The People Have Spoken!

spookyrat1

State Secret is a curious oddity of a film. Filmed largely in one one of my favourite parts of Italy (the north-east) substituting for the fictitious country of Vosnia, much of the film's dialogue consists of actors speaking Vosnian, a made-up studio language, without the benefit of sub-titles. It works, but it's kind of weird listening to Jack Hawkins among others, babbling away in this synthetic foreign tongue.

State Secret is very much a chase film, loosely clothed in the raiments of a political thriller. The set-up, as far as this writer is concerned is very contrived, but it is intriguing to see how writer/director Sidney Gilliat, a long time associate of Alfred Hitchcock, intends to play the narrative out. I mean, we know this is set 70 years ago, but even back then you'd think there'd be interest from the American media, when a nationally recognised surgeon is invited to a foreign country, supposedly to be given an humanitarian award. Apparently not, though ironically we see heaps of foreign media in the country covering the election of the authoritarian General Nivo. Were we ever too, given an explanation as to why Douglas Fairbanks Jr's character, Doctor John Marlowe, was unable to speak to anyone from the American embassy? I can't remember one.

At any rate Marlowe ends up the subject of an unlikely nationwide manhunt with showgirl Lisa Robinson (Glynis Johns). This gives us the opportunity to see some fine, at times spectacular location cinematography around Trento and The Dolomites, courtesy of the talents of Australian cameraman Robert Krasker. The mountain-climbing footage is especially worthy of note. Gilliat, very much wants us to see the film through protagonist Marlowe's (confused) eyes. Thus, the lack of sub-titles! But there's an interesting 6 or 7 minutes in the first act where the camera acts as Marlowe's vision. We don't see him, only what he sees and hears. I'd suggest many video game creators may have taken note of this particular section of the film, incorporating some of its ideas into their games.

I can't end this piece without reference to the film's shaggy dog ending. Seriously, it's a ... "You're kidding aren't you"? type conclusion and does emphasise the flaws in writing, that serve to highlight State Secret isn't the unseen, long forgotten classic, that many of these other reviewers on these pages mistakenly suggest. But it undeniably is a lively little affair, incorporating some worthwhile, engaging, cinematic propositions.

score 6/10

spookyrat1 3 May 2019

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4824389/