It was the movie that pioneered the espionage genre, complete with secret documents, hi-tech gadgets, an evil mastermind, and a beautiful but dangerous woman.
It was “Spies” (1928), an action-packed silent thriller, and will be shown with live music for one screening only on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton.
“Spies,” made by German director Fritz Lang at the end of the silent era, served as a blueprint for all espionage story-telling to come in movies and, later, on television. It is especially notable for the many ways it anticipated the James Bond films, in which a government’s secret agent matches wits with a criminal mastermind.
Newly restored to its original length, “Spies” has emerged as a tightly constructed spy thriller from the peak of the silent film era. Hugely influential, Lang’s passion for meticulous detail combines with masterful storytelling and editing skills to form a relentless story of intrigue, espionage, and blackmail.
An international spy ring, headed by criminal mastermind Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), uses technology, threats, and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy and also president of a bank, Haghi leads a double life, using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets to assert his power over others.
Battling Haghi is the government’s Agent 326 (Willy Fritsch), himself a master of disguise. Can Agent 326 stop Haghi’s plot before it disrupts the world’s balance of power?
Putting on the screen for the first time many elements of the modern spy thriller, “Spies” remains remarkably fresh and captivating more than 90 years since its first release. Lang carefully reveals the elaborate methods of the spies as they move through his unknown city, no doubt creating a mirror of troubled Weimar, Germany, where the film was shot.
Made by Lang’s own production company and, like the classic films “M” (1931) and “Metropolis” (1927), written by Lang with his wife Thea von Harbou, “Spies” is “the granddaddy of decades of intrigue epics. In its rigorous austerity, it remains the most modern of the bunch,” wrote Elliott Stein of The Village Voice.
“Spies” features many of the same performers featured in “Metropolis,” Lang’s famous futuristic fantasy, including Klein-Rogge, who portrayed the scientist Rotwang in the earlier movie. “Spies” also stars Austrian actress Gerda Maurus as the mysterious woman who could prove to be the undoing of Agent 326.
Live music will be provided by silent film accompanist Jeff Rapsis. Rapsis uses a digital synthesizer to recreate the sound and texture of the full orchestra.
“‘Spies’ is a wonderful film for music,” said Rapsis, who improvises accompaniment using musical material he composes beforehand. “In addition to telling great stories, Lang’s films are also visually interesting, and so they lend themselves to music to heighten the drama and tension,” Rapsis said.
“Spies” is appropriate for family audiences, although it includes intense scenes that may frighten very small children. The film is two-and-a-half hours long.
The screening of “Spies” is part of Town Hall Theatre’s monthly silent film series, which gives today’s audiences a chance to experience the great films of Hollywood’s early years as they were intended: in restored prints, in a theater on the big screen, and with live music and an audience.
“If you’ve never seen a silent film in a theater with live music and an audience, this is a great way to experience the medium at its best,” Rapsis said. “When you put all the elements together, silent film still has an ability to stir up an audience in a way that no other medium can.”
“Spies” will be shown on Sunday, Aug. 25 at 4:30 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton, N.H. Admission is free, with a donation of $5 per person requested to help defray expenses. For more info, call (603) 654-3456 or visit www.wiltontownhalltheatre.com.