13 Rue Madeleine

This tense WW II thriller was Henry Hathaway's follow-up to his successful semi-documentary spy thriller HOUSE ON 92ND STREET. Cagney is the training officer for a group of American agents preparing to serve in occupied Europe for Operations-77 (a thinly veiled copy of the OSS, which withdrew its endorsement for the film after the producers argued with legendary spymaster "Wild Bill" Donovan). He knows that one of his students is a German agent and must determine which one it is before the spy can do too much damage to the organization. Training is rigorous, and includes radio-telegraphy, psychological training, and exhausting physical exercise. During the training...