Counterspy

This is a nicely understated comedy-thriller about an ordinary accountant who gets mixed up with spies. Such a plot is nowadays routine, but in 1953 was a little ahead of the game. Dermot Walsh is on particularly good form as the not-too-bright pen-pusher; his little sulk when contradicted by Paulson is a lovely little cameo. Interesting early performances from Hazel Court and Bill Travers, and a rare film outing for John Penrose, famous for his portrayal as the horrible Lionel in Kind Hearts and Coronets. Of course, from this studio, on this budget, this was never going to be a work of art. But Vernon Sewell was excellent at producing interesting and entertaining results from unpromising material. This won't stick in the mind for very long, but it passes its short running time easily, and provokes a few chuckles along the way.

It has to be said that Dermot Walsh tended to play rather more red blooded characters than the meek and mild accountant who unwittingly gets involved in this spy thriller.It seems so unlikely also that he would be married to the vivacious dancer Hazel Court.The cast is full of interest.As has been mentioned Bill Travers plays an almost unrecognisable heavy.Then there are Alexander Gauge(Friar Tuck) and Archie Duncan(little John) from the Robin Hood TV series.Unfortunately for poor Gauge he couldn't get any more work after the end of the TV series and committed suicide.Here he plays the head of a spy ring determined to stop at nothing to obtain the papers which are the "macguffin" of this film.Passes the time pleasantly.

The underrated and underused Dermot Walsh is actually very good in this. The other performances range from good to mediocre. But it is the script and direction that let this movie down, along with the plot and intrusive score. Another reviewer said this was a good example of why their late parents hated British films. In my late father's case he really resented the fact so many 1950s British movies relied upon a 6 foot something imported American star to tower over the rest of the British cast. It wasn't until the 1960s when the British Film Industry opened the doors to actors without affected RP accents and middle/upper class stage background. The likes of Connery, Caine, Burton, Finney etc were able to talk naturally and along with the Beatles etc completely transformed the UK's fortunes. So it's easy to forget how depressing it must have been to be around in the 1950s when the US dominated the music scene and cinema despite all of the great films and talent Britain did produce in the 1940s and 1950s, not least in Hollywood itself.

UNDERCOVER AGENT is a very typical British crime film but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad one. Sure, it moves at a sedate pace and it features not a single surprise anywhere in its running time, but at the same time it keeps the amiable viewer watching quite happily thanks to plenty of incident and perilous situations. The film stars the hard-working Dermot Walsh who somewhat unusually plays a mild-mannered accountant this time around (he's usually a brooding, dashing anti-hero thanks to that Mallen streak in his hair). The film's MacGuffin sees him come into possession of an envelope containing secret plans that both the British government and a gang of international spies will do anything to get their hands on. It's all very Hitchcockian albeit done on a very low budget.

What follows is watchable enough as it goes through the trappings of the genre: there are assassinations, hidden character motivations, and even a couple of mild torture sequences including a climactic hospital set-piece which may have inspired GOLDFINGER. Walsh is very good actually, and there are some choice faces in the supporting cast: Hazel Court's lovely love interest, Hugh Latimer's dogged cop, Alexander Gauge's stock slimy villain. Hermione Baddeley makes for an effective femme fatale but one of the most interesting of all is a pre-stardom Bill Travers, years before BORN FREE and cast as a ruthless thug!

This is no classic, but it is amusing and has a period interest. It is also interesting because of two of the performances in it. Bill Travers is seen here in an early role as an unpleasant heavy, completely opposite to the Bill Travers we were later to know on screen. There is a wonderful supporting part for Hermione Baddeley, which needs to be seen by anyone interested in her, as she pulls it off with such professional aplomb and style. She was a very amusing woman. I knew her only slightly. And along with very large numbers of people indeed, I also knew her brother, the charming Reverend William ('Bill') Baddeley, who as Rector of St. James Piccadilly, was prominent in artistic, literary,and social work circles, though many people did not know he was Hermione's brother. Hermione Gingold told me that she and Hermione Baddeley used to do a lot of comedy double acts together and call themselves 'The Two Hermiones'. Apart from having the same first name, they were both as outrageous as each other and were like two comic twins. I wish I had seen them perform together on stage, as it must have been truly hilarious, but that was long before my time. This film has a story about an accountant who gets mixed up in an espionage operation, and it is sufficiently amusing for a rainy afternoon. It has been released on DVD under its alternative title of COUNTERSPY.