Secret d'état

Fairbanks, in his most natural style makes you believe he is a gifted surgeon. He is "kidnapped" by a country to perform a delicate operation on its leader. Things go wrong and, of course, Fairbanks is in danger of being killed to silence his knowledge. I viewed this film a a local theatre in Los Angeles as "State Secret" and later I could see that other writers "borrowed" many of the twists and turns for later productions. Herbert Lom has a nice part and clearly establishes his talent for future films. Jack Hawkins is at his menacing best. Although there are some cute things to laugh at, this film is not a comedy as stated on the cover page, but an exciting chase that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

"State Secret" is one of the best political thrillers that I have ever seen. The storyline, script, acting, photography and direction are all top notch. Considering that the film is over 50 years old, it does not seem dated at all; in fact, the plot could easily be applicable to this day. Douglas Fairbanks manages to convince in his role as the visiting American surgeon, but it is the supporting cast - Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins and particularly Herbert Lom that runs the show. Lom has one of the best one-liners in Hollywood history when he disdainfully tells Fairbanks "Oh please, don't say that it is the principle of the thing....that usually turns out to be so much more expensive!" Sidney Gillat's direction keeps the pace brisk & eventful. A must buy on DVD, certainly for me.

This is a wonderful film and well worth seeing; if you can find it! It used to be on TV all the time, but I haven't seen it in years and cannot find a copy. One very interesting fact about the movie is that it was, to the best of my knowledge, the first film to make use of Esperanto. In the film, all the citizens of the made up nation of Vosnia speak Esperanto! Esperanto was constructed in 1887 as a universal language, drawing words and structure from many different languages. The hope was that it would be adopted as an "everyman's language" and be equally difficult for all people to master. State Secret gives the viewer a chance to hear fluent Esperanto, as well as adding flavor to the underlying excitement of the plot.

State Secret is a forgotten classic, made around the same time as the celebrated 'The Third Man', this film is equally, if not more enjoyable! A thriller in the Hitchcockian tradition, with a nice blend of comedy that doesn't detract from the thrills. Devilishly handsome, dashing and suave Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. in what is arguably his best role as the Doctor running for his life in a foreign country, ably supported by a menacing Jack Hawkins, pretty Glynis Johns, and a hilarious Herbert Lom, in one of the best 'cat & mouse' chases ever made! Nice locales, excellent black & white photography all add up to one hell of a ride! An even bigger mystery is why this film has never been given it's just desserts in an official DVD release? Perhaps it didn't have as catchy a theme as 'The Third Man'?

Douglas Fairbanks Jr. has invented a new surgical procedure. He's invited to a European dictatorship to demonstrate it. He discovers in mid-operation his patient is the country's dictator. When the dictator dies, the authorities, in the person of Jack Hawkins, can't let anyone know, so Fairbanks ... escapes and so begins the movie.

It's Sidney Gilliat doing a Hitchcock thriller on his own, and doing it very well, thank you, with a fine cast, with heroine Glynis Johns showing up a third of the way into the movie in a cheap music hall singing "Paper Doll" very badly and Herbert Lom hilariously sleazy as a black-market fixer. There's an exciting mountain-climbing sequence shot in the Dolomites and the entire movie is shot through with a sardonic cynicism that is capped with Miss Johns' closing words to the show.