That medal ribbon. I don't seem to recognise it. What is it?

The Spy in Black

(1939)

Superb WWI spy yarn that marked the first collaboration between Powell and Pressburger. A German submarine is sent to the Orkneys in 1917, the captain (Conrad Veidt) ordered to go ashore and make contact with a German spy posing as a school teacher (Valerie Hobson). Their objective is to pass on secrets in order to successfully attack the British fleet at Scapa Flow.

The result is a compact little film, tightly scripted by Pressburger, with a number of significant twists and turns along the way. As with their later collaborations, the Germans are fleshed-out individuals, not despicable huns, and the depiction of island life is as atmospheric and compelling as the Powell had made it before (Edge of the World) and would make it again (I Know Where I’m Going).

Also featuring are frequent Powell collaborator Marius Goring and the future Anakin Skywalker, Sebastian Shaw (curiously, Return of the Jedi director Richard Marquand also made a film about a German spy hiding out on a remote British island – Eye of the Needle).

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No matter how innocent you are, or how hard you try, they’ll find you guilty.

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One final thing I have to do, and then I’ll be free of the past.

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Now In Full Color, with a Happier Ending

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