When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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

Joseph L. Mankiewicz's Academy Award-nominated "5 Fingers" strikes me as the sort of movie that set the stage for the direction that spy movies would take over the next decade or two. James Mason plays Diello, a valet for the British ambassador in neutral Turkey during WWII. He decides to become a double agent for Germany, and employs a refugee countess (Danielle Darrieux) in his handiwork. But there's more than meets the eye.The fact that this was a true story should alone be enough reason to watch the movie. But the cinematography (filmed in the locations where the story took place, no less) and soundtrack - by Bernard Herrmann of "Psycho" fame - give the movie an intensity that few movies have. Indeed, because of how the story gets told, we root for Diello to successfully carry out his morally questionable deeds (much like how Alfred Hitchcock plays with the audience in "Psycho"). And I did not see that ending coming.I wouldn't go so far as to call the movie a masterpiece, but it's a movie that I recommend seeing. Both a look at the cynicism of international relations, and the eerie setting hint at the sorts of things that the James Bond movies would depict a decade later. Good one, with outstanding performances by all the cast members. I can't believe that I'd never heard of Danielle Darrieux until she died last year.

SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING...when the countess double-crossed James Mason? She would spy on the Germans, she would help Mason's valet character, Diello, spy on the British. Like Diello said, money was like electric light to her. She gave no thought to the source until it was shut off. And in their last conversation it was obvious to her that Diello considered the money he made from spying to be his money, not theirs. Diello's big mistake during all of this is an underlying belief that there is any honor among thieves, and not realizing this is not a business venture as far as any of the parties are concerned.The film is about a valet at the British embassy in neutral Turkey using the lack of any strong security measures at that embassy to steal Allied secrets and sell them to the Germans, amassing a large fortune in just a couple of months. It is true he wants a life of leisure in a peaceful place, but he is also in love with the now impoverished Countess Anna Staviska. And he knows she has a mercenary soul, and though she might have been attracted to him when he was her late husband's valet, she would never give herself to any man unless he had wealth.Post-war thrillers about WWII were usually much better than anything made during the war because they could be honest about the mercenary people who had no patriotism. Such people always exist. However, I did note that the movie made a point of Diello saying that he was actually born in Albania, not England. This was supposedly based on a true story, so I do not know if that was the truth, or just added to keep the British from looking bad.Mason and the countess get the best lines of the film, but the Germans get a bunch too as they are shown - at least at the embassy - thinking more for themselves than you would give them credit.This is full of twists and turns, and do watch this to the very end, because the final irony is enough even to find Diello's funny bone.

During the late 1940s and into the 1950s, Joseph Mankiewicz was probably the most successful man in Hollywood--directing and writing such amazing films as "A Letter to Three Wives", "All About Eve" and "House of Strangers". However, by the time he made "Five Fingers", Mankiewicz was at the end of his contract with Twentieth Century- Fox--and it sure was an excellent farewell.This movie is based on real events, though a few changes were made for cinematic purposes. James Mason plays a valet in the British embassy in Turkey during WWII and he's a completely trusted but totally amoral man. To earn money for his retirement, the guy approaches the Nazis and offers to sell them secrets. What is most interesting about this movie is that you see just how stupid the Nazis and the Brits. Despite repeatedly giving them excellent information, again and again the Nazis didn't trust it and didn't take advantage of it. As for the Brits, you wouldn't think that they'd let an Albanian valet to have such access to secrets! Still, it's a very fascinating story--one that is well made and well worth your time.

This World War II espionage classic has all the right elements in just the right mix: a) menacing Nazis; b) spies; c) double dealing; d) heroic characters; e) the old guard; f) noble values, g) a cliff-hanging ending; h) and just enough threatened violence to keep your palms sweaty and glued to your seat. An added plus is the exotic setting of the movie (in Turkey). It is my understanding that the director wanted to keep the movie as realistic as possible, so he filmed in locations where the action actually took place. A tag at the beginning of the film states that it is a real story. Suave James Mason is a joy to watch paired against straight-laced Michael Rennie. Don't miss this one!