The Argyle Secrets is a 1948 American film noir mystery thriller written and directed by Cy Endfield and starring William Gargan and Marjorie Lord.[2] It was based on a half-hour radio play by Endfield, originally heard on CBS's Suspense.[3][4] The film was made for the micro-budget of $100,000 and shot in eight days.[5]
Engfield admirer Jonathan Rosenbaum called it the first Endfield film "that he would later recall with any pride or affection... a surprisingly beautiful Z-budget thriller hastily adapted from his first radio script and shot in six days."[6]
Plot
Reporter Harry Mitchell tracks down incriminating papers showing that some leading Americans collaborated with the Nazis during the war.[7]
The film was based on a radio play "The Argyle Album" by Cy Endfield. It was presented twice, once with Robert Taylor in 1945, another time with Edmund O'Brien in 1947.[8]
CBS sold the film rights.[9] The film was made by a new independent outfit, Cronel Productions, established by Sam X. Abarbanel and Alan H. Posner. The film was announced in January 1948 and took place in February.[10]
Critical reception
Rosenbaum wrote, "There are so many interlocking and often paranoid intrigues crammed into one twenty-four-hour story line that even after three viewings I'd defy anyone to come up with a complete synopsis. The sheer darkness of the night scenes only intensifies our occasional perplexity, though it must be added that Endfield and his cinematographer, Mack Stengler, create many remarkable and arresting noir compositions out of this interminable stretch of night, usually with what appear to be minimal light sources."[6]
Variety wrote the film "adds up to okay supporting material.... Film is on the talky side, but has been well paced and has an interesting plot."[11]
TV Guide called the film an "often exciting low-budget thriller."[7]Variety called the film "a particularly interesting B movie in its suggestion that the U.S. government secretly brought Nazis into the country to work for the military."[4]
Preservation
The Argyle Secrets was preserved and restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Restoration funding provided by the Film Noir Foundation and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's Charitable Trust (the HFPA Trust). Restored from a 35mm nitrate composite dupe negative. The restoration premiered at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2022.
References
^THOMAS F. BRADY (Feb 29, 1948). "HOLLYWOOD CALM: New Legislative Probes Taken in Stride -- Better Terms for the Independents". New York Times. p. X5.
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