The Secret Ways
Encyclopedia
The Secret Ways is a 1961
thriller film based on Alistair McLean's novel The Last Frontier
.
Meanwhile, one of Jansci's trusted aides is captured by the Hungarian Secret Police and forced to reveal the professor's hiding place. Reynolds, Julia, and Jansci are quickly rounded up and taken to Szarhaza Prison, where they are tortured by the sadistic Colonel Hidas. They are rescued by a resistance fighter known as The Count, who tricks the Communists into placing the prisoners in his custody. At the last moment the ruse is discovered, and The Count is killed as the other three race to the airport where a chartered plane is waiting. Hidas pursues them but is killed in an accident on the runway. Safe at last, Reynolds, Julia, and the professor leave Hungary.
, associate producer Euan Lloyd
stated that producer and star Richard Widmark
did not like director Phil Karlson
's proposed tongue in cheek direction of the screenplay written by Widmark's wife Jean Hazlewood
. Widmark took over the direction of the film without credit.
1961 in film
The year 1961 in film involved some significant events, with West Side Story winning 10 Academy Awards.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:* Atlantis, the Lost ContinentB...
thriller film based on Alistair McLean's novel The Last Frontier
The Last Frontier (novel)
The Last Frontier is a novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean, and was first published in 1959. It was released in the United States under the title The Secret Ways...
.
Plot
American adventurer Michael Reynolds is hired by an international espionage ring to smuggle a noted scholar and resistance leader, Professor Jansci, out of Communist-ruled Hungary. Reynolds goes to Vienna to see the professor's daughter, Julia, and he persuades her to accompany him to Budapest. Once there, Reynolds is kidnapped by freedom fighters who take him to the professor's secret headquarters.Meanwhile, one of Jansci's trusted aides is captured by the Hungarian Secret Police and forced to reveal the professor's hiding place. Reynolds, Julia, and Jansci are quickly rounded up and taken to Szarhaza Prison, where they are tortured by the sadistic Colonel Hidas. They are rescued by a resistance fighter known as The Count, who tricks the Communists into placing the prisoners in his custody. At the last moment the ruse is discovered, and The Count is killed as the other three race to the airport where a chartered plane is waiting. Hidas pursues them but is killed in an accident on the runway. Safe at last, Reynolds, Julia, and the professor leave Hungary.
Cast
- Richard WidmarkRichard WidmarkRichard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
as Michael Reynolds - Sonja Ziemann as Julia
- Charles RégnierCharles RégnierCharles Régnier was a German film actor. He appeared in over 135 films between 1949 and 2000.He was born in Freiburg, Germany and died in Bad Wiessee, Germany.-Selected filmography:* The Last Illusion...
as The Count - Walter RillaWalter RillaWalter Rilla was a German film actor. He appeared in over 130 films between 1922 and 1977. He was born in Neunkirchen, Germany and died in Rosenheim, Germany.-Selected filmography:...
as Jancsi - Senta BergerSenta BergerSenta Berger is an Austrian film, stage and television actress, producer and author.Regarded by critics as one of the greatest actresses of the post-war period, and frequently named as one of the leading German-speaking actresses in polls, Berger has received many award nominations for her acting...
as Elsa - Howard VernonHoward VernonHoward Vernon was a Swiss actor.Vernon was born Mario Lippert to a Swiss father and an American mother and was fluent in German, English, and French...
as Colonel Hidas - Heinz Moog as Minister Sakenov
- Hubert von Meyerinc as Hermann Sheffler
- Oskar Wegrostek as The fat man
- Stefan SchnabelStefan SchnabelStefan Schnabel was an actor best remembered for having portrayed Dr. Stephen Jackson for sixteen years on the CBS soap opera The Guiding Light, on which he appeared from 1965 to 1981...
as Border official - Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel as Olga
Production
According to an interview in Cinema RetroCinema Retro
Cinema Retro is an English magazine devoted to "celebrating films of the 1960s & 1970s". Founded in 2005 by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall, it is subtitled "the Essential Guide to Cult and Classic Movies"...
, associate producer Euan Lloyd
Euan Lloyd
Euan Lloyd is a British film producer.He began his career directing short travelogue documentaries, starting with April in Portugal in 1954...
stated that producer and star Richard Widmark
Richard Widmark
Richard Weedt Widmark was an American film, stage and television actor.He was nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the villainous Tommy Udo in his debut film, Kiss of Death...
did not like director Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson
Phil Karlson was a film director known for his no-nonsense film noirs. Karlson directed 99 River Street, Kansas City Confidential and Hell's Island all with actor John Payne in the early 1950s...
's proposed tongue in cheek direction of the screenplay written by Widmark's wife Jean Hazlewood
Jean Hazlewood
Ora Jean Hazlewood was an American screenwriter, and wife of actor Richard Widmark for 55 years. They met while they were both attending Lake Forest College....
. Widmark took over the direction of the film without credit.