Secret Agents, Man! - Spy Movies at Oddball Films March 27, 2009

Event: Secret Agents, Man! Guest curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of film focusing on spies, secret agents and government agents. Films include: one of the top-rated feature films of all time (spy or other), Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, a tour de force thriller about espionage and a falsely accused man on the run; a full 1965 episode of the TV show Secret Agent (known as Danger Man in the UK) starring the brilliant, recently passed Patrick McGoohan; T-Men of the Treasury Department, a 1958 documentary on US Government agents; and a segment from Lance Link: Secret Chimp, the 1970 TV spy spoof featuring an all-chimpanzee cast. Chimp intrigue and action at it’s er… finest!
Date: Friday, March 27, 2009 at 8:30PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco 94110
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or [email protected]
Web: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html

Secret Agents, Man!
Secret Agents, Special Agents, Simian Agents & Spies Screen at Oddball Films
On Friday, March 27, Guest Curator Pete Gowdy and Oddball Films present an evening of film devoted to the world of espionage, subterfuge and agents- secret, government… and primate!

The world of spies has long been fodder for pulp literature and movies, probably none more successful than the Ian Fleming- James Bond series. The films tend to be over the top, near parodies- and the legion of spin-offs (from the Flint series through Austin Powers) became true parodies.

One of the earliest and best spy films, however, plays it straight and is loaded with mystery and suspense. The 39 Steps has been called Hitchcock’s first masterpiece (it was his 18th film), and features the wonderful Robert Donat as the falsely accused man on the run. Similarly, the TV show Secret Agent played it straight. As Don Drake, Patrick McGoohan is an agent who uses his brain over brute force, rarely uses his gun, and sometimes must hurt innocent people in his work for Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Originally titled Danger Man in the UK, the show was exported to the US as Secret Agent with the Johnny Rivers monster hit theme added. McGoohan, who created the program and wrote many of the episodes, went on to fame in the cult series The Prisoner and many fine films. He passed away in January this year.

Showtime is 8:30PM and admission is $10.00. Seating is limited so RSVP is preferred to: [email protected] or 415-558-8117.

Films Include:

The 39 Steps (b+w, 1935) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Pre-Hollywood Hitchcock at his finest: an innocent, ordinary man is framed by circumstantial evidence and thrust into a world he does not understand- in this case the world of espionage and British secrets- a theme that Hitchcock would return to many times again, culminating with North By Northwest (which has been called the American 39 Steps). The main protagonist, played brilliantly by Robert Donat, is literally handcuffed to an icy, intelligent blond played by Madeleine Carroll for four days on the run while he tries to prove his innocence and bring the spies to justice. Look for the Hitch cameo about 7 minutes in!

Secret Agent: Say It With Flowers (b&w, 1965)

A complete episode of Secret Agent, aka Danger Man, Say It With Flowers originally aired 23 December, 1965. Plot summary: an enemy agent dies in Switzerland--or so it seems; to make certain, Drake poses as an insurance investigator. The clinic where he died isn't exactly what it seems. Drake goes to very dramatic lengths to find out whose body was in the coffin, and what was done to get him there.

T-Men of the Treasury Department (b&w, 1958)
Light-hearted and serious profile of T-Men- the Treasury Department agents who investigate commerce crimes- smuggling, counterfeiting, moonshiners, etc. Not quite as exciting as G-Men, but they try to make the case!

PLUS: Lance Link: Secret Chimp- from the 1970 TV show. An all-chimp cast features Lance Link- the chimp from A.P.E. (Agency to Prevent Evil). It doesn’t get more dumber than this.

Curator Biography:
Pete Gowdy (aka DJ Chas Gaudi) is host of San Francisco’s Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party and a DJ specializing in vintage sounds: soul, jazz, country, punk and new wave. A graduate of the Vassar College Film Program, he is an associate producer of Marc Huestis Presents, the long-running movie legend tributes at the Castro and Victoria Theatre.

Official Website: http://oddballfilm.com/resources/events_parent.html