The weakness of this film is that it hesitates between being a gung-ho patriotic documentary about our wonderful secret service, and being an actual spy/adventure film. The first 25 minutes is pure exposition, in the most dreary and pedestrian fashion. (Who really wants to watch recruits fill out forms and do exercises?) A good, taut spy thriller would have condensed that into five minutes of set-up and then let the action begin.
There are plenty of good moments once the characters arrive in Europe and the plot begins to roll, but it all happens too late. There are other weaknesses as well, like Sam Jaffe's lame French accent, or the all-too-abrupt ending.
Besides Cagney's usual captivating performance, there are three near-debuts by men who were on the cusp of stardom: Red Buttons, Karl Malden, and E. G. Marshall, for whom this was their 2nd or 3rd film role. Don't blink or you'll miss them.
I wonder how this film would play in today's anti-spy environment in the USA. The media and the left do all they can to make us despise and suspect our undercover operatives. Audiences in 1946 would have been expected to cheer these mavericks who, according to Cagney, were supposed to throw their morality out the window in order to accomplish their goals.
There are plenty of good moments once the characters arrive in Europe and the plot begins to roll, but it all happens too late. There are other weaknesses as well, like Sam Jaffe's lame French accent, or the all-too-abrupt ending.
Besides Cagney's usual captivating performance, there are three near-debuts by men who were on the cusp of stardom: Red Buttons, Karl Malden, and E. G. Marshall, for whom this was their 2nd or 3rd film role. Don't blink or you'll miss them.
I wonder how this film would play in today's anti-spy environment in the USA. The media and the left do all they can to make us despise and suspect our undercover operatives. Audiences in 1946 would have been expected to cheer these mavericks who, according to Cagney, were supposed to throw their morality out the window in order to accomplish their goals.