User Reviews

This espionage-Flic based on fact concerns a Government officer and a double-agent who encounters himself working for both contenders in the 40s , as the German secret service and Allied Secret service .One of the group is a German "mole;" leaders Bob Sharkey(James Cagney) and Gibson (Walter Abel) are aware of this and scheme to feed him false info about the invasion of Europe, while the real agents (Annabella , Frank Latimore) go to France to find a secret V-2 rocket depot . Then the agent protagonist to be aware the traitor , as the German spy outsmarts them and unites his people knowing too much ; however, the strategic decision not to arrest him results in tragedy. The opening prologue states: ¨What is past is prologue¨. "No single story could ever pay full tribute to the accomplishments of the U.S. Army Intelligence in World War II. Working secretly behind enemy lines, in close cooperation with our Allies, its brilliant work was an acknowledged factor in the final victory. In order to obtain the maximum of realism and authenticity, all the exterior and interior settings in this Motion Picture were photographed in the field, and, whenever possible, at the actual locations¨.The Most Sinister Address in History!

This film packs intrigue , noisy action , suspense , warlike feats and being quite entertaining, including a first-rate main and support cast . It starts with a documentary-style prologue follows training of O.S.S. agents captained by Robert Emmett "Bob" Sharkey for WWII work behind enemy lines. The story was based on Peter Ortiz who was an OSS agent in World War II in France and was also originally based on the World War II director of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), Bill Donovan (Maj. Gen. William Joseph Donovan, USA, GCSS, KBE). Donovan objected to this, particularly the story element that had the OSS being been infiltrated by a Nazi spy. James Cagney gives a very good acting as spy chief Bob Sharkey who finds out one of his agents-in-training is actually a Nazi double agent and takes the risk of going in after him. Ample and stunning supporting cast with a magnificent Richard Conte , Frank Latimore , Walter Abel , the beautiful Annabella as Suzanne , among others . Here appears uncredited prestigious secondaries Melville Cooper , Sam Jaffe ,Horace McMahon Dick Gordon as Psychiatrist , Trevor Bardette and the assistant in the airplane is Karl Malden.

This well-paced in cracking style flick was stunningly directed by Henry Hathaway and usually works very well , being capable handled in spectacular photography , adding enjoyable scenarios . Henry Hathaway does the human touch and full of insight that accompanied him during most of his films and the story develops pleasantly in large frames with an interesting plot and fully adjusted to the requirements of the action . His fetish actor was John Wayne , both of whom collaborated in various sincere Westerns , they included ¨North to Alaska¨ , ¨The sons of Katie Elder¨ and Wayne's Academy Award-winning ¨True grit¨, among others . Hathaway himself was only even nominated for an Oscar , but his movies themselves are testimony to his skills to heighten narrative tension and shoot action so exhilarating it made adrenalin run . Henry was a craftsman who had a long career from the 30s with successful films , and especially Westerns , as ¨Brigham Young¨ and ¨Raw Hide¨ . In his 60s Hathaway still got the vigour to make some fiery movies as ¨How the West was won¨, ¨Nevada Smith¨, and ¨Shoot out¨ . He was an expert on Western genre as he proved in ¨True grit¨ , ¨Five card stud¨ , ¨Nevada Smith¨ , ¨How the West was won¨ , ¨Rawhide¨ , ¨Brigham Young¨ , ¨Buffalo Stampede¨, ¨Garden of evil¨ , ¨The sons of Katie Elder¨ and, ¨From Hell to Texas¨. Henry directed the classic 20th Century-Fox movie about Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and also set in World War II North Africa, ¨Rommel¨, (1951). Hathaway's other movies about the Second World War were all for studio Twentieth Century-Fox and included ¨The House on 92nd Street¨ (1945); ¨Wing and a Prayer¨ (1944); ¨You're in the Navy Now¨ (1951) and ¨13 Rue Madeleine¨ (1947) and his last film : Raid on Rommel that was a massive flop and was quickly withdrawn from theaters . .Although Hathaway was a highly successful and reliable director film-making within the Hollywood studio system , his work has received little consideration from reviewers .

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the American government recruits several agents for the Secret Service, to be trained by the experienced veteran of World War I Robert Emmett Sharkey (James Cagney). However Bob is advised that among the men and women called O-77 there is a German double-agent, infiltrated to discover the date and location of the Allied Front in Europe. He discovers the identity of the spy, but he feeds him with false information to misguide the Germans. However, he suspects, escapes and kills one agent that was assigned to kidnap an important collaborationist in France in a dangerous mission. Without time to prepare another rookie, Bob decides to travel to Le Havre to accomplish the assignment and kill the German agent if possible.

Despite being dated, excessively patriotic and naive in 2009 and the narrative like a documentary in the beginning, "13 Rue Madeleine" is a great movie of espionage, war and action. James Cagney and Richard Conte have wonderful roles and performances. There are flaws, like for example the easy way that Jeff Lassiter and Bill O'Connell breach the security system of the shipyard and lure the agent, but in the end this feature is a great entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Rua 13 Madeleine" ("Madeleine 13 Street")

It gets off to a terrible start. An off-screen narrator, in a strict, authoritarian tone, announces to us lowly viewers that the film is a "tribute to the accomplishments by the U.S. Army Intelligence in WWII". Beyond this dreadful introduction, however, a credible story about American espionage, wrapped in a high quality cinematic package, provides viewers with a worthwhile payoff.

Bob Sharkey (James Cagney) trains young men and women to be American secret agents. These "077 candidates" go through tough physical and mental tests. Candidates who succeed are then sent on military intelligence assignments overseas. But one of those being trained by Sharkey is a German mole, working for Hitler.

In the film's first half, Sharkey finds the mole. The second half plot follows Sharkey's efforts both to deactivate the mole, and to find a man named Duclois, the builder of a German rocket depot, a facility constructed to launch bombs against England, and located in Nazi-occupied France. The mole, headquartered in an imposing building at 13 Rue Madeleine in the French port city of Le Havre, cleverly makes Sharkey's double mission difficult. And the film ends with a riveting climax that is surprisingly realistic for a 1940's film.

Cagney gives a really good performance. The film's screenplay allows for sufficient character development, unusual for WWII films. And with tight editing, the plot zips along at a fast pace, covering a lot of story material, so that viewers need to pay attention or risk missing important plot details.

Except for that awful prologue, everything about "13 Rue Madeleine" is high quality: the costumes, the dialogue, the B&W cinematography, and especially the acting and the editing. Director Henry Hathaway even uses authentic locales, further elevating the film's overall quality.

As a WWII espionage thriller, I cannot think of a better film than "13 Rue Madeleine".

James Cagney stars in "13 Rue Madeleine," a routine WW II spy drama also starring Richard Conte, Annabella, and a several familiar faces in smaller roles: Sam Jaffe, Karl Malden, and E.G. Marshall. Done in semidocumentary style, Cagney plays the head of a U.S. spy cell, but the cell is known to have a Nazi in its midst. He is not eliminated so that he can be fed the wrong date for D-Day. When he kills one of the other spies, Cagney has to go in as a replacement.

Despite some nice performances, notably from Cagney and Conte, the film under Henry Hathaway's direction was quite slow; he was lumbered with a script where it was difficult to develop any feelings for most of the characters, as they were underdeveloped. There were some good scenes, particularly the ones with Jaffe's character and the French resistance. Darryl F. Zanuck brought the pretty, petite Annabella over from France to star her in films, unaware that she would fall in love with his top male star, Tyrone Power. When he tried to discourage the relationship by sending her back to France to do some films, she refused to leave her man, thus finishing her as far as Zanuck was concerned. It's a shame because although you can't tell in this movie, Annabella was an excellent actress, as she would prove on the stage. It's fun to see Karl Malden and E.G. Marshall in small parts.

The end of the film is powerful, but I prefer "OSS," also a small, semidocumentary film - catch that one if you have a chance.

O.S.S. agents are in training for work behind enemy lines in WWII. Upon receiving his latest batch of trainees, training leader Bob Sharkey is informed one of the rookies is actually a German mole. Letting the mole continue thinking he is undetected, Sharkey feeds the mole false information about important upcoming operations. But as Sharkey arranges his agents missions, and that of the mole, things go wrong and Sharkey himself must go into occupied France and risk the wrath of the Gestapo at 13 Rue Madeleine.

13 Rue Madeleine is a very efficient and enjoyable War/Spy/Thriller, it's directed by multi genre helmsman Henry Hathaway and stars acting legend James Cagney as Sharkey. Tho playing a tough guy, this is quite far removed from the sort of roles that defined Cagney's career, he's ably supported by Richard Conte and Walter Abel, but in all honesty it's Cagney's film all the way. As many other reviewers have mentioned, the majority of the picture feels like a documentary, or more a sort of public service explanation on the History Channel, not a bad thing exactly, but the dulcet narration is something I personally could have done without. However once the picture nicely turns its attention to the crucial mission, things start heating up and the film becomes a film in the truer sense of the word. We are fully engaged with the central characters having been with them thru Sharkey's training school, and as the (fabulous) ending draws closer, it's hoped that the majority of viewers are as involved with the plot as I personally was. Because then when the end does come, it impacts the way the makers hoped it would.

A very commendable picture and certainly recommended to fans of Cagney, Conte and this type of movie. 7/10

James Cagney stars as the crafty leader of American secret agents of the 077 during World War II. The invasion is not far off and the Nazis have implanted one of their top spies into Cagney's unit. Cagney has to figure out which one of his people is a Nazi and then double cross the double agent with misinformation. The film is fairly interesting, but the characters are not fleshed out well enough, which almost makes sense due to the semi-documentary nature of the film. Still, Cagney is great at being Cagney, which makes it worth watching all the way to the film's explosive ending.

The title of this movie is the address of the Nazi headquarters in France where the James Cagney character tries to endure torture in order to keep secret his agents' plans to destroy said headquarters. Compellingly directed by Henry Hathaway in a semi-documentary approach that simulates a March-of-Time-like feel, this film takes us from training to assignment the trials of the OSS agents in preparing to infiltrate Nazi-occupied France during World War II. Excellent portrayal by Richard Conte as the German-posing-as-American student who befriends fellow classmate Frank Latimore over backgammon. Also compelling is Annabella as a French-immigrant who waits for news about her husband. Also worth mentioning are Walter Abel as Cagney's concerned superior and Sam Jaffe as the French mayor who learns to trust Cagney. May be slow for some modern watchers but worth seeing to the climatic end! As in another Hathaway movie called Kiss of Death later that year, look for Karl Malden in cameo. He plays a jump master in this one.

A totally marvelous film depicting the setting up of a spy organization in the U.S. during World War 11.

James Cagney shed his usual tough guy image in gangster films to portray the head of the unit. He is one tough dedicated American.

The film wonderfully captures the training that the prospective spies received. It also tells that one of them is really a German agent.

Annabella is convincing as one of the trainees who yearns for information regarding her missing husband in France.

Richard Conte is quite effective as the German spy who is cunning beyond belief. His cruelty is on par with his fabulous performance years later as Tony Bardman in "I'll Cry Tomorrow."

Though a tragic film, the film should serve to show the dedication of men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice during World War 11.

Although Jimmy Cagney is the star of this film, he really takes a back seat during most of the picture. Instead, the story focuses on a team of OSS operatives as they are trained and then deposited behind enemy lines (FYI--the OSS was the precursor for the CIA). I especially liked watching how they were trained to blend in--such as learning to eat European-style (with the fork ALWAYS in the left hand). Cagney is ever-present during this training process and only comes to the forefront again when the mission appears to start unraveling and he goes in to rescue the team members. In between, the film centers on the team members and their efforts to destroy the nazi menace in France.

Biggest pluses--excellent writing, pacing and acting (in that order).

13 Rue Madeleine (1947)

This movie starts slowly and gets gradually better as it goes, until a gripping final half hour and a shocking, dramatic ending. So it's worth the ride, and worth seeing James Cagney who is at the top of his game here (he is about to make his masterpiece, White Heat, after 15 years of gangster portrayals.) Of course here his tough guy persona is put to use for the good of us all, a patriot training a group of high level war time spies. The Nazis are brutal, and World War II is unrelenting, so even this highly skilled people die. It's a reminder how tragic the war was. It is made to be exciting and even fascinating, but most of all dangerous.

Though purely fiction, for legal reasons (the pre-CIA OSS spy organization didn't want too much revealed in the movie), the filming is meant to seem realistic in a documentary way, and it begins with an authoritative voice-over and what looks like some vintage footage. This "information" is given for too long a time, and if you are not a war expert, or even know what WWII was all about, this will be too gripping. But eventually the leads all start to take on real roles, and they move from their training in the U.S. (it was filmed in Quebec City, actually), to behind enemy lines. This is then really great stuff.

Director Henry Hathaway followed this same format (even with the title) in the 1945 The House on 92nd Street and it has some of the same flaws, and the same kind of superb second half. And a year later he did a third in the same mode, Call Northside 777. It was a successful formula for a public learning about its own federal level spy and police forces, Hathaway was a really good director, and we all wish he had taken these films in the direction of Kiss of Death, which is a gem, but he didn't, probably because of producers with ideas of their own, and so we have this trio of offbeat films with only parts that are amazing. Which isn't so bad.

Very interesting war drama starring James Cagney as a secret agent that has to infiltrate Nazi headquarters and double cross an enemy spy that has slipped into his own unit. The discovery of a German missile site location is the main objective. Cagney is air lifted into France and has trouble convincing French freedom fighters that he is there to loosen the Nazi strangle hold.

The cast is full of fine players: Richard Conte, Sam Jaffe, E.G. Marshall, Red Buttons, Karl Malden, Roland Winters and the lovely Annabella.

A great black and white flick evocative of the 40s. Catch it on AMC.

I liked this movie. The plot concerns James Cagney as an OSS Type agent (I believed that for some reason the producers of this movie could not actually reference the term OSS). Cagney is one of the chief instructors in a US spy school (all the action happens in World War Two). Cagney finds out there is a top German agent going through this school. Cagney decides to let the German agent finished the training course and let him (German agent) parachute into occupied France (so the enemy agent will give the Germans false information). All this happens shortly before D-Day. However, the operation goes sour and Cagney has to parachute in to try to save the day.

I won't comment anymore on the plot as to not spoil the movie.

Probably the best World War Two spy/counterspy movies I have seen. I rate it high marks, very high marks indeed.

Henry Hathaway directed this spy thriller that stars James Cagney as O.S.S. secret agent Bob Sharkey, who is in charge of training future agents to be sent out into the field. One of them is a German spy that they learn about, and decide to use as a disinformation agent. Unfortunately, the spy catches on to this, and outwits them back to Nazi occupied France with his information, forcing Sharkey to pursue him there, which may well cost him his life... Exciting and intriguing film with good cast and efficient direction, leading to a most surprisingly violent ending that is both tragic and yet triumphant, illustrating the sacrifice sometimes required to defeat the enemy.

While 13 Rue Madeleine may be quite a treat for World War II buffs (including World War II film buffs) and James Cagney fans (his performance is interesting and the role is a bit different for him, at least), everyone else should exercise a bit more caution before trying to tackle this film. The script, by Sy Bartlett, John Monks Jr. and James L. Shute, tends to unfold like a high school history textbook that needed two or three more drafts, read aloud by a teacher who has had five two many double espressos. This is definitely a film that could benefit from two or three viewings, plus note-taking, extra research, and so on.

But I'm going to review the film from my single viewing. After all, anyone using reviews as a consumer guide probably wants to know whether a film is worth watching as a casual viewer. Whether 13 Rue Madeleine is worth watching as an adjunct to a graduate course on the history of American spies in France during World War II is another matter. The film is supposedly based on truth, and director Henry Hathaway along with producer Louis De Rochemont claim to be concerned with authenticity to an extent that they went out of their way to shoot in actual locations, despite the fact that substitutes and sets would have been much easier and cheaper. So the answer to whether 13 Rue Madeleine is worth viewing educationally is probably "yes".

The film begins with a rapid pace, 10-minute long section of narration explaining the relevant geopolitical basics of American spies during World War II. Eventually, we're introduced to Robert Emmett Sharkey (Cagney), a Secret Service Agent who has been commissioned to train an elite group of spies. The group is known as "077" (maybe this was an influence on Ian Fleming's numbers for agents in the James Bond books?), and a member of the group is a German spy posing as a wannabe American spy. Sharkey's superior knows this, and knows which candidate is a German spy, but oddly makes a kind of game out Sharkey figuring it out. The candidates are put through rigorous and occasionally risky tests before they're assigned to functions according to their relative strengths.

13 Rue Madeleine then changes gears about halfway through as agents begin to head off on their assignments. The assignment that becomes the plot involves giving false information about the "Second Front" and trying to capture a Frenchman who has been building bomb launches for the Germans. Not everything goes as planned, primarily because of the German agent in the mix, and Sharkey has to become personally involved. The plot grows increasingly complicated, and by the end of the film, 13 Rue Madeleine is surprisingly (and delightfully) violent and nihilistic for its era.

If you watch without worrying about the copious and ubiquitous details of exposition, this is a decent film that sometimes leans towards potboiler construction, but that is ultimately "good enough". It still has awkward moments--the worst being that the ending feels a bit rushed--but fans of anything approaching war, thrillers, action or film noir of the era should feel that 13 Rue Madeleine isn't time wasted. It does have a bit of a propaganda feel to it, but that aspect isn't really overdone, and it ends up being tempered by showing the Germans as quite clever and effective, plus the conclusion isn't exactly a homecoming flag-waving ticker-tape parade.

However, it's a bit difficult to not worry about the details of the exposition, at least at first, since 13 Rue Madeleine comes out of the gate rattling off fact after fact in a tone of voice from the narrator that implies that you're going to have a quiz on it later.

Things are made a bit easier when some unintentionally funny moments appear. These do not dominate the film; they more provide light comic relief to the modern viewer. For example, when the candidates first learn about the rigorous aptitude tests they will be undergoing, they're also told that there is an endless supply of beer in the community refrigerator, and that they should help themselves whenever they feel like it. Somehow, being drunk doesn't seem like the best way to approach an aptitude test to me.

In addition to Cagney, the performances from the other principal cast members are fairly good. This includes three of the students who become spies, Suzanne de Beaumont (Annabella), Richard Conte (Bill O'Connell) and Jeff Lassiter (Frank Latimore), as well as Same Jaffe as the mayor of a small French town. On the downside, Hathaway doesn't focus the film enough on anyone but Cagney, so these other good performances make one think more about wasted potential. The bottom line is that the plot, the number of settings and the size of the cast are just too big and sprawling for a 90-minute film. It tends to feel like a high school history book that needs a couple more drafts because it tends to be choppy; it has to brush over way too much material too quickly.

On a more positive note, the few action scenes included are relatively realistic. Cagney gets out of breath struggling with foes. No one gets away with anything very easily. Nothing is staged just to make it look impressive cinematic ally. Rather, everything is meant to give authentic impact to the confrontations. In context, this approach works wonderfully.

So 13 Rue Madeleine is something of a mixed bag. I don't want to discourage anyone with great interest in Cagney or the relevant aspects of World War II and espionage, but everyone else should avoid having very high expectations. If you're not overly familiar with films of this era, start elsewhere.

In my opinion, Cagney is excellent in this movie, as is Richard Conte. The only fault I can really find with this movie, is that the characters were not really "fleshed out" enough. But the entire movie is suspenseful, your interest will not wane, and even if it does, the ending is worth sitting through the entire picture for.

If you are like me, and love WWII era spy films, then check out this film. You won't be disappointed.

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.

The story of an early OSS operation where the US is trying to destroy German missile targets positioned in Nazi controlled France, which are aimed at the British coast. The mission depends on the operators finding Duclois, the French designer of the missile sites. The operation is led by Bob Sharkey, who is to train the right people to accomplish the job. One of those people, O'Connell, is actually a trained Nazi double agent Kuncel, who is to learn where and when the Allied Second Front is to take place. Despite given false information about the front, O'Connell discovers that he is suspected and kills Lassiter, the agent assigned to spy on him. Since he is the only person who knows the details of the original plan, Sharkey takes Lassiter's position, despite knowing that if he is caught, the Nazis will use any means to get information out of him. Very gritty, documentary style tale of counter intelligence in action. Hathaway creates much suspense and crafts the twists and turns into the story with no slow spots. Cagney abandons his Warner Brothers gangster persona, yet keeps his tough guy character in a role commanding authority. Fine support from Conte (very sinister as O'Connell/Kuncel), Annabella, Abel, and Jaffe. Rating, 9.

I enjoyed this film from beginning to end. Terrific performances all around. Just a couple of things, though.

Cagney is supposed to be, among other things, a former world-class athlete and World War 1 hero. World War 1? OK, he was the right age, but by the time this film was released (1947), Cagney was 47-48, which would have been all right if he hadn't been short and fat and looking about 10 years older. Although he was athletic and light on his feet. his portliness and apparent age were a distraction throughout this film. So was his early 20th century Irish Yorkville accent (NYC), which he never lost (You dirty rat!!!). And he was supposed to be from Minnesota!

And although Richard Conte also turned in a superb performance (in my opinion, superior to Cagney's), he never lost his Jersey City way of speaking (which, believe me, is far more attractive than today's Jersey City accent).

Other than that, no complaints. Excellent film.

Good WWII espionage tale has secret agent James Cagney training a group of recruits. One of them turns out to be a German double agent. Instead of arresting the spy, Cagney feeds them false information. But this doesn't turn out as planned and Cagney has to go after the agent himself.

Solid cast backing up Cagney, who's great as usual. Richard Conte, Walter Abel, Melville Cooper, and Sam Jaffe are all quality actors. Lovely French actress Annabella is quite good, too. Karl Malden, Red Buttons, and E.G. Marshall all have uncredited bit parts. I enjoyed the scenes of the agents receiving their training, which was varied to say the least. I'm a sucker for minutiae, I guess. My favorite part of this was when the agents had to listen to a sound and pick what it was between two choices. For example, "a jungle bird or a falling bomb." I'm not quite sure what practical purpose this sort of training has but it sure was amusing to watch. The government agency in the movie is called O77 but it's really supposed to be the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor to the CIA). Apparently the head of the OSS objected to the part of the movie that had an enemy agent infiltrating his organization, so the studio changed the name to O77.

Starting with The House on 92nd Street, Henry Hathaway entered a period where he did a whole bunch of documentary type films with voice narration provided by the authoritative Reed Hadley. 13 Rue Madeleine is probably not the best of them. It's not as good as others in this category like Kiss of Death, Calling Northside 777, or The House on 92nd Street.

Try as you may I don't think most viewers will think of James Cagney as being able to pass himself off as French. But Cagney, maybe the most dynamic player from the Hollywood Studio age is always fun to watch even in films far worse than 13 Rue Madeleine.

The story is about espionage agents being trained by Cagney and then sent on a mission in France just before D-Day. The title of the film is the Gestapo headquarters where the Cagney crew is operating.

The story is a bit hard to fathom. The Allies discover that a German agent has been planted in their spy school. Cagney tries to use him to send worthless information back, but his plan backfires.

I'm a little confused here, if the man was so good why not just get rid of him. Turns out he uses a lot of the knowledge gained in our spy school for the Axis. Just a case of being a little too clever.

Annabella is a French expatriate in our spy school and Walter Abel plays William J. Donovan in all but name. I have a feeling 20th Century Fox couldn't use the OSS title because Paramount had it and put out a better film on this same topic with Alan Ladd.

I think viewers will enjoy Sam Jaffe as the small town French mayor and Richard Conte as a very clever and unscrupulous double agent. Still Cagney won't convince you he's French and the plot is way too far fetched.