Q Planes (1939) – Clouds Over Europe (US)

Q Planes is a 1939 spy movie.  Clouds Over Europe was its name in the United States. It is about a British Agent and his mission to discover who is trying to steal top-secret experimental equipment.  The focus of this search is around the attempted theft of a new supercharger which should increase the flight…

Eastern Importations and Amnesia

The movie opens with 2 things that may have influenced future spy movie, a sign that says “Eastern Importations Company” and Major Hammond’s amnesia. Take a look.

Q Planes and The Nelson Touch

Q Planes gives us what may be the birth of a famous line from Mission: Impossible (disavow) and a real-world historical reference (The Nelson Touch).

The plane is nabbed to get the supercharger

This is one of the first spy movies where a vehicle is captured by villains and it disappears from the monitors. This theme is used in 2 James Bond films directly and 2 more indirectly.

Jenkins is almost run down

In this scene from Q Planes, the jig appears to be up for Jenkins.  Here, Jenkins is almost run down by a car as the villains try to kill him. We see parallels to this in numerous spy movies. A relatively current example comes from the 2017 movie, ATOMIC BLONDE.

Hammond is confused by women

This fun scene lets us see how Major Hammond is confused by women. His monologue has a similar feel to one from another movie.

A Bondian Breakout and Fight

Breakout Tony McVane’s and his crew are captured.  Therefore, he has a chance to talk with the crew captured earlier.   McVane then leads a Bondian-like breakout by smashing the door with a large pole (where was that pole before?). This is an interesting part of the film. There is a huge James Bond-type shoot-out.   A…

North By Northwest – Part 2

Join Dan and Tom as they are Cracking the Code of Spy Movies. Today they navigate through part 2 of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic, NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

North By Northwest – Part 1

Join Dan and Tom as they are Cracking the Code of Spy Movies. Today they navigate through part 1 of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock classic, NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

A Case of Mistaken Identity

Roger Thornhill gets mistaken for someone named George Kaplan.  This simple mistake will cause Roger many problems.   Notice how he is put in the back seat of the car between two henchmen.   We’ve seen in another movie – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.  Listen to our podcast on North by Northwest where we…

Mr. Townsend’s Death

In this scene, Roger learns that Mr. Townsend is not the man he thinks he is. Roger (Cary Grant) finally meets the real Mr. Townsend and realizes he’s been duped. In this clip, we see the meeting at the United Nations building and what happens to Mr. Townsend.  Pay attention to the camera angles –…

Now this is a train scene

Most Erotic Conversation!  Of all the train scenes we’ve seen in spy movies, this clip shows one of the most erotic conversations ever.  It puts any conversation between James Bond and a Bond Girl to shame.  And this is in 1959! The quips between Eve and Roger are amazing.  They even had to dub out…

North By Northwest (1959)

Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller, North by Northwest is a movie about an advertising executive who gets caught up in the world of spies. A case of mistaken identity early in the movie sets Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) and the audience up for a thrilling journey across America. In this curation (and in the podcast), we…

It’s a crop duster – look out!

One of the Most Famous Scenes in ANY Movie: Check out this scene that foretells something similar in From Russia With Love.  It’s a crop duster, Roger – DUCK or you’ll lose your head.  Fabulous photography and directing here.  You can feel the tension and fear.  As Hitchcock once said, “I just want to scare…

Getting Out Of A Bad Situation

We’ve seen auction scenes in spy movies since North by Northwest (think Octopussy), but we can’t think of one before this movie.  In this scene, Roger must use his wits and create a diversion to get out of a bad situation at an auction. The way he does this is both funny and brilliant.  We…

The Precursor To Bond’s Appeal To Women?

This scene is short but impactfully funny.  Roger is trying to escape and ends up cutting through this woman’s room.  At first, she’s aghast.  Then she sees Roger and changes her tune. She only utters the same word twice.  Both times have very different meanings.   Roger’s reaction is wonderful. This movie came out four…

When the girl shoots the hero

Will Eve Shoot Roger?  This scene in North By Northwest was shot on location at the Mount Rushmore restaurant.   Another fabulous scene, where Hitchcock builds up suspense for a big finish to this scene.   Little things, like Leonard (Landau) straightening his tie as he walks over to Eve and Philip Vandamm  Also,  pay close attention…

Mount Rushmore

A great spy movie needs great scenery.  Check out this clip of Roger & Eve as they try to escape Leonard (Martin Landau) on Mount Rushmore.  Again, great tension, great anticipation, great photography – the hallmarks of a Hitchcock film, and this spy film!  We will see lots of Bond films with great fight scenes…

All’s well that ends well

The movie ends with Roger and Eve on Mount Rushmore.  He’s just proposed but Leonard is still pursuing them.   More tension, and then a great Hitchcock cut takes us to the final scene.   Train through the tunnel . . . concludes the film that Hitchcock mastered as a very sensuous movie in 1959!  We will…

Cracking the Code of Spy Movies – A Look at 2019 and A Look Ahead to 2020

Join Tom and Dan in our 2019 wrap-up podcast of our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies show! Here, we include clips from all of our 2019 podcasts – take a listen, find ones that interest you and subscribe (free) to our Cracking the Code of Spy Movies show and listen to the full episodes! We end the episode with a look ahead at the spy movies we are anticipating in 2020.

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