5 Fingers
Encyclopedia
5 Fingers, known also as Five Fingers, is a 1952 American
20th Century Fox
spy film
directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
and produced by Otto Lang
. The screenplay by Michael Wilson
and Mankiewicz was based on Operation Cicero (Original German: Der Fall Cicero) (1950) by L.C. Moyzisch.
The film tells the true story of Albania
n-born Elyesa Bazna
, one of the most famous spies of World War II. He worked for the Nazis
in 1943–44 while he was employed as valet to the British ambassador to Turkey
, Sir Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen. He used the code name Cicero. He would photograph top-secret documents and turn the films over to Franz von Papen
, the former German chancellor, at that time German ambassador in Ankara
, via the intermediary Moyzisch, a commercial attaché at the embassy.
In the film, James Mason
plays Ulysses Diello (Cicero), the character based on Bazna. The rest of the cast includes Danielle Darrieux
, Michael Rennie
, Herbert Berghof
and Walter Hampden
.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards
, Best Director
for Mankiewicz and Best Screenplay
for Wilson. Mankiewicz was also nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the Directors Guild of America
and Wilson was nominated for Best Written American Drama by the Writers Guild of America
. He won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay and the Edgar Award
for Best Mystery Screenplay.
Five Fingers
was adapted to television in a 1959-1960 NBC
and 20th Century Fox
16-episode series starring David Hedison
and Luciana Paluzzi
.
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
spy film
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Joseph Leo Mankiewicz was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Mankiewicz had a long Hollywood career and is best known as the writer-director of All About Eve , which was nominated for 14 Academy Awards and won six. He was brother to screenwriter and drama critic Herman J...
and produced by Otto Lang
Otto Lang (film producer)
Otto Lang , born in Tešanj, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was a skier and pioneer ski instructor in the United States. He founded ski schools on Mount Rainier, Mount Baker and Mount Hood beginning in the 1930s, and as the director of the ski school at Sun Valley became the ski instructor for Hollywood stars...
. The screenplay by Michael Wilson
Michael Wilson (writer)
Michael Wilson was an Academy Award winning American screenwriter who was blacklisted by the Hollywood movie studio bosses during the era of McCarthyism....
and Mankiewicz was based on Operation Cicero (Original German: Der Fall Cicero) (1950) by L.C. Moyzisch.
The film tells the true story of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
n-born Elyesa Bazna
Elyesa Bazna
Elyesa Bazna was a famous World War II secret agent. An Albanian from Kosovo who spied for the Germans during the Second World War, and was widely known by his code name Cicero...
, one of the most famous spies of World War II. He worked for the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
in 1943–44 while he was employed as valet to the British ambassador to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Sir Hughe Montgomery Knatchbull-Hugessen. He used the code name Cicero. He would photograph top-secret documents and turn the films over to Franz von Papen
Franz von Papen
Lieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
, the former German chancellor, at that time German ambassador in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, via the intermediary Moyzisch, a commercial attaché at the embassy.
In the film, James Mason
James Mason
James Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
plays Ulysses Diello (Cicero), the character based on Bazna. The rest of the cast includes Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Darrieux
Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
, Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
, Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof
Herbert Berghof was an Austrian American actor, director and acting coach. He co-founded HB Studio in New York City with his wife Uta Hagen in 1945...
and Walter Hampden
Walter Hampden
Walter Hampden is the artist name of Walter Hampden Dougherty was a U.S. actor and theatre manager. He was the younger brother of the American painter Paul Dougherty ....
.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
for Mankiewicz and Best Screenplay
Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay
The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. It is awarded each year to the writer of a screenplay adapted from another source...
for Wilson. Mankiewicz was also nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures by the Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
and Wilson was nominated for Best Written American Drama by the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
. He won the Golden Globe for Best Screenplay and the Edgar Award
Edgar Award
The Edgar Allan Poe Awards , named after Edgar Allan Poe, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America...
for Best Mystery Screenplay.
Five Fingers
Five Fingers (TV series)
For other uses see 5 Fingers Five Fingers is an NBC adventure/drama series set in Europe during the Cold War loosely based on the 1952 film 5 Fingers, starring James Mason and Danielle Darrieux...
was adapted to television in a 1959-1960 NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox Television
20th Century Fox Television is the television production division of 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, and a production arm of the Fox Broadcasting Company...
16-episode series starring David Hedison
David Hedison
Albert David Hedison, Jr. is an Armenian-American film, television, and stage actor. He was billed as Al Hedison in his early film work. In 1959, when he was cast in the role of Victor Sebastian in the short-lived espionage television series Five Fingers, NBC insisted that he change his name...
and Luciana Paluzzi
Luciana Paluzzi
Luciana Paluzzi is an Italian actress. She is best known for playing SPECTRE assassin Fiona Volpe in the fourth James Bond film, Thunderball.-Career:...
.
Cast
- James MasonJames MasonJames Neville Mason was an English actor who attained stardom in both British and American films. Mason remained a powerful figure in the industry throughout his career and was nominated for three Academy Awards as well as three Golden Globes .- Early life :Mason was born in Huddersfield, in the...
as Ulysses Diello - Danielle DarrieuxDanielle DarrieuxDanielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux is a French actress and singer, who has appeared in more than 110 films since 1931. She is one of France's great movie stars and her eight-decade career is among the longest in film history....
as Countess Anna Staviska - Michael RennieMichael RennieMichael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
as Colin Travers - Walter HampdenWalter HampdenWalter Hampden is the artist name of Walter Hampden Dougherty was a U.S. actor and theatre manager. He was the younger brother of the American painter Paul Dougherty ....
as Sir Frederic Taylor - Oskar Karlweis as Moyzisch
- Herbert BerghofHerbert BerghofHerbert Berghof was an Austrian American actor, director and acting coach. He co-founded HB Studio in New York City with his wife Uta Hagen in 1945...
as Colonel von Richter - John WengrafJohn WengrafJohn Wengraf was an Austrian actor.Wengraf emigrated to England in 1933 as the Nazis began their rise to power. Wengraf appeared unbilled in a couple of films, as well as in some of the first BBC live-television shows ever presented...
as Count Franz Von PapenFranz von PapenLieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934... - Ben Astar as Siebert
- Roger Plowden as McFadden