British Agent

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User Ratings: 102

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British Agent Photos

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Movie Info

British Agent starred the Hungarian/British actor Leslie Howard in the title role, was directed by full-fledged Hungarian Michael Curtiz, and costarred American leading lady Kay Francis as a Russian spy. Based on the memoirs of R. H. Bruce Lockhart, who had been the unofficial British emissary to the Russian Revolutionary government in 1917, British Agent spends more time on its romantic subplot than in recreating the birth of Bolshevism. Leslie Howard's purpose in this film is to dissuade the Bolsheviks from signing a separate treaty with the World War I German regime. It is obvious to modern-day viewers that Howard is merely looking after Britain's interests and has no concern for the Russians; this was par for the course in a 1930s film, but does not play well with less jingoistic audiences of the 1990s. The most interesting aspect of British Agent is the performance of saturnine Irving Pichel as a young Josef Stalin.

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Classics, Drama
Directed By:

Michael Curtiz
Written By:

Laird Doyle
In Theaters:

Sep 15, 1934 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Mar 15, 2012
Runtime:

75 minutes
Studio:

First National

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Cast

Leslie Howard
as Stephen 'Steve' Locke

Kay Francis
as Elena Moura

William Gargan
as Bob Medill

Phillip Reed
as Gaston LeFarge

Irving Pichel
as Sergei Pavlov

Walter Byron
as Under Secretary Stanley

Cesar Romero
as Tito Del Val

J. Carroll Naish
as Commissioner for War

Ivan Simpson
as 'Poohbah' Evans

Gregory Gaye
as Kolinoff

Halliwell Hobbes
as Sir Walter Carrister

Arthur Ayleswofth
as Farmer

Mary Forbes
as Lady Treherne

Doris Lloyd
as Lady Carrister

Alphonse Ethier
as Devigny

Paul Porcasi
as Romano

Addison Richards
as Zvododu

Marina Schubert
as Maria

George C. Pearce
as Lloyd George

Tenen Holtz
as Lenin

Walter Armitage

Thomas Braidon
as Cabinet member

Basil Lynn
as Cabinet Member

Fred Walton
as Cabinet member

Winter Hall
as Cabinet Member

Olaf Hytten
as Undersecretary

Frank Lackteen
as Suspect

Robert Wilbur
as Suspect

Lew Harvey
as Suspect

Frank Reicher
as Mr. X

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Critic Reviews for British Agent

All Critics (3)

British Agent is so agreeable and exciting to watch that the historical inventions won't worry you.

Aug 1, 2019 | Full Review…

Ann Ross
Maclean's Magazine
Kay Francis as a Soviet patriot and Leslie Howard as a British diplomat, in an unconvincing picturization of R. H. Bruce Lockhart's best-seller.

Jun 6, 2019 | Full Review…

Helen Brown Norden
Vanity Fair
Sluggish political drama.

Aug 12, 2012 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews