Spy in the Sky!

Spy in the Sky!
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	Steve Brodie; Andrea Domburg; George Coulouris;
Cinematography	Walter J. Harvey
Edited by	Lien d' Oliveyra ; Loet Roozekrans
Music by	Hugo de Groot
Production; company	W. Lee Wilder Productions
Distributed by	Associated British-Pathé (UK); Allied Artists Pictures (US);
Release date	20 July 1958;
Running time	75 minutes
Countries	United Kingdom; United States;
Language	English

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]

Plot

A German scientist who knows the secrets of the Sputnik rocket programme goes on the run from the Soviets.

Cast

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

The film was shot at the Cinetone Studios in Amsterdam and on location in Vienna.

Reception

The 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

^ "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

Spy in the Sky! at IMDb

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[BFIsearch-1] "Spy in the Sky!". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 11 August 2024.

[2] "Spy in the Sky!". American Film Institute Catalog. Retrieved 4 October 2024.

[3] American Cinema of the 1950s: Themes and Variations p.204

[4] Goble, Alan (1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. p. 160.

[5] "Spy in the Sky!". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 25 (288): 158. 1 January 1958 – via ProQuest.

[6] "Spy in the Sky!". Variety. 211 (9): 6. 30 July 1958 – via ProQuest.

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