Espionage Agent

Joel McCrea is training for the US diplomatic service when he meets refugee Brenda Marshall and marries her. Soon. She confesses she is a low-level spy, but loves him so much that she is willing to have her secret outed. When they go to McCrea's bosses, they kick him out of the service, but he and Miss Marshall decide to do some counterspying on their own.

It's the second movie in 1939 that Warners made about the German threat. True, the country is never named, and the uniforms worn merely suggest it, but only Universal had made a stand earlier, and that went away with the Laemmles. This is quite obviously not a major production, and Warners was risking no major assets. They borrowed McCrea from Paramount, and this was Miss Marshall's first credited role. Director Lloyd Bacon obviously shot this on the cheap in his usual high-speed manner, but there's a strident call for tougher anti-espionage laws, and the Foreign Service is talked up as "America's first line of defense."

Cryptography buffs will snort when the new mechanical encryption system is talked up. It boasts over 2700 possible cyphers!

The Black Tom explosion during WWI set off by German agents is a wake up call to the American homeland. During the Spanish Civil War, arrogant American tourists insist on traveling and foreign service agent Barry Corvall (Joel McCrea) is forced to take care of them. Brenda Ballard claims to be a destitute stranded American. Barry falls in love and marries her. There is an accusation against her and he is forced to resign.

This takes place during the build up to WWII. America is still a few years away from joining. This movie is actually willing to name Germany as the enemy state although it couches the animosity from the first world war. There is a long presentation in the middle railing against possible sabotage from within and proposes more drastic measures to combat it. The first half is a little interesting. Once Barry is forced to quit, the story muddles around and loses its intensity. Sneaking around in a mansion is not going to add to the thrills. This movie is more interested in pushing the panic button on the home front. There are good reasons for that in the real world and it works in its propaganda purposes. For the cinematic world, it seems to be preaching.

There is little doubt in this film that World War II is about to begin. In fact, it was released just twenty-one days after the invasion of Poland by German forces and was in production long before. Scare tactics aside, the movie reveals real fears during the months preceding the war. Spies, counterspies, terror, suspicions, and other prologues to war gave ample warning of renewed global conflict. This movie reflects that warning.Viewing this film leads one to wonder, given the ample clues, how the war could surprise anyone.

In these days, when many are more concerned about the rights of terrorists than the security of our country, a simple old movie like ESPIONAGE AGENT reminds us that no country can afford to relax its vigilance against terrorists within its borders.

Joel McCrea, on the verge of making one of the best WW2 spy pictures of all (Hitchcock's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, 1940), plays a likable US diplomat who makes the mistake of falling for a woman with a shady past. Orphaned in Europe, his wife Brenda was recruited by German spies, and now that she's married into the diplomatic corps, her handlers want her to use her connections for further infiltration. The two lovers decide to play their own double game to bring down the Germans.

There's nothing extraordinary about the film. It's simply done, with solid acting and a taut script with no wasted scenes (and no money wasted on actual location shoots). What makes it seem so special is its timing: being released just as WW2 openly broke out in Europe, and the danger of spies became more of a real threat to free countries everywhere. There's also a nice balance between the spy plot, the romance plot, and some humorous bits involving annoying American tourists.

Just like today's terrorists, the German saboteurs operate under a neutral-sounding front: the WORLD PEACE ORGANIZATION. Early in the picture, discussing the government's reluctance to do something about saboteurs, a high-ranking US official asks a question that rings true here in the post-9/11 world: "Will we as a nation ever learn the difference between tolerance and stupidity?"

Trivia bit: keep your eyes open for Clark Kent AND Perry White from the old SUPERMAN TV series.

And contrary to a previous poster, this film is not in the least confused about which war it's about. The opening scenes, with the father of McCrea's character, take place around WW1. Then there's a very clear narration bringing us up to the late 1930s, and there are several references later on to "20 years ago" (meaning the World War). Someone must have been dozing.

Joel McCrea is a member of the foreign service who inadvertently marries a part-time spy in "Espionage Agent."

This is a very interesting film for several reasons. War is about to break out in Europe, and the U. S. is planning to stay neutral, and in fact, in one scene, an American broadcaster gives a call for neutrality.

After getting into the U. S. on a forged passport, McCrea's wife, played by the darkly beautiful Brenda Marshall, confesses her past associations, and states that she's been approached to do more favors for an espionage group. McCrea resigns his post, and with his wife's help, sets out to expose the spy network in the U. S.

In the aftermath of 9/11, watching a 67-year-old film where a group of people have agents in place throughout the country and sites ready to bomb is chilling.

There are some tense, exciting scenes and an attractive cast, but the film is more of historical interest than anything else. Look for TV Superman George Reeves in a very small, uncredited role.