The Two-Headed Spy
Encyclopedia
The Two-Headed Spy is a 1958 British spy thriller, set in World War II. It starred Jack Hawkins
and was directed by Andre De Toth
. It also starred Gia Scala
, Erik Schumann
and Alexander Knox
.
), who is posing as a watchmaker.
Schottland passes on information that Germany is about to attack Russia. Capt. Reinisch (Erik Schumann
), Schottland's suspicious aide, discovers that Schottland has changed his name from Scotland and is of British ancestry. However, his superiors scoff at the possibility that Schottland is a spy. To deflect suspicion, Schottland says that "defeatists" in the high command have been leaking information to the enemy.
Cornaz is arrested after their courier to the British is arrested. Schottland, as a customer at the watchmaker's shop, is summoned to headquarters for questioning. There Schottland is forced to watch impassively as Gestapo officer Mueller (Alexander Knox
) tortures Cornaz to death in a gruesome scene, in which a fire hose is used to force water into Cornaz's bowels.
Schottland is arrested but soon released because of intervention by a high-ranking Nazi, Ernst Kaltenbrunner
. Cornaz's replacement is Lili Geyr (Gia Scala
), an attractive pianist. He pretends to be having an affair with Geyr while actually giving her information. That antagonizes Reinisch, who is in love with Geyr. Schottland is ordered to the front, and shoots a corporal who interrupts him broadcasting information to the Allies. Schottland returns to Berlin, and, now unable to transmit important information, has decided to resort to sabotage. He begins to cunningly trick Hitler into making strategic military blunders.
Reinisch kills Geyr as she attempts to escape to the Allies. Schottland kills Reinisch, and subsequently casts suspicion on Muller as a traitor. Schottland is incriminated, and he crosses the lines to be captured by British troops.
OBE served as technical advisor to the film. Although the movie was ostensibly based on a true story, and Scotland was known as "Schottland" during his service with German forces in Africa at the turn of the century, the movie was not based on Scotland's experiences. He served during the war as commandant of "The London Cage," an MI19
facility that interrogated captured Germans.
Michael Caine
appears in a bit part as a Gestapo officer, and Donald Pleasence
plays a German general.
Screenwriters Michael Wilson and Alfred Levitt were not given credit because of the blacklist. The credit instead was given to James O'Donnell. Their credits were restored in 1999.
Jack Hawkins
Colonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
and was directed by Andre De Toth
André De Toth
André de Toth was a Hungarian-American filmmaker, born and raised in Makó, Csongrád, Kingdom of Hungary Austro-Hungarian Empire. He directed the 3-D film House of Wax, despite being unable to see in 3-D himself, having lost an eye at an early age. He is known for his gritty B movies in the western...
. It also starred Gia Scala
Gia Scala
Gia Scala was an English actress and model of Italian and Irish descent.-Early life:She was born Giovanna Scoglio in Liverpool, England, to an Sicilian father, Pietro Scoglio, and an Irish mother, Eileen Sullivan...
, Erik Schumann
Erik Schumann
Erik Schumann was a German actor. He appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1942 and 1997...
and Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
.
Plot
The story commences in 1939, Alex Schottland (Jack Hawkins), a general in the German Army, is actually a British agent who was planted in Germany toward the end of the First World War. He is growing weary of being a spy, but is urged to continue by his friend and fellow British agent, Cornaz (Felix AylmerFelix Aylmer
Sir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
), who is posing as a watchmaker.
Schottland passes on information that Germany is about to attack Russia. Capt. Reinisch (Erik Schumann
Erik Schumann
Erik Schumann was a German actor. He appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1942 and 1997...
), Schottland's suspicious aide, discovers that Schottland has changed his name from Scotland and is of British ancestry. However, his superiors scoff at the possibility that Schottland is a spy. To deflect suspicion, Schottland says that "defeatists" in the high command have been leaking information to the enemy.
Cornaz is arrested after their courier to the British is arrested. Schottland, as a customer at the watchmaker's shop, is summoned to headquarters for questioning. There Schottland is forced to watch impassively as Gestapo officer Mueller (Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
) tortures Cornaz to death in a gruesome scene, in which a fire hose is used to force water into Cornaz's bowels.
Schottland is arrested but soon released because of intervention by a high-ranking Nazi, Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner
Ernst Kaltenbrunner was an Austrian-born senior official of Nazi Germany during World War II. Between January 1943 and May 1945, he held the offices of Chief of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt , President of Interpol and, as a Obergruppenführer und General der Polizei und Waffen-SS, he was the...
. Cornaz's replacement is Lili Geyr (Gia Scala
Gia Scala
Gia Scala was an English actress and model of Italian and Irish descent.-Early life:She was born Giovanna Scoglio in Liverpool, England, to an Sicilian father, Pietro Scoglio, and an Irish mother, Eileen Sullivan...
), an attractive pianist. He pretends to be having an affair with Geyr while actually giving her information. That antagonizes Reinisch, who is in love with Geyr. Schottland is ordered to the front, and shoots a corporal who interrupts him broadcasting information to the Allies. Schottland returns to Berlin, and, now unable to transmit important information, has decided to resort to sabotage. He begins to cunningly trick Hitler into making strategic military blunders.
Reinisch kills Geyr as she attempts to escape to the Allies. Schottland kills Reinisch, and subsequently casts suspicion on Muller as a traitor. Schottland is incriminated, and he crosses the lines to be captured by British troops.
Cast
- Jack HawkinsJack HawkinsColonel John Edward "Jack" Hawkins CBE was an English actor of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.-Career:Hawkins was born at Lyndhurst Road, Wood Green, Middlesex, the son of master builder Thomas George Hawkins and his wife, Phoebe née Goodman. The youngest of four children in a close-knit family,...
as General Alex Schottland - Gia ScalaGia ScalaGia Scala was an English actress and model of Italian and Irish descent.-Early life:She was born Giovanna Scoglio in Liverpool, England, to an Sicilian father, Pietro Scoglio, and an Irish mother, Eileen Sullivan...
as Lili Geyr - Erik SchumannErik SchumannErik Schumann was a German actor. He appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1942 and 1997...
as Lieutenant Reinisch - Alexander KnoxAlexander KnoxAlexander Knox was a Canadian actor and author of adventure novels set in the Great Lakes area during the 19th century.-Biography:...
as Gestapo Leader Müller - Felix AylmerFelix AylmerSir Felix Edward Aylmer Jones, OBE was an English stage actor who also appeared in the cinema and on television.-Early life and career:...
as Cornaz - Walter HuddWalter HuddWalter Hudd was a British actor.According to the Filmgoer's Companion by Leslie Halliwell, in 1936 Hudd was cast as T.E...
as Admiral Canaris - Edward UnderdownEdward UnderdownEdward Underdown was an english theatre, cinema and television actor. He was born in London.Early theatre credits include: Words and Music, Nymph Errant, Stop Press and Streamline ....
as Kaltenbrunner - Laurence NaismithLaurence NaismithLaurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
as General Hauser - Geoffrey BayldonGeoffrey BayldonGeoffrey Bayldon is a British actor. After playing roles in many dramas including Shakespeare, he became known for portraying the title role of the children's series Catweazle , after turning down the opportunity to play both the First and Second Doctors in the long-running BBC science fiction...
as Dietz - Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
as Adolf Hitler - Michael CaineMichael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
as Gestapo Agent - Martin BensonMartin Benson (actor)Martin Benjamin Benson was an English character actor, who appeared in films, theatre and television. He appeared in both British and Hollywood productions.-Career:...
as General Wagner - Ronald HinesRonald HinesRonald Hines is a British television actor.He has had a lengthy career, but possibly his best known role was as the husband in three of the four series of Not in Front of the Children...
as German Corporal - Donald PleasenceDonald PleasenceSir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
as General Hardt - Martin BoddeyMartin BoddeyMartin Boddey was a British film and television actor.He was a founder member of the Lord's Taverners charity.-Selected filmography:* The Twenty Questions Murder Mystery * Cairo Road...
as General Optiz
Production
Lt. Col. Alexander ScotlandAlexander Scotland
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Paterson Scotland OBE was a British Army officer and intelligence officer.Scotland was noted for his work during and after World War II as commandant of the "London Cage", a MI19 prisoner of war facility that was subject to frequent allegations of torture.-Early life...
OBE served as technical advisor to the film. Although the movie was ostensibly based on a true story, and Scotland was known as "Schottland" during his service with German forces in Africa at the turn of the century, the movie was not based on Scotland's experiences. He served during the war as commandant of "The London Cage," an MI19
MI19
MI19 was a division of the British Directorate of Military Intelligence, part of the War Office. In World War II it was responsible for obtaining information from enemy prisoners of war.It was originally created in December 1940 as MI9a, a sub-section of MI9...
facility that interrogated captured Germans.
Michael Caine
Michael Caine
Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....
appears in a bit part as a Gestapo officer, and Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
plays a German general.
Screenwriters Michael Wilson and Alfred Levitt were not given credit because of the blacklist. The credit instead was given to James O'Donnell. Their credits were restored in 1999.