Secret Agent (1936)

Secret Agent is another one of Hitchcock's early works, made in 1936. The film stars John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll and Robert Young. Gielgud stars as Richard Ashenden, a spy who is assigned to work with his "wife" played by Carroll. Once in Switzerland, Gielgud hooks up with another fellow spy, portrayed by Lorre, who takes sadistic pleasure in killing his targets. Lorre's performance is particularly disturbing considering the era in which it the film was made . Young, who would later be known for his role as Marcus Welby, M.D., plays a flirty college boy in Secret Agent who keeps hitting on Carroll, even though she's masquerading as Gielgud's wife.

One thing that Hitchcock always did well was to incorporate local landmarks, locations or industries into his films. In Secret Agent, the bulk of the film takes place in Switzerland and Hitch expertly weaves a Swiss chocolate factory into the film. The factory engines roar so loud throughout the entire factory scene that no dialogue can be heard. Hitch uses this limitation to showcase his finely tuned silent film techniques and creates a wonderfully suspenseful scene without utilizing any words, only images and editing.

Hitchcock's use of other local landmarks can be better found in North By Northwest, where Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint end up at Mount Rushmore. Or in Saboteur, where Normal Lloyd and Robert Cummings fight on the Statue of Liberty. He uses the Albert Hall in the climax of The Man Who Knew Too Much and the beaches, casinos and weaving roads of Monaco in To Catch A Thief.

Robert Young and Madeleine Carroll

Secret Agent is a satisfying film by Hitchcock... again, the acting and simplistic plotlines are dated by today's standards, but Hitch's flair for the suspenseful keep you entertained throughout. Plus, Peter Lorre eats up the screen as a fellow spy who calls himself "The General." He's weird and funny and a psychopath... all at the same time.

Carroll, Gielgud and Lorre

If you're a die hard Hitchcock fan, like myself, then you should check out Secret Agent. It's an entertaining trip.