They Made Her a Spy

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Sally Eilers, Allan Lane, Fritz Leiber, and Theodore von Eltz in They Made Her a Spy (1939)

After her brother is killed by sabotage, Irene Eaton (Sally Eilers) joins the secret service and goes undercover to uproot the culprits.After her brother is killed by sabotage, Irene Eaton (Sally Eilers) joins the secret service and goes undercover to uproot the culprits.After her brother is killed by sabotage, Irene Eaton (Sally Eilers) joins the secret service and goes undercover to uproot the culprits.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.5/10

143

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos5

Top cast30

Edit

Sally Eilers

Irene Eaton

Allan Lane

James Huntley

Fritz Leiber

Dr. Krull

Frank M. Thomas

Col. John Shaw

Theodore von Eltz

Col. Page
(as Theodor Von Eltz)

Addison Richards

Everett Brock

Larry J. Blake

Ben Dawson
(as Larry Blake)

Pierre Watkin

Col. Wilson

Louis Jean Heydt

Gillian

Spencer Charters

Lucius

Leona Roberts

Ella

Charles Halton

Beldon

Alec Craig

Canby

Stanley Blystone

Detective
(uncredited)

Harry Joe Brown Jr.

Young Boy
(uncredited)

Hal Craig

Motorcycle Policeman
(uncredited)

Robert Fiske

Davis
(uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Plane Crash Spectator
(uncredited)

More like this

5.6

Sherlock Holmes

6.2

The Crime of Helen Stanley

5.0

The House of Secrets

5.6

Roar of the Press

6.0

The Spider

6.3

Fingers at the Window

6.5

The Challenge

5.8

Murder on Approval

6.4

The Lone Wolf in Paris

6.2

Pickup Alley

6.4

Anne of Windy Poplars

6.5

Where There's Life

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Allan Lane--aka "Rocky Lane"--became a star of many low-budget westerns, mainly for Republic Pictures, but is probably best remembered as the voice of "Mr. Ed" in the successful TV series Mister Ed (1961).

Quotes
George Wolf, alias James Huntley: You *can* put us up for the night, can't you?
Irene Eaton, aka Margaret Brennan: We're very tired; we've been traveling all day.
Lucius 'Paul' Wilkins: Well, uh...
[Mrs. Wilkins whispers something in his ear]
Lucius 'Paul' Wilkins: Well, we've only got one room, and that we've been renting mainly to... *married* couples.
George Wolf, alias James Huntley: [He looks doubtful, then suddenly puts his arm around Irene] We're married, aren't we, dear?
Irene Eaton, aka Margaret Brennan: [big fake smile] Oh, of course! You see, well, it's been so long that I thought *everybody* knew...
[under her breath]
Irene Eaton, aka Margaret Brennan: or something.
Mrs. Ella Wilkins: I don't believe it!
Lucius 'Paul' Wilkins: We're respectable churchgoing folk, we are.
Mrs. Ella Wilkins: And we ain't aimin' to turn no house of our'n into a Sodom and Gomorry.

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

5/10

They Made Her a Leading Actress

A decent script by, among other people, Michael Kanin, gets turned into an RKO B movie. Although the cast is nominally pretty good -- including Sally Eilers and Alan 'Rocky' Lane as the leads, old pro Teddy von Eltz as the good spymaster and Fritz Leiber Sr. as the rather cadaverous and evil Dr. Krull -- a name borrowed, if I recall correctly, for a bunch of subterranean baddies in the Silver Age Fantastic Four -- the whole thing is rather poorly performed. Saly Eilers is pretty stiff and declamatory and Alan Lane is little better in his scenes with her. Leiber is just fine; the only question in my mind is why he wasn't picked up as soon as he showed his face and given the third degree.

Director Jack Hively is probably at fault for what I see as the film's shortcomings. This was his last year as a director, all in RKO Bs, although he went on to be the AD on several excellent movies of the late 1940s.