Second Bureau (1935 film)

Not to be confused with Second Bureau (1936 film).
Second Bureau
Directed byPierre Billon
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyGeorges Asselin
Edited byMarguerite Beaugé
Music byJean Lenoir
Production
company
Société des Films Vega
Distributed byCompagnie Française Cinématographique
Release date
  • 20 September 1935 (1935-09-20)
Running time
105 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench

Second Bureau (French: Deuxième bureau) is a 1935 French spy romance film directed by Pierre Billon and starring Jean Murat, Véra Korène and Janine Crispin. It is based on the novel Second Bureau by Charles Robert-Dumas. The following year it was remade as a British film by Victor Hanbury.[1] The book was one of a spy series Ceux du S. R. published in France by Librarie Arthème Fayard in 1934.[2] The film's sets were designed by the art director Aimé Bazin. It was followed by a sequel Wolves Between Them in 1936.

Synopsis

Capitaine Benoit of the French secret service manages to steal the plans of Germany's new fighter plane. German intelligence assigns one of their top female agents to recover the stolen designs.

Partial cast

Critical reception

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene characterized the film as "a rather dull film, [and as] a long packed melodrama". With the exception of the "sinister and satiric" first scene that was described as "brilliant", Greene took the view that on the whole "the film is too thick with drama". Taking issue with the film's genre, Greene suggests that satire and realism would have been more effective in handling the picture's themes.[3]

References

  1. ^ Low382 p.
  2. ^ https://www.worldcat.org/title/ceux-du-sr-2e-bureau/oclc/458035009?referer=br&ht=edition [bare URL]
  3. ^ Greene, Graham (17 January 1936). "Second Bureau/Sans Famille". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. Oxford University Press. pp. 46–47. ISBN 0192812866.)

Bibliography

  • Low, Rachael. Filmmaking in 1930s Britain. George Allen & Unwin, 1985.


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  1. ^ [Documents concernant le film "Deuxième bureau", d'après un roman de Charles Robert-Dumas, réalisation Pierre Billion, 1935].