptable military target.[1]
References
External links
- 13 Rue Madeleine at the TCM Movie Database
- 13 Rue Madeleine at the Internet Movie Database
- 13 Rue Madeleine at AllRovi
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