13 Rue Madeleine (1947) on Netflix
Bob Sharkey trains spies for the Allied Office of Strategic Services. A German agent is among his students, and Sharkey studies the recruits, Bill O'Connell among them.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb6.9/103,334 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes83%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Office of Strategic Services puts Bob Sharkey in charge of a class of espionage candidates as the Allies prepare for the invasion of Europe. His superior, Charles Gibson, tells him that a German agent is hidden among the students and gives him the job of working out which one. The group includes the Frenchwoman Suzanne de Beaumont, the American Jeff Lassiter and Bill O'Connell, and they are being trained for missions in occupied territory. Gibson intends to let the agent complete his training and go out with invented details of the invasion, so that German intelligence receives a false picture of where the Allies will land.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about 13 Rue Madeleine (1947)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- 13 Rue Madeleine was originally written to showcase the O.S.S., with James Cagney playing a character based on William Donovan, but Donovan raised major objections, including to the idea that his agency had been infiltrated by an enemy agent. The spy group was renamed "O77" and Cagney's character had no similarities to Donovan.
SPOILER
The Breen Office objected to the Americans bombing a building solely to kill Sharkey, but scriptwriter Sy Bartlett, who had served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, claimed such an incident did indeed take place. Director Henry Hathaway said that incident was the basis for the film's final scene.
