The Great Manhunt

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source: The Great Manhunt

State Secret

I read one of the below reviews and it mentioned this movie was a little like 1950's "Crisis" with Cary Grant so I had to see it. And as it was, it was well worth the time as this movie was as I stated a "very good movie." I did like the little surprise ending it had and that's about all I'll say.

The producers wrote films by Hitchcock and Carol Reed, and it shows. A lightweight suspenser, with the charm of impeccably urbane Fairbanks and that Paper Doll lady (surprisingly, Jack Hawkins lacks a light touch). Marvellously photographed by Robert Krasker-- how did he fit it in with The Third Man -- in the Dolomite Mountains (see contemporary report in Sight and Sound magazine). Little recognised, but this is cinematic st

This is a movie which for so long seems to have been on a backburner despite its strong cast and speedy flow. Made in 1950, yet it contains much cinematography (albeit black and white) which would be in keeping with a film made many years later. The story, written by Sydney Gilliat is both exciting and well told and skips along in absorbing fashion, keeping alive the kind of political extremes of a few years before under the Nazis, or perhaps a few years later under Communist regimes. The central theme of escapism is really well told and the main characters, played by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Glynis Johns and Jack Hawkins are perfectly performed. A brilliant, yet vastly underrated film.

This is a good little thriller that I quite enjoyed watching, since it borrows a lot of elements from "The Prisoner of Zenda" and "The 39 Steps", and it also looks like a Hitchcock thriller: Well written, paced and acted. A fictitious authoritarian country somewhere in central/eastern Europe, political intrigues, a double impersonating the head of state, picturesque towns and eccentric locals, an exciting car chase, a man running for his life, daggers at dawn, a charming ruthless villain and a totally unexpected ending. Fine entertainment for a Sunday afternoon. And a fine cast too: Fairbanks Jr as the man in the run, the commanding presence of Jack Hawkins as the master villain and the always excellent Herbert Lom in a small but nevertheless key role.

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.

Based on a novel by the creator of the TV series 'The Virginian'. This cracking Cold War retread of 'The Prisoner of Zenda', with Italy standing in for the fictitious Balkan republic of Vosnia (national anthem courtesy of William Alwyn), is a consummate job all round that ranks alongside antecedents like 'The 39 Steps' and 'The Mortal Storm' and deserves to be much better known today.

This is impressingly well done as everything in it is totally convincing, especially the language specially constructed for this film - it sounds a little bit like Romanian and some Yugoslav languages but is neither of them. Glynis Johns is the most impressing acting contribution here, while Jack Hawkins is superb as a superior leader in charge as usual, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr is exactly the right type for the naïve doctor who is called on to operate on a dictator without knowing it before it's too late. The story is a nail-biting thriller of high tension and suspense, and I am sure even Hitchcock would have been impressed here. The finale in the mountains is a special treat, and the surprises on the way never cease to pile up in constant up-turning of the intrigue. I saw it more than 50 years ago, ever since then I have been looking forward to seeing it again, and it was no disappointment. On the contrary.