The Two-Headed Spy

The Two-Headed Spy (1958)

Fantastic Exploits of the Master Spy of WWII

Wartime thriller with film noir elements based on a true story as written in A.P. Scotland's autobiography "The London Cage". The plot has greatly exaggerated the actual events of A.P. Scotland's experiences, including the addition of a fictional love interest.

Date of release
1958-11-17
TMDB
6.3 / 10 (21)
Runtime
1h 33m
Genres
War, Thriller
Director
André de Toth

Casting

Interesting facts

The Two-Headed Spy is a 1958 British spy thriller film directed by Andre de Toth and starring Jack Hawkins, Gia Scala, Erik Schumann, Donald Pleasence and Alexander Knox. The film, which has elements of film noir and is set in the Second World War, was based on a story by J. Alvin Kugelmass called Britain's Two-Headed Spy and is notable for having been scripted by blacklisted writers.

Production

Lt. Col. Alexander Scotland OBE served as technical advisor to the film. Although the film was ostensibly based on a true story, and Scotland was known as "Schottland" during his service with German forces in Africa at the turn of the century, the film was not based on Scotland's experiences. He served during World War II as commandant of the "London Cage", an MI19 facility that interrogated captured Germans.

Filming took place in 1958 on location in London and Berlin and in Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.

Michael Caine appears in a bit-part as a Gestapo officer, and Donald Pleasence plays a German general. Screenwriters Michael Wilson and Alfred Levitt were not given credit because of the blacklist. The credit instead was given to James O'Donnell. Their credits were restored in 1999. Dalton Trumbo, also blacklisted, was a story consultant.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

Recommended