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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1569

Spies

1928143 minGermany
ThrillerCrime
Video edition
Internet Archive
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: German.
This copy runs
150:28
Subtitles
English

Languages and subtitles

Subtitles requested

Internet Archive · Fritz Lang · Internet Archive source edition

Subtitles: Archive subtitle; sampled and corrected by Open Classic Cinema · Open Classic Cinema

Synopsis

A criminal intelligence network steals secrets while hiding behind respectable public identities. A government agent known as Number 326 pursues its elusive leader, Haghi, but his attachment to the Russian agent Sonya complicates the mission. Disguises, surveillance and divided loyalties make every encounter a possible trap.

Cast

DirectorsFritz Lang

Historical context

Spies turns modern communications and anonymous urban spaces into sources of uncertainty. The enemy's power comes from an organization that connects apparently separate events, anticipating many later espionage thrillers.

Behind the scenes

Lang made the film after Metropolis, with Rudolf Klein-Rogge returning as another manipulative mastermind. Fast editing and the train-crash sequence give the intrigue a scale beyond its offices and hotel rooms.

Reception and legacy

Its secret identities, numbered agent, gadgets and spectacular dangers helped define a vocabulary for screen espionage. The surviving and restored editions differ in length; the player identifies the duration of this particular copy.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceWikidata — film identity and creditsBFI — history of screen espionageImage: UFA / MGM / Wikimedia Commons — Public domain

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 18, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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