Adapted from a play by Campbell Dixon, based on two stories in the 1927 collection Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham, this adaptation introduces Edgar Brodie (John Gielgud) returning from the war, only to discover he’s been reported dead. The story then follows his transformation into Richard Ashenden, with help from characters like ‘the hairless Mexican’ and ‘the general,’ whose identities are misleading. Elsa Carrington (Madeleine Carroll), who took the assignment for excitement, is also introduced as his wife for cover.

While the Mexican has no issues with killing anyone in his way, both Edgar/Richard and Elsa have problems doing so. She’s already fallen in love with our hero as well and soon learns that Robert Marvin (Robert Young), the man who has been hitting on her from the start, is really the enemy agent everyone is after. And the killer in the middle of all of this, the General (Peter Lorre), seems like he could murder anyone at any time. Also, if he feels twitchy, he was kicking drugs at the time that this was made.

Gielgud wasn’t happy that his character was an enigma, and director Alfred Hitchcock later said that, since he didn’t seem heroic, it was hard to be on his side.

You can watch this on Tubi.