Cloak without Dagger [Operation Conspiracy] * (1956, Philip Friend, Mary Mackenzie, Leslie Dwyer, Allan Cuthbertson) – Classic Movie Review 12,646

The British 1956 noir espionage thriller film Cloak without Dagger [Operation Conspiracy] is a feeble, clichéd B-movie spy drama with romance and bantering in the concoction. Philip Friend and Mary Mackenzie star. 

Director Joseph Sterling’s 1956 British noir espionage thriller film Cloak without Dagger [Operation Conspiracy] is a feeble, clichéd B-movie spy drama with meek romance and mild bantering in the concoction.

It struggles over the task, or rather chore, of telling the tale of stalwart British intelligence man Major Felix Gratton (Philip Friend) and exotic fashion reporter Kyra Gabaine (Mary Mackenzie) who combine forces on the trail of enemy secret agents. They are former lovers reunited after a chance meeting. It’s a golden rule never to reunite with old lovers. It never goes well.

Clumsy handling and hackneyed writing are the problems, along with the cheery, playful tone in the curious mixture. It might be noir but it is not noir enough. But steadfast British character players like Leslie Dwyer, Allan Cuthbertson, Bill Nagy and Frank Thornton help to bring some credibility to the unpersuasive, cardboard nature of the proceedings.

It was released in the US by Republic Pictures as Operation Conspiracy.

The cast are Philip Friend as Major Felix Gratton, Mary Mackenzie as Kyra Gabaine, Leslie Dwyer as Fred Borcombe, Allan Cuthbertson as Colonel Packham, John G Heller as Peppi Gilroudian Dress Designer, Chin Yu as Yan Chu, Bill Nagy as Mario Oromonda, Patrick Jordan as Captain Willis, Marianne Stone as Mrs Markley, Frank Thornton as Mr Markley, Gerrey Levey as Night club entertainer, Boris Ranevsky as Antoine, María Mercedes as Spanish girl Larry Taylor as Sergeant Blake, Patricia Haines, Stuart Mitchell, Ivor Dean, John Scott, Barbara Burke, Anthony Baird, Gretchen Franklin, Philip Locke, John Hayter, Carmen Hill, Mavis Greenaway, Annette Cope, and Corinne Grey.

Cloak without Dagger [Operation Conspiracy] is directed by Michael Anderson and Joseph Sterling, runs 69 minutes, is made by Balblair Productions, Butcher’s Film Services (UK) and Republic Pictures (US), is written by A R Rawlinson, is shot in black and white by Gerald Gibbs, is produced by A R Rawlinson, is scored by Wilfred Burns, and is designed by John Stoll.

Release date: February 1956 (UK).

Balblair Productions previously made The Black Rider (1954) and Stock Car (1955).

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,646

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