Made during the second half of his British period Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent is a spy thriller about a reluctant hero (John Gielgud) during the First World War who botches a hit. Following two of Hitch's more polished works ( The Man who Knew too Much, The 39 Steps) it fails to live up to their pedigree but does contain more than its fair share of gripping moments.Richard Brodie (Gielgud) Elsa Carrington ( Madeline Carrol) and The General (Peter Lorre) have been assigned by British intelligence to waste a threat in Switzerland. It turns out to be the wrong man however leaving Brodie and Elsa drained, the General far from it. Brodie, now romantically involved with Elsa wants out but accedes to accompany the General on one more assignment.In the lead Gielgud is somewhat detached and passionless most of the way while Carrol offers some sparks leaving it up to the dark humored, callous Lorre character and the dubious all American Young to keep things interesting while Hitchcock injects some of his suspenseful editorial mastery in a factory, on a train and in particular during an assassination in the mountains. Not a classic but a good one.

Who stands out in this film: Peter Lorre. Lorre plays the comical and crazy Mexican spy who is ready to kill at the drop of a hat who's name is 'General Pompellio Montezuma De La Vilia De Conde De La Rue' - one heck of a name and NO he does not want you to call him Charlie. This film actually showcases Lorre's comical and weird side - very much fun to watch this movie just for him.We also have Robert Young who is well known for the TV series "Father Knows Best". He's good in this as he peruses the oh so lovely Madeleine Carroll - the romance aspect of this film.The story itself isn't bad - it's not great but it's certainly not downright horrible. It's enjoyable to watch if you don't take it too seriously. Watch this one as a fun spy film and you can easily enjoy it.7/10

Not one of Hitchcock's best films. SECRET AGENT is too slow and unwieldy to be truly enjoyable; it's marred by a lack of action, interesting characters and plotting and it hasn't dated very well over the decades since it was first released.It's the first time I've ever seen John Gielgud as a young man, and I have to say that he doesn't stand out at all. Perhaps he got better with age? Whatever the reason, he just doesn't possess any gravitas or charisma as this film's hero. The brunt of the acting work is left to Peter Lorre, who plays an exuberant supporting character. Lorre is without a doubt the best thing in the movie and he steals every scene he's in.Of course, this is still a Hitchcock film, so there are reasons to watch. The direction's not half bad, it's just the storyline that fails to impress. You never get any of the pervading menace or sense of impending doom from later thrillers like FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT. There are some stand-out sequences (I absolutely love the bit with the organist) but as a whole this is a letdown.

I have not read the novel, am I not even close to being old enough to have seen the play performed back then. Honestly, I didn't know anything about this going into it. The thing came in a box-set that was on sale, with The Lady Vanishes and Rich and Strange(that I didn't know before purchase, either). This is about as good as the former, and thus better than the latter. There is technically no scene selection on any of the three(at most, skipping ahead to the ending), so you're stuck with rewinding and fast-forwarding as if it were a VHS(ah, the good old days). The plot isn't bad, and this is genuinely exciting and tense(Alfred knew how to create suspense back then, too). It's interesting that such an early spy thriller would deal with the conscience of agents(and would do a pretty decent job at it, no less). Editing and cinematography show promise, and certainly are nice for the time. The mystery is fairly well-done. Chemistry is reasonable. The acting is satisfactory. Same goes for characters, although this has some stereotypes in that regard; Lorre is a walking parody of a foreigner, with his broken English(is NCIS' Ziva's habit of getting well-known sayings wrong inspired by that?). The traditional gender roles affect it a bit, as well. This can be over the top, but it is funny here and there; a lot of the material seems to be based on quirk. There is a little mild violence in this. I recommend this to big fans of Hitchcock and Gielgud. 7/10