Spy in the Sky! is a 1958 American-British spy thriller film directed by W. Lee Wilder and starring Steve Brodie, Andrea Domburg and George Coulouris.[1][2][3] It was written by Myles Wilder based on the 1954 novel Counterspy Express by Albert Sidney Fleischman.[4]
| Spy in the Sky! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | W. Lee Wilder |
| Written by | Myles Wilder |
| Based on | Counterspy Express by Albert Sidney Fleischman |
| Produced by | W. Lee Wilder |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Walter J. Harvey |
| Edited by | Lien d' Oliveyra Loet Roozekrans |
| Music by | Hugo de Groot |
Production company | W. Lee Wilder Productions |
| Distributed by | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 75 minutes |
| Countries |
|
| Language | English |
Plot
editA German scientist who knows the secrets of the Sputnik rocket programme goes on the run from the Soviets.
Cast
edit- Steve Brodie as Vic Cabot
- Sandra Francis as Eve Brandisi
- Andrea Domburg as Alexandrine Duvivier
- George Coulouris as Col. Benedict
- Bob De Lange as Sidney Jardine
- Hans Tiemeijer as Dr. Fritz Keller, alias Hans Krauss
- Herbert Curiel as Pepi Vidor
- Dity Oorthuis as Fritzi
- Albert E. Gollin as Martin, consul's representative
- Leon Dorian as Agent Max Maxwell
- Roland Wagter as soldier
- Monica Witkowna as gypsy singer
- Harold Horsten as pawnbroker
Production
editThe film was shot at the Cinetone Studios in Amsterdam and on location in Vienna.
Reception
editThe Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This story is full of complications which scarcely compensate for the lengths to which the basically simple plot is stretched. A weak script gives the cast very little opportunity for performances, and in the circumstances they make their parts as credible as could be expected."[5]
Variety wrote: "It is a routine spy story of poor quality that will be adequate in U.S. only for lower case double-bill bookings. ...The cast performs adequately under Wiider's direction, but not to any advantage, their own or the picture's. The continuity is confusing and finally annoying. The photography, by Jim Harvey, is often interesting, but it has a curious composition. It consists almost entirely of medium close-ups, two or three-shots, and closeups, indicating it was shot with television, not feature picture release in mind. Very little advantage is taken of the foreign location."[6]
References
edit- ^ "Spy in the Sky!". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ "Spy in the Sky!". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
- ^ American Cinema of the 1950s: Themes and Variations p.204
- ^ Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 160.
- ^ "Spy in the Sky!". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 25 (288): 158. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.
- ^ "Spy in the Sky!". Variety. 211 (9): 6. 30 July 1958 – via ProQuest.
External links
edit
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