Assignment Paris [DVD] [1952] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Assignment - Paris, 1952 film

The story begins in the newsroom of the `Paris Herald-Tribune' with a new report about Robert Anderson who confessed to being a spy for the American government in Budapest Hungary. Editor Nick Strang sends another reporter, Jeanne Moray, to cover this story. James Race wants to learn more about this case. [The police there are dressed like French Gendarmes.] Was there a rumor of international intrigue between Hungary and Yugoslavia? Reporter Race has a story about the case. The press room has manual typewriters and their noise. Race's story is rejected as too emotional. Radio Budapest warns against any other spy. Anderson was "a pawn in a much larger game"; he may have been involved in the "black market" (buying and selling without government permission). Borvich is interested in Jeanne Moray. Her room was searched but they found nothing. She is still a suspect for her contacts with the underground.

Where is Gabor Tcheky? Race and Moray meet and drive a Packard convertible. They are followed by Hungarian secret agents. Race will be sent to Budapest to replace a reporter who is in a hospital. Does Strang want Race out of the way? Moray warns Race about being careful; he won't know who to trust in Budapest. Race meets a top official and asks to meet Anderson. He learns the rules about broadcasting, and adds a phrase. [Is this suspicious?] Race isn't being followed, he is being guarded. A man brings a package and a message! Race broadcasts in "double talk" to fool the censors. Race visits a tailor to clean a suit. "Ten forints." An accident is arranged, his suit disappears from his taxi cab. Back at his flat, Race finds a suit with a tiny photo in it. Race is arrested at the hospital because of his visit to that tailor. The tailor won't talk.

The `Paris Herald-Tribune' is told of Race's arrest. They show how a tape recording can be edited to create false statements. [Does any TV show use quotes out of context to provide dramatic entertainment?] Will Race's food and drink be "prepared"? "Even the cigarettes." Can a pulsing light affect him? [The use of sleep deprivation was shown in the movie "Boomerang".] The `Paris Herald-Tribune' found that tiny picture and know how to use it to free Race. Can photographs be faked? "There was a time when we were all friendly with Tito." Can they save Race with new information? Secret Agents follow Moray and find a secret document. Where is Gabor Tcheky? Jeanne calls him to come alone to the apartment. He does. The police are waiting to save him (he was a witness to that secret treaty). Can he be traded for Race? There is a deal to meet at the border for the exchange. What is the matter with Jimmy? Strang warns what will happen if Gabor Tcheky is harmed: the story will be front page news.

Alfred Hitchcock's "Foreign Correspondent" set a high standard for foreign intrigue. "The Third Man" was another famous film (similar scenes?). This movie is not a match but is worth watching for its story. Like others from this era they are seldom shown on television today. It is educational in its story about forced confessions and faked photographs. The quality of foreign news in America varies from bad to worse, there is little background to foreign events (such as the recent debt crisis) unless you read a foreign newspaper in English.