I Was a Spy


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. 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.

Plot

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

Cast

Filming took place in Shepherds Bush. Producer Michael Balcon was concerned about potential legal troubles with the film after the case involving Felix Yusupov, MGM and the film Rasputin and the Empress. Balcon sent Herbert Mason to take the script to Belgium and give it to Marthe Cnockaert to look at and sign off on every page. Balcon called the movie "the most ambitious we had so far attempted."
The script was co-written by Edmund Gwenn who also portrayed the burgomaster.

Release

I Was a Spy was screened at the Lyric.
I Was a Spy was also the first film dubbed in Poland, released in 1935 as Siostra Marta jest szpiegiem, starring Lidia Wysocka as Martha Cnockhaert's voice.

Reception

Box office

The film was very successful at the box office. In January 1934 when discussing the box office success of British movies over the previous year, Variety stated "probability is the English gross record will be split between Henry VIII and I Was a Spy."

Critical reception

The Daily Mail described it as "the most splendid film produced in this country." The Daily Despatch described it as a film "equal to Hollywood's best." Variety and motion picture critic Mordaunt Hall praised Carroll's acting.Variety also wrote "The producers of this picture set out to turn out a super film. Money was lavishly and intelligently spent. Subject has great merit and would have a chance in the States."
The Evening News , praised the acting and described it as " in its sweep, human in its emotions, dramatic in its intensity and profoundly gripping in its appeal."
The film was panned by critic William Troy in The Nation for glossing over the realities of war and the hundreds of deaths caused by this spy. In his review, he compared it to general war propaganda saying, "It is the kind of picture calculated to make us believe that there is something beautiful and touching about war, after all." Film historian and critic Paul Rotha for Cinema Quarterly also disliked the film highlighting how the causes of the war are completely ignored and 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."
Saville's also had doubts about the film. 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."
Halliwell's Film & Video Guide described the film as " standard war espionage melodrama."
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."
In 2021, film critic and author Derek Winnert praised the cast and their performances.

Accolades

In a poll conducted by the magazine Film Weekly, the film was voted the best British movie of 1933, and Madeleine Carroll's performance was voted the best in a British movie.

Home media

I Was a Spy was released on DVD on 19 May 2014.

Primary sources