13 Rue Madeleine

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AMG AllMovie Guide:

13 Rue Madeleine

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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. ~ Rovi

Review

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, Rovi

Cast

Melville Cooper - Pappy Simpson; Sam Jaffe - Mayor Galimard; James Craven - R.A.F. Officer; Richard H. Gordon - Psychiatrist; Alexander Kirkland - Briefing Officer; Alfred Linder - Hans Feinkl; Ben Low - Hotel Clerk; Don Randolph - LaRoche; Marcel Rousseau - Duclois; Blanche Yurka - Mme. Thillot; Peter Von Zerneck - Karl; Leslie Barrie; Martin Brandt; Frederick Brunn; Red Buttons - Dispatcher; Edward Cooper - R.A.F. Officer; Jean del Val - French Peasant; Arno Frey - German Officer; Peter Gowland - Dispatcher; Walter Greaza - Psychiatrist; Reed Hadley - Narrator; Judith Lowry - Peasant Lady; Horace McMahon - Burglary Instructor; Karl Malden - Flight Sergeant; E.G. Marshall - Emile; Reginald Mason - Communications Chief; Sally McMarrow - Chief operator; William Mendrek - Man; Coby Neal - Flyer; Fred Nurney; Otto Reichow - German Soldier; Henry Rowland; Otto Simanek, Sr. - German staff officer; Dick Wessel; Roland Winters - Van Duyval; Harold Young - Tailor; Albert D'Arno; Charles Campbell - Psychiatrist-Instructor; Robert Morgan - Telegraph Instructor

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

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Wikipedia on Answers.com:

13 Rue Madeleine

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13 Rue Madeleine

Film Poster
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 (1947-01-15)
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.

Contents

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

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

  1. ^ a b p.120 Dick, Bernard F. The Star Spangled Screen University of Kentucky Press

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Henry Hathaway (Director, Western/Adventure)
Annabella (actress)