13 Rue Madeleine
Encyclopedia
13 Rue Madeleine is a 1947 World War II
spy film
starring James Cagney
, Annabella and Richard Conte
.
The title refers to the Le Havre
address where a Gestapo
headquarters is located.
) is an instructor of would-be spies for the Allied Office of Strategic Services
(OSS, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency
). He is warned that one of the latest batch of students is a traitor. Sharkey is able to identify the traitor as Bill O'Connell (Richard Conte
), who is too good at espionage
in Sharkey's opinion. His boss, Charles Gibson (Walter Abel
) confirms that O'Connell is really a top German agent named Wilhelm Kuncel, but tells Sharkey to pass him, as they intend to feed the mole
false information about the impending D-Day invasion.
When they complete their training, three of Sharkey's pupils, Frenchwoman Suzanne de Beaumont (Annabella), American Jeff Lassiter (Frank Latimore
) and Kuncel, are sent on two separate missions into German-occupied France. Sharkey tells Lassiter about Kuncel beforehand so he can keep watch on the traitor. However, when Kuncel casually talks to Lassiter, the inexperienced man lets his uneasiness show, alerting Kuncel. On the transport plane, Kuncel secretly cuts Lassiter's parachute
cord, causing him to plummet to his death when they jump.
With no time to brief anybody else to be Lassiter's replacement, Sharkey volunteers. Gibson objects, since Sharkey knows the location of the planned invasion of Europe
, but reluctantly gives in. He and de Beaumont complete their mission (getting a collaborator named Duclois back to England), but Sharkey is captured. De Beaumont is killed transmitting the news to England. Sharkey is tortured by Kuncel's men, but refuses to talk. Back in England, Gibson has no choice but to order a bombing raid to silence Sharkey. When the bombing starts, Sharkey realizes what is happening and laughs in Kuncel's face just before they both perish.
, Warner Bros./United States Pictures Cloak and Dagger, and RKO/Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Though 13 Rue Madeleine was originally written to showcase the O.S.S., with Cagney playing a character based on William Donovan
and featuring Peter Ortiz as a technical advisor
, Donovan raised major objections to the film, including the idea that his agency had been infiltrated by an enemy agent. The agency was renamed "077" and Cagney's character had no similarities to Donovan.
The film followed Fox's The House on 92nd Street
a true story of Federal Bureau of Investigation
counter espionage which shared the same director, producer, and one of the writers.
Much of the filming was done in Quebec City
, Quebec, Canada. The scene where Sharkey is leaving the "Local French HQ", on his way to meet with the local resistance was shot on rue Donnacona, with la Ursulines School in the background.
The Breen office also objected to the Americans bombing a building solely to kill Sharkey; the film made reference to the building being an acceptable military target.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
spy film
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
starring James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
, Annabella and Richard Conte
Richard Conte
Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
.
The title refers to the Le Havre
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
address where a Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
headquarters is located.
Plot
Bob Sharkey (James CagneyJames Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
) is an instructor of would-be spies for the Allied Office of Strategic Services
Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency, and it was a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency...
(OSS, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
). He is warned that one of the latest batch of students is a traitor. Sharkey is able to identify the traitor as Bill O'Connell (Richard Conte
Richard Conte
Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
), who is too good at espionage
Espionage
Espionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
in Sharkey's opinion. His boss, Charles Gibson (Walter Abel
Walter Abel
Walter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
) confirms that O'Connell is really a top German agent named Wilhelm Kuncel, but tells Sharkey to pass him, as they intend to feed the mole
Mole (espionage)
A mole is a spy who works for an enemy nation, but whose loyalty ostensibly lies with his own nation's government. In some usage, a mole differs from a defector in that a mole is a spy before gaining access to classified information, while a defector becomes a spy only after gaining access...
false information about the impending D-Day invasion.
When they complete their training, three of Sharkey's pupils, Frenchwoman Suzanne de Beaumont (Annabella), American Jeff Lassiter (Frank Latimore
Frank Latimore
Franklin Latimore was an American actor best known for his character ‘Dr. Ed Coleridge’ on the television soap opera Ryan's Hope....
) and Kuncel, are sent on two separate missions into German-occupied France. Sharkey tells Lassiter about Kuncel beforehand so he can keep watch on the traitor. However, when Kuncel casually talks to Lassiter, the inexperienced man lets his uneasiness show, alerting Kuncel. On the transport plane, Kuncel secretly cuts Lassiter's parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
cord, causing him to plummet to his death when they jump.
With no time to brief anybody else to be Lassiter's replacement, Sharkey volunteers. Gibson objects, since Sharkey knows the location of the planned invasion of Europe
Operation Overlord
Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle of Normandy, the operation that launched the invasion of German-occupied western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation commenced on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy landings...
, but reluctantly gives in. He and de Beaumont complete their mission (getting a collaborator named Duclois back to England), but Sharkey is captured. De Beaumont is killed transmitting the news to England. Sharkey is tortured by Kuncel's men, but refuses to talk. Back in England, Gibson has no choice but to order a bombing raid to silence Sharkey. When the bombing starts, Sharkey realizes what is happening and laughs in Kuncel's face just before they both perish.
Cast
- James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
as Robert Emmett 'Bob' Sharkey - Richard ConteRichard ConteRichard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...
as Wilhelm Kuncel / William H. 'Bill' O'Connell - Annabella as Suzanne de Beaumont
- Frank LatimoreFrank LatimoreFranklin Latimore was an American actor best known for his character ‘Dr. Ed Coleridge’ on the television soap opera Ryan's Hope....
as Jeff Lassiter - Walter AbelWalter AbelWalter Abel was an American stage and film character actor. His eyes were brown and his height was five foot ten inches....
as Charles Gibson - Melville CooperMelville CooperGeorge Melville Cooper , best known as Melville Cooper, was a British stage, film and television actor. Among his roles are the cowardly Sheriff of Nottingham in The Adventures of Robin Hood, starring Errol Flynn, and Mr...
as Pappy Simpson - Sam JaffeSam Jaffe (actor)Sam Jaffe was an American actor, teacher, musician and engineer. In 1951, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Asphalt Jungle and appeared in other classic films such as Ben-Hur and The Day the Earth Stood Still...
as Mayor Galimard - Karl MaldenKarl MaldenKarl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
as Jump Master (uncredited) - E. G. MarshallE. G. MarshallE. G. Marshall was an American actor, best known for his television roles as the lawyer Lawrence Preston on The Defenders in the 1960s, and as neurosurgeon David Craig on The Bold Ones: The New Doctors in the 1970s...
as Emile (uncredited) - Marcel Rousseau as Duclois (uncredited)
Production
Prohibited from mentioning the OSS during the war due to secrecy, several Hollywood studios made their own films about the agency after the war, such as Paramount's O.S.S.O.S.S. (film)
O.S.S. is a 1946 war film starring Alan Ladd, Colton Winters and Geraldine Fitzgerald about the Office of Strategic Services....
, Warner Bros./United States Pictures Cloak and Dagger, and RKO/Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious. Though 13 Rue Madeleine was originally written to showcase the O.S.S., with Cagney playing a character based on William Donovan
William Joseph Donovan
William Joseph Donovan was a United States soldier, lawyer and intelligence officer, best remembered as the wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services...
and featuring Peter Ortiz as a technical advisor
Technical advisor
A technical advisor is an individual who is expert in a particular field of knowledge, hired to provide detailed information and advice to people working in that field...
, Donovan raised major objections to the film, including the idea that his agency had been infiltrated by an enemy agent. The agency was renamed "077" and Cagney's character had no similarities to Donovan.
The film followed Fox's The House on 92nd Street
The House on 92nd Street
The House on 92nd Street is a 1945 black-and-white spy film directed by Henry Hathaway. The film, shot mainly in New York City, was released shortly after the end of World War II. The House on 92nd Street was made with the full cooperation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation , and its head, J....
a true story of Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
counter espionage which shared the same director, producer, and one of the writers.
Much of the filming was done in Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
, Quebec, Canada. The scene where Sharkey is leaving the "Local French HQ", on his way to meet with the local resistance was shot on rue Donnacona, with la Ursulines School in the background.
The Breen office also objected to the Americans bombing a building solely to kill Sharkey; the film made reference to the building being an acceptable military target.