The Devil's Agent (1962) User Reviews

THE DEVIL'S AGENT (John Paddy Carstairs, 1962) **1/2

[Bunuel1976 · 6/10 · 19 July 2015]

This was another low-budget Christopher Lee movie that I was totally unfamiliar with – in fact, I had initially mistaken it as merely an alternate title for the Edgar Wallace "Krimi" THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL (1961; which I also recently acquired in tribute to his passing and which I will be getting to presently)!

That said, the result proved quite a surprise – not least for the remarkable cast its producers managed to hire: Peter Van Eyck in a rare and atypically heroic leading role; Macdonald Carey (who had just supplied the obligatory marquee value to Hammer's extraordinary THESE ARE THE DAMNED {shot 1961 but released 1963}), a one-armed Marius Goring, Walter Gotell, Albert Lieven (also from THE DEVIL'S DAFFODIL and who had himself assumed the central part for director Carstairs' SLEEPING CAR TO TRIESTE {1948}), Marianne Koch, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Pohlmann, Peter Vaughan and Billie Whitelaw. Incidentally, the IMDb claims that Peter Cushing was also involved but had his scenes deleted – however, I doubt this, since that same site also gives the running-time as 77 minutes…while my "Something Weird Video"(!) print clocks in at 97! As for Lee, though his role is fairly brief, it is the one that sets the protagonist on his globe-trotting doom-laden path.

Indeed, the film is an episodic Cold War thriller (the title, then, boasts no occult underpinning but merely refers to Van Eyck's precarious status within the narrative as a spy working both sides!) made before the subgenre's heyday, which kicked off around 1965; with this in mind, the plot line is predictably convoluted and decidedly short on action, yet the whole emerges a reasonably suspenseful outing just the same – complete with an unexpected downbeat 'curtain'. Interestingly, nominal leading lady Koch's best-known role was similarly a damsel-in-distress saved by a double-faced hero, albeit against a Wild West setting, i.e. Sergio Leone's seminal A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (1964)!

On the Other Side of Hades

[The_Dying_Flutchman · 6/10 · 1 November 2012]

This flick is a passable representation of what one can call an "economical espionager". Something like what Sean Connery's wayward son Jason might have made if he beat his dad to the punch. It was co-produced by any number of countries, but mostly friendly ones, after-all, it was the early 1960's. Directed by John Paddy Carstairs of British B movie fame who did films like George Sanders "The Saint in London" which was a rarity for the time because it was shot on location. Its all about a Viennese wine merchant becoming a double agent for the United States. The agent is ably played by German and/or Dutch actor Peter Van Eyck, I've never been able to tell what his true nationality was. He gets suckered into the profession by Russian brutes and in those years they were the biggest and baddest of the bads. The cast is good for the time and offered it some good scenery chewing. Macdonald Carey, Mr. Stone Face as usual, Christopher Lee, minus fangs, Billie Whitelaw, a sweetener for certain and Marius Goring doing a dance with numerous demons. "The Devil's Agent" holds up OK though its past is definitely passed.

Another east wall story, desperate to go west.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 9 March 2022]

The cold war provided a lot of film about desperation to go west from the east, and of course, there are characters who would want to return to the old days, the very old days two decades before of when this takes place. Peter van Eyck is an Austrian wine market who somehow ends up on an agent when he agrees to get a book for old pal Christopher Lee, detained by American intelligence agent MacDonald Carey and agreeing to become a double agent, finding out that the book contains secret code. This leads him into be coming part of a convoluted espionage plot involving Lee's sister (Marianne Koch), and encountering a bunch of very dangerous people and both threatened and promised rewards by the same parties. It's an intriguing mix of political drama with a bit of romance (The beautiful Billie Whitelaw, years before being a scary nanny of the devil), and showing what happens when people unsuccessfully try to escape from east to west.

Van Eyck gets to play a very complex character who seems to be in a no win situation, told "Once a spy, always a spy", and desperately wanting out. "We are going to kill you. You can sweat it out until we do", he is told with Whitelaw overhearing, so the film gets more intriguing as it goes on. The black and white photography really seems to work for films about the cold war, and continues to increase in its grittiness and violence as it deals with these very sinister characters and their threats. Once agaon, Lee gets high billing for a very small part, and Carey, the future patriarch of "Days of Our Luves" has little to do as well. This is definitely a product of the early 60's, going beyond the newspaper headlinws into the secret world of espionage that could often seem rather confusing to the average guy. Not bad, but trying to be far too smart for its own good.

Once an agent, always an agent

[kevinolzak · 6/10 · 4 July 2017]

1962's "The Devil's Agent" is a long forgotten programmer in the bygone Cold War days of black and white espionage, ending with the surge of Eurospy glamour in the wake of James Bond. We open in 1950 Vienna, as wine merchant Georg Droste (Peter Van Eyck) sees his son off to school, then bumps into an old friend of 25 years, Baron Ferdi von Staub (Christopher Lee), who invites Georg over to his country estate for a little fishing. This seemingly idyllic setting soon gives way to the coldest of Cold War plots, as Georg quickly realizes that he has been used as a courier for the Soviets, forced to trade information to the US through Secret Service chief Mr. Smith (Macdonald Carey), otherwise he's a dead man. From Vienna to Budapest to Hamburg, he must use his wits to outmaneuver his captors at every turn, for he learns to his eternal detriment, 'once an agent, always an agent.' The other supporting actors are a choice bunch, with Billie Whitelaw, David Knight, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Pohlmann, Peter Vaughan, Michael Brennan, and Walter Gotell offering up vivid characterizations in little screen time. The presence of Christopher Lee, even in a disappointingly small role (returning to Ireland's Ardmore Studios for 1965's "The Face of Fu Manchu"), provides the strongest marquee value, a missed opportunity indeed for the lost footage featuring Peter Cushing, whose role has been sadly lost in time, deleted prior to release, and no other information surfacing on his participation (one can assume that other commitments made it impossible for him to complete his scenes). Perhaps the movie would be better remembered today as a Cushing-Lee vehicle, despite neither in the starring role, but at least we get half the equation.

I think Peter Cushing is the passed out drunk

[jaredprophet · 7/10 · 20 October 2022]

The Devil's Agent (1962) is often listed as one of the 24 film is in which both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing both appear. The Curse of Frankenstein, The Horror of Dracula, Horror Express and more...

But there appears to be an open question as to if Peter Cushing is actually in this movie. According to blog posts I've read, press reports of the time had Peter Cushing having been signed to the production.

One of the factors of this being an open question is that this movie is not easy to get a hold of. Sinister Cinema did release this on DVD-R, and the movie did get an official DVD release in Germany. I'm unsure if these are still available. The movie is not on any streaming service or VOD platform in the US. It does appear to currently be on the Internet Archive, but how long it lasts there is uncertain.

Having seen it on Archive, I would posit that the drunk passed out at the table in the bar with a woman who gives him looks before leaving, could very possibly be Peter Cushing.

The hair line of the drunk very much looks like the hair line of Peter Cushing.

Why Peter Cushing isn't in the movie more is a mystery that we may never know the answer to. Apparently when asked about the movie many years later, the super busy actor had no memory of the production. There is likely no one still alive who could possibly know the answer.

No Way Out

[boblipton · 7/10 · 14 January 2024]

Peter Van Eyck came from a noble and rich family. The war ended all that, and now he makes a living as a wine merchant. His real source of income is as a spy for the Russians. And the Americans. And the East Germans. He recognizes he's got too many bosses, and wants to get out, but he can't.

John Paddy Carstair's last theatrical release is a dark little thriller, well populated with fine performers like Macdonald Carey, Marianne Koch, Christopher Lee, Marius Goring, Billie Whitelaw, and Eric Pohlman. In a year when James Bond was the big news, with its sexy spies and big production, a dirty little movie like this was swimming against the tide, no matter how good it was. And it is, very good, but just a few years too early for a countertrend that would make itself known in.adaptations of John LeCarre.

Van Eyck had a leg up in his performance. Like his character, he was born in a wealthy and noble Pomeranian family. He, however, was not interested in the family's military tradition. Instead, he went to Berlin to study music. He left Germany in 1931 and came to New York, where he made friends with Irving Berlin and became a composer and performer in night club music. A later friendship with Billy Wilder led him to acting. His blond looks let him play Nazis for most of a decade, and then he tried expanding his range with movies like this. He died in 1969, one day short of his 58th birthday.

WHEN THE COLD WAR HEATED UP

[larryanderson · 5/10 · 22 March 2020]

When the cold war heated up is what this movie is trying hard to accomplish. but fails to get started. Peter Van Eyck tries to keep the story going but changes side so often it is hard to keep track of. Made in 1962 it was seen as a pre-Bond movie. (even thought the James Bond books were published in 1954, so they weren't a secret). When you watch this you will notice many actors who later went on to play in the actual James Bond movies. Certainly entertaining but slow and somewhat predictable.

Starts off well but tails off

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 10 March 2023]

This seemed as if this was two separate tv episodes ditched together. The first mainly set in Hungary was reasonably good,but the second dragged on interminably.

I note that one of the producers was Artur Brauner who i acted for professionally 40 years ago. A remarkable man who escaped the Holocaust,had a prolific film career,and died a few years ago,having reached his centenary.

The film seemed to be populated with many familiar character actors of the era. Only Sam Kidd was missing. Though Michael Brennan as a Hungarian agent takes some believing.

. One of the lesser films from the sixties portraying the on going battle between spies frI'm both sides.

A spy film should be MUCH more interesting than this one was.

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 16 April 2024]

Despite a spicy title like "The Devil's Agent" and it being a spy story, this is an incredibly dull movie. I just expected so much more energy and thrills...but didn't get them.

Georg (Peter van Eyck) lives in Vienna in 1950. While his family had wealth and power during the Nazi era, now he is forced to live modestly. However, when he sees an old friend (Christopher Lee) and is invited into the Soviet sector to do some fishing, western operatives take notice. After all, the 'friend' is also Soviet spy...and they assume the communists are trying to recruit him as a courier. So, after meeting with BOTH sides, Georg decides to work for both the Soviets and the western powers. As such, it's tough to know where his loyalties actually lie.

Dull...slow...pondering...all words that seem appropriate for this movie. It's not terrible, but I almost wish it was because with a terrible film you have strong feelings. But with this one...I had none and had a tough time sticking with it.

A Movie with Three Good Performances

[patrick-50839 · 6 January 2024]

The Devil's Agent is a spy thriller that I thought pleasant viewing, at least the first half of it (it loses momentum after the mid-point), though it never gets very thrilling. The lead is played by Peter Van Eyck, who is really not a good fit as a leading man--too shallow and one-note. When Van Eyck and Christopher Lee bump into each other in a train station in the opening scene, greeting each other as old school chums who are delighted to see each other after these many years, the palpable lack of warmth between these two cold fish can't help but make the scene seem unreal, almost verging on a Saturday Night Live skit.

In my opinion, there are only four really interesting things about the movie. First, the credits give Hans Habe, the author of the novel that is the source of the picture the TINIEST credit I have ever seen in any movie. This must be an interesting story behind this; he must've done something that really pissed off one of the producers (probably Artur Brauner).

The three other interesting things are the performances of Billie Whitelaw as a bar girl in a strange Budapest night club, Helen Cherry as Chris Lee's sister, and Marius Goring as a German general. Whitelaw's idiosyncratic performance is a case of a fine actress trying to do more with a stock part than it warrants, so that her sexy-sensitive-enigmatic B-girl seems all but surreal with her unconvincing Hungarian accent, fake laugh and sudden inappropriate smiling it seems too much like a trying-to-do-everything acting class exercise. It's hard to believe that even a naive and horny guy like Van Eyck is playing would not be on his guard against her. The scene ends with her bending over him in a way that is both sexy-maternal and kind of vampirish. Odd as it is, this scene is the highlight of the movie, for me at least. In the same scene, I noticed that when she tells Van Eyck that four people sitting at at nearby table are "the leaders of the Communist Party in Budapest," they make the mistake of cutting in a few shots of them that are almost laughable--four very ordinary looking Irish extras, none of whom look like they could be leaders of anything.

I will say that director John Paddy Carstairs and art director Tony Inglis do a good job of creating a seedy middle-European ambiance on what must have been a limited budget. The English actress Helen Cherry plays Christopher Lee's dignified but warm and charming older sister with real distinction. The only thing is she maybe expends too much "warmth" toward the cold and remote Van Eyck not to seem a bit suspicious. An interesting performance though.