Very Hitchcockian and fun-to-watch thriller; extremely well acted by leads

mmipyle

"State Secret" (1950) is a very Hitchcockian-style film starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Glynis Johns, Jack Hawkins, Herbert Lom, Walter Rilla, Karel Stepanek, and so many others. Until recently I had never heard of this film, and then I began reading that many consider it Fairbanks, Jr.'s finest film. I would now very much agree with that! Fairbanks, Jr., Johns, Hawkins, and Lom are wonderful in this tale of a doctor (Fairbanks, Jr.) who is asked to come to Vosnia (yes, an artificial country) to perform a surgery. When he gets there he performs the surgery - but under duress because of a very disturbing circumstance! If the patient lives, everything is all right. He does live - but only for a few days... Well, the doctor knows that the patient died, so now he must die to hide the fact... Here Fairbanks begins to be a man on the run. He meets Johns. Together they run and they meet Lom. The man after them is the Secretary of State, Jack Hawkins - in a rôle that is acted to utter perfection (and without any accent thankfully!, just that good 'ol British one he had!). The scenes near the end on the mountain are hair-raising and beautifully realized. Much of the photography will remind viewers of the previous year's film "The Third Man"; indeed, much of the film will remind viewers of that film altogether, plus Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" (1959). Hitchcock must have seen "State Secret" and known and appreciated it. Several of the same tropes re-appear in his later film.

Beautifully directed by Sidney Gilliat, and reasonably photographed by Robert Krasker, the acting is on par with the best any of the leads ever did, and then some. Herbert Lom is the only one who could pull off the part he played as well as he played it. What makes this film have so much fun - while having a Hitchcockian similarity - is the sly and wry humor that is interwoven meticulously into the intrigue and even at tense moments. The final scene in the film is priceless, and you won't believe the final line!

A brand new release from Network/StudioCanal in Britain in PAL, and a beautiful print!

score 9/10

mmipyle 26 February 2021

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw6638153/