Spies1928

Right you are! 326 is none other than 007 - the original 007. Or so it seems. And the guy in the wheelchair must have been Marlon Brando? Really well done. Once I had adjusted my viewing to the somewhat slower pace of the film, things went nicely. I appreciated that there were relatively few dialogue screens - they were unnecessary as the actors and the director provided all the context I needed to figure out the plot - or most of it at least. Well done, but not too well done. Enjoy. And didn't they manage to get such a marvelous amount of smoke out of those little cigarettes.

It’s pretty wild to see a James Bond movie made in 1928—directed by Fritz Lang no less—and yet, HERE IT IS! So many elements of a cinematic 007 adventure are here: the urbane agent with a number instead of a name, the scheming, egomaniacal mastermind, and the beautiful adventuress caught between the two of them. Said mastermind, the nefarious Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge--Dr. Mabuse himself!) and his espionage organization (complete with secret underground base beneath the streets of Berlin) are a virtual blueprint for the cinematic SPECTRE envisioned by Broccoli and Saltzman. However, in spite of all of these interesting similarities, this is no spy spoof, no romp. This adventure is firmly entrenched in the dark world of Lang, and cold, chaotic cynicism of Weimar Berlin. It’s all positively DIABOLICAL!

Wildly entertaining Silent Era Blockbuster from the director of Metropolis and M.

My question is: was Haghi in it for himself? Was he connected with some government? What exactly was his goal? He makes it clear that he's "richer than Ford", so is he after power for the sake of power? I have watched this film many times & still don't have an answer. The cast is outstanding, & the complexities of the story keep one alert to every detail.

A wheel chair bound Rudolf Klein Rogge channels his inner Mabuse in this early spy thriller that foreshadows not just some of the later Hitchcockian tricks but also James Bond with a three-digit coded spy (here Agent 326) saving the world from the brink of an international disaster while facing a variety of femmes fatales and a global array of characters. And when I write global I mean Germanic actors pretending to be Japanese.

Some of the images in this movie are truly iconic and how meta does it get when we see a short sequence played out in front of some gigantic METROPOLIS posters.

The love story in the middle is a bit too drawn out but eventually makes room for some high speed chases and intrigues on a train (always a favourite of mine).

Frits Rasp for a change is less creepy and more debonair but Klein Rogge's claw steels the show.

Lesson to be learnt: Don't trust bankers.

Spies ( 1928) is yet another of Fritz Lang's great German films. This is a very believable, and very compelling spy thriller. A film well ahead of its time.

great movie but unfortuately the last 50 seconds is chopped off.

I will be glad to rate this film, if you will just let me see it. Show it NOW.

Gripping silent on Lang's favorite subject: the super-criminal.

Excellent movie! James Bond before James Bond!

Watch this movie and see where Hitchcock stole some of his licks.