CLOAK AND DAGGER *

The Second World War may have ended but by 1946 Fritz Lang was still making propaganda pictures in America or, at least, anti-nazi pictures. "Cloak and Dagger" wasn't quite singing the praises of the Atomic Bomb but it was certainly making sure we got the message that it was something to keep out of the hands of the Nazis. Fundamentally, it's a spy movie about an atomic scientist, (a miscast Gary Cooper), flown into Switzerland to find out as much as he can as to how far Germany has advanced with its plans to develop the A-Bomb only to turn into a kind of chase thriller when the Nazis kidnap his contact.

It's reasonably exciting and Lang does direct with some aplomb but it's hardly a memorable picture; the material is second-rate, (but think what Hitchcock could have done with it). The best thing about it is how Lang makes everyone suspect; his cynicism seeps through and gives the film a spark but it's not much of a spark. The plot is too far-fetched and Cooper looks very uncomfortable. However, Lili Palmer is excellent as a member of the Italian Underground and there's a brilliant murder scene near the end but that's too little too late. Lang completists will certainly want to see it but overall it's a disappointment.