Such a frustrating disappointment

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

I enjoyed this film from beginning to end. Terrific performances all around. Just a couple of things, though.Cagney is supposed to be, among other things, a former world-class athlete and World War 1 hero. World War 1? OK, he was the right age, but by the time this film was released (1947), Cagney was 47-48, which would have been all right if he hadn't been short and fat and looking about 10 years older. Although he was athletic and light on his feet. his portliness and apparent age were a distraction throughout this film. So was his early 20th century Irish Yorkville accent (NYC), which he never lost (You dirty rat!!!). And he was supposed to be from Minnesota!And although Richard Conte also turned in a superb performance (in my opinion, superior to Cagney's), he never lost his Jersey City way of speaking (which, believe me, is far more attractive than today's Jersey City accent).Other than that, no complaints. Excellent film.

O.S.S. agents are in training for work behind enemy lines in WWII. Upon receiving his latest batch of trainees, training leader Bob Sharkey is informed one of the rookies is actually a German mole. Letting the mole continue thinking he is undetected, Sharkey feeds the mole false information about important upcoming operations. But as Sharkey arranges his agents missions, and that of the mole, things go wrong and Sharkey himself must go into occupied France and risk the wrath of the Gestapo at 13 Rue Madeleine.13 Rue Madeleine is a very efficient and enjoyable War/Spy/Thriller, it's directed by multi genre helmsman Henry Hathaway and stars acting legend James Cagney as Sharkey. Tho playing a tough guy, this is quite far removed from the sort of roles that defined Cagney's career, he's ably supported by Richard Conte and Walter Abel, but in all honesty it's Cagney's film all the way. As many other reviewers have mentioned, the majority of the picture feels like a documentary, or more a sort of public service explanation on the History Channel, not a bad thing exactly, but the dulcet narration is something I personally could have done without. However once the picture nicely turns its attention to the crucial mission, things start heating up and the film becomes a film in the truer sense of the word. We are fully engaged with the central characters having been with them thru Sharkey's training school, and as the (fabulous) ending draws closer, it's hoped that the majority of viewers are as involved with the plot as I personally was. Because then when the end does come, it impacts the way the makers hoped it would.A very commendable picture and certainly recommended to fans of Cagney, Conte and this type of movie. 7/10

This movie starts kind of slow, more of a documentary about the intelligence services than a drama.The plot is that Cagney is training a group of spies to help prepare for the landing in Europe. He discovers that one of his team is in fact a German spy, and they make the decision to use him in a disinformation campaign.Unfortunately, the spy catches on to the plan and kills the agent meant to keep an eye on him. This is where the plot actually starts to move, and Cagney parachutes into France to complete the mission.An interesting part in the beginning of the movie shows stock footage of Federal Agents rounding up German and Japanese citizens suspected of being spies. Today, we know that most of those people were innocent, but in 1947, this was still considered a good thing.

This "13 rue Madeleine " is the address of the gestapo's headquarters,the place where they tortured their prisoners.Hathaway's movie looks like the propaganda works which were thriving during WW2.French Annabella who lost a brother in the conflict was a committed actress who played for the soldiers on stage in Italy.It was the second time she had been cast in a WW2 movie (the first was "tonight we raid Calais" in 1943.Unfortunately she's (like all the actors) outstripped by James Cagney,and as soon as we know about her husband's fate ,her part is so underwritten she does not have a single chance to shine.The same goes for Richard Conte and Frank Latimore.In consequence,the most interesting part of the movie is its first part,almost a documentary ,which shows the training of the secret agents,with voice over galore.Then when the story really begins,after 30 min,it is sometimes confused and only the moving last scenes ,13 rue Madeleine,have a true emotional power.