Spies (1928)

Fritz Lang's silent crime thriller pits a government agent (Willy Fritsch) against a scheming international banker who is stealing government documents. Considered an overlooked, but crucial part of Lang's impressive canon and an important influence on the thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock; it does have some first-rate cutting and painterly images of the city's dense layering. However, (this version at least) is simply way too long. One can anticipate what is going to happen later in the film with more than ½ hour to go. The film could easily afford to lose some where in the order of one hour of its footage. A necessary viewing for anyone interested in the work of Fritz Lang all the same.

Before I watched Spies I wasn't aware it was a silent film, although with it being directed in Germany in the Twenties I probably should have figured that out. As a result, I was caught a little off-guard for the opening scenes, but you quickly get used to it, and it's quite surprising how little you miss dialogue in terms of plot progression, as lengthy conversations are neatly summed up in a few lines.That being said, if you don't have the patience for it (and unfortunately I don't), the silent dialogue prevents you from really engaging with the film, and to be honest, at two and a half hours, its absence is more than noticeable. The longer the film goes on (and let's face it, it does go on) the more frustrating the "conversations" become, as characters "talk" for around thirty seconds, only for the summaries to be a short sentence. While I appreciate that pacing contributes to the film's suspense, it does become ridiculous, and you're left to wonder why it's all taking so long. The silence also obviously hampers the acting, but they all appear to be types anyway (look out for the terrible moustaches), and the score doesn't really help much (the version I saw had one added by Donald Sosin), often sounding like some guy has had a bit too much fun with his keyboard (the car chase music is particularly bad).However, it is fantastically well set-up and shot, especially considering it is nearly eighty years old, and the stylistic influences on later directors such as Hitchcock are obvious. It is probably for this reason that it has stood the test of time. As a story it is also quite interesting and clever, it just suffers from some tedious pacing issues.So overall, if you have the patience and the two and a half hours, it's worth watching as it is well shot and has an interesting storyline. However, if you have little patience and a short attention span, you're likely to come away from Spies a little frustrated.

Fritz Lang, undeniably one of the greatest and most influential film-makers in all of cinema, is one of my favorites and, from his early work – which remains, perhaps, his most important – I only had a few of his surviving films still to catch up with. SPIONE was one of them and, now that I've watched it, I can confirm its stature as one of his very best, if relatively little-known.The film is basically a follow-up to Lang's seminal two-part DR. MABUSE, THE GAMBLER (1922) and, indeed, it's Rudolph Klein-Rogge himself – who originated the role of Mabuse – who plays the evil crimelord here (called Haghi and who is made-up to resemble Lenin!). SPIONE follows much the same pattern of intrigue, thrills and action; however, the film's narrative structure is not straightforward but rather elliptical and, even though ostensibly dealing with the conflict which may arise were a treaty to fall into the wrong hands, several major plot points are left deliberately obscure (in fact, we never get to know what the treaty actually contains – a precursor to Hitchcock's beloved "McGuffin", perhaps – or what Haghi's intentions are, once he gets his hands on it!). In this respect, the social conscience so pronounced in the Mabuse diptych – coming, as it did, on the heels of Germany's defeat in WWI – is largely jettisoned here in favor of romance (between a female spy desired, and being blackmailed, by Haghi and the Secret Service agent who is the mastermind's nemesis), eroticism (the ensnaring of a central political figure by a vamp in Haghi's service) and technical dexterity (ensuring that SPIONE's considerable 2½-hour running-time goes by rapidly and without any longueurs, in my estimation at least, as opposed to the sluggish and rather static Mabuse). It is not inconceivable, therefore, to discern in Lang's fanciful melodrama the germ for all the spy thrillers which followed – from Hitchcock to the James Bond extravaganzas and beyond.As befits a master story-teller like Lang, particularly during this most creative phase of his career, SPIONE is virtually a catalogue of memorable scenes (interestingly enough, the supplementary photo gallery includes shots from sequences that are missing in the main feature!) – chief among them a ghostly visitation, a ritual suicide, a train-wreck, a police raid on a bank and a stage performance by a clown; however – as opposed to the DVD back-cover, which blatantly spells out its most clever twist – in emulation of the film itself, I've refrained from giving too much away about them here

Freqently throughout its 146 minutes, I found myself thinking: now where have I seen that before? Because, clearly, Alfred Hitchcock studied this 'zinger' carefully before making "The 39 Steps": not only that, but I suspect he also incorporated elements of it in at least half a dozen other of his British films.146 minutes, I said, but, while some of the early scenes in the first hour or so are somewhat repetitive, and studio-bound, once Lang cranks up the suspense,....and this is where the influences for Hitchcock were plain to see,.....you really had to hang on to your seat.The plot, despite its labyrinthine twists and turns, is 'yer common-or-garden Dr Mabuse, mad evil genius type' set for World domination. Of course it does have an endearing,....(yes '39 Steps'again),.... romantic sideline, which doesn't at all detract from the pacing or suspense.But this isn't "The Magic Mountain"..nor even 'M' with its deeper psychological overtones..you're not meant to delve deeply into it: its pure hokum, meant for enjoymentThere are some dazzling scenes: the dance/boxing-ring; the climactic 'race against time' scenes in the bank; .....ahem,.........the 'literally', breakneck-paced train scenes; that truly surreal, but riveting, ending. And, of course,Rudolf Klein Rogge, as ever, enjoys himself as the Mabuse-like,Haghi.The film features some wonderfully Expressionistic lighting by Fritz Arno Wagner; much-to-admire 'Art-Deco' like sets; my stunning 'Masters Of Cinema' DVD features a glorious score,....and I'm sure I detected Rachmaninov clips in among its most romantic moments. But, above all,it was a most assured job of direction by Lang.And I can't wait to watch it again!