The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy. Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, although in many cases (such as James Bond) the overall tone is changed. The spy film genre began in the silent era, with the paranoia of invasion literature and the start of the First World War. These produced the British 1914 'The German Spy Peril' (centred around a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament) and 'O.H.M.S'[1] (standing for Our Helpless Millions Saved as well as On Her Majesty's Service, and introducing for the first time a strong female character who helps the hero). In film theory, genre refers to the primary method of film categorization. ... Spy and Secret agent redirect here. ... For the video game, see Spy Fiction (video game). ... This article is about the spy series. ... A silent film is a film which has no accompanying soundtrack. ... The Battle of Dorking (1871) triggered an explosion of invasion literature. ... Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... The ohm is the SI derived unit of electrical resistance (derived from the ampere and the watt). ...

Alfred Hitchcock did much to popularise the spy film in the 1930s with his influential thrillers The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), The 39 Steps (1935), Sabotage (1937) and The Lady Vanishes (1938). These often involved innocent cattle being caught up in international conspiracies. Some, however, dealt with professional spies as in Hitchcock's Secret Agent (1936), based on W. Somerset Maugham's Ashenden stories. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (August 13, 1899 â€“ April 29, 1980) was an iconic and highly influential British-born film director and producer who pioneered many techniques in the suspense and thriller genres. ... The Man Who Knew Too Much is a 1934 suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. ... The 39 Steps is a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. ... Sabotage is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, which tells the story of Carl Verloc (played by Oscar Homolka), a terrorist from an unnamed European country, who conducts a series of attacks in London. ... The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. ... Secret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. ... William Somerset Maugham, CH (January 25, 1874 – December 16, 1965) was an English playwright, novelist, and short story writer. ...

In the 1940s and early 1950s there were several films made about the exploits of Allied agents in occupied Europe, which could probably be considered as a sub-genre. 13 Rue Madeleine and O.S.S. were fictional stories about American agents in German-occupied France, and there were a number of films based on the stories of real-life British S.O.E. agents, including Odette and Carve Her Name With Pride. A more recent fictional example is Charlotte Gray, based on the novel by Sebastian Faulks. The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime intelligence agency and was the predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Special Forces, and Navy SEALs. ... The Special Operations Executive (SOE), sometimes referred to as the Baker Street Irregulars after Sherlock Holmess fictional group of spies, was a World War II organization initiated by Winston Churchill and Hugh Dalton in July 1940 as a mechanism for conducting warfare by means other than direct military engagement. ... Odette is a movie made in 1950 starring Anna Neagle as Odette Sansom, an Allied heroine of World War II. Odette Movie details (at the Internet Movie Database) Categories: | | ... Carve Her Name with Pride is a 1958 British motion picture drama. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Charlotte Gray (1929), 2004 Vintage paperback edition Sebastian Faulks is a highly acclaimed British novelist. ...

The peak of popularity of the spy film is often considered to be the 1960s when Cold War fears meshed with a desire by audiences to see exciting and suspenseful films. The espionage film developed in two directions at this time. On the one hand, the realistic spy novels of Len Deighton and John le Carré were adapted into relatively serious Cold War thrillers which dealt with some of the realities of the espionage world. Some of these films included The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), The Deadly Affair (1966), and the Harry Palmer series, based on the novels of Len Deighton. For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Len Deighton (left) teaches Michael Caine how to break an egg on the set of The IPCRESS File. ... John le Carré is the pseudonym of David John Moore Cornwell (born October 19, 1931 in Poole, Dorset, England), an English writer of espionage novels. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Le Carre. ... The Deadly Affair is a 1966 film, based on the story Call for the Dead, by John le Carre. ... Harry Palmer is a fictional secret agent who is the central character in a number of films based on the three of the first four spy novels by Len Deighton. ...

At the same time, the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming were adapted into an increasingly fantastical series of tongue-in-cheek adventure films by producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, with Sean Connery as the star. The phenomenal success of the Bond series lead to a deluge of imitators, such as the Eurospy genre and several from America. Among the best known examples were the two 'Derek Flint' films starring James Coburn, and the Matt Helm series with Dean Martin. Television also got into the act with series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E and I Spy in the U.S., and Danger Man and The Avengers in Britain. Spies have remained popular on TV to the present day with series such as Callan, Alias and Spooks. This article is about the spy series. ... This article is about the author. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born August 25, 1930) is an Academy Award-, Golden Globe-, and BAFTA Award-winning Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... James Coburn in Sam Peckinpahs Cross of Iron (1977). ... Matt Helm as depicted on the back cover of The Wrecking Crew, 1960 Matt Helm, a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton, is a U.S. government counteragent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary... Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor, television personality, and comedian. ... Rare childrens storybook based upon Left to right: David McCallum, Robert Vaughn, and Leo G. Carroll. ... The I-SPY books were spotters guides written for British children, and particularly successful in the 1950s and 60s. ... This article is about the 1960s TV series which was also known as Secret Agent and shouldnt be confused with the 1990s television series Secret Agent Man. ... The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ... Template:Infobo Callan was the title of a British action-adventure television series that aired on ITV broadcasters over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. ... Alias was an American Spy-fi television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006, spanning five seasons. ... For the music band, see The Spooks. ...

Spy films also enjoyed something of a revival in the late 1990s, although these were often action films with espionage elements, or comedies like Austin Powers. The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ...

Films

Some of the most popular films include:

• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Secret Agent (1936)
• The Manchurian Candidate (1962) and (2004)
• Dr. No (1962)
• From Russia with Love (1963)
• The Harry Palmer series - The IPCRESS File, Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain (1965-1967).
• The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965)
• The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
• Army of Shadows (1968)
• The Kremlin Letter (1970)
• Night Flight from Moscow (1972)
• The Black Windmill (1974)
• Three Days of the Condor (1975)
• The Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
• The Fourth Protocol (1987)
• The Assignment (1997)
• Ronin (1998)
• Enemy of the State (1998)
• Spy Game (2001)
• The Jason Bourne series - The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum (2002-2007)
• The Recruit (2003)
• Munich (2005)
• Syriana (2005)
• The Good Shepherd (2006)
• Casino Royale (2006)

The 39 Steps is a 1935 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on the adventure novel The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan. ... Secret Agent is a 1936 British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. ... The Manchurian Candidate is a 1959 thriller novel written by Richard Condon, later adapted into films in 1962 and 2004. ... Dr. No can refer to a number of things Dr. No (novel), the 1958 novel by Ian Fleming on his inspirational character James Bond Dr. No (film), the first James Bond film, starring Sean Connery. ... From Russia with Love, published in 1957, is the fifth James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming and is considered to be one of the best in the series—the 1963 film version has been often cited by several film critics as the best of the movie franchise. ... Harry Palmer is a fictional secret agent who is the central character in a number of films based on the three of the first four spy novels by Len Deighton. ... The Ipcress File is a 1965 film adaptation of Len Deightons novel the The IPCRESS File. ... Funeral in Berlin is a 1966 film based on the spy novel by Len Deighton. ... Billion-Dollar Brain (1966, ISBN 0099857103) is a spy novel by Len Deighton. ... The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is a 1965 film adaptation of the novel of the same name by John Le Carre. ... The Quiller Memorandum (1966) is a cinematic of the 1965 spy novel The Berlin Memorandum, by Adam Hall, (other pseudonyms: Trevor Dudley-Smith; Elleston Trevor), screenplay by Harold Pinter, directed by Michael Anderson, featuring Alec Guinness, George Segal, Max von Sydow, and Senta Berger. ... Army of Shadows (French: LArmée des ombres) is a 1969 French film directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. ... The Kremlin Letter is a 1970 film, released by 20th Century-Fox. ... Night Flight from Moscow or Le Serpent is a French thriller made in 1973. ... The Black Windmill is a British spy thriller released in 1974. ... Three Days of the Condor is a United States motion picture made in 1975. ... The Falcon and the Snowman is a 1985 film about two young American men who sold U.S. security secrets to the Soviet Union. ... The Fourth Protocol is a 1987 movie starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan, based on the novel of the same name written by Frederick Forsyth. ... The Assignment is a 1997 film directed by Christian Duguay and starring Aidan Quinn, Donald Sutherland, and Ben Kingsley. ... Released in 1998, Ronin is an action/thriller that tells the story of a group of former intelligence agents who team up to steal a mysterious metal case. ... Enemy of the State is a 1998 thriller film about a group of rogue NSA agents who murder a Congressman, and then try to cover up the murder by destroying evidence and intimidating witnesses. ... This article is about the movie. ... Jason Charles Bourne is a fictional character of Robert Ludlum novels and subsequent film adaptations. ... The Bourne Identity is a 2002 film loosely based on Robert Ludlums novel of the same name. ... The Bourne Supremacy is a 2004 film loosely based on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name. ... The Bourne Ultimatum is a 2007 spy film loosely based[1] on the Robert Ludlum novel of the same name. ... For the episode of the TV series Dads Army, see The Recruit (Dads Army episode). ... Munich is a 2005 semi-fictionalized film about the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes by Black September gunmen and of the Israeli governments secret retaliation. ... Syriana is a 2005 Academy Award-winning geopolitical thriller film written and directed by Stephen Gaghan. ... The Good Shepherd is a nautical novel by CS Forester, the author of the novels about fictional Royal Navy officer Horatio Hornblower. ... Casino Royale (2006) is the twenty-first film in the James Bond series directed by Martin Campbell and the first to star Daniel Craig as MI6 agent James Bond. ...

Fantasy-oriented films

Some of the popular films with fantasy elements include:

• The James Bond film series (from 1962 onwards)
• The The Man from U.N.C.L.E spin-off films (1965 onwards)
• Our Man Flint and In Like Flint with James Coburn (1966-1967)
• The Matt Helm series starring Dean Martin (1966-1969)
• Modesty Blaise (1966)
• Nikita (1990)
• If Looks Could Kill (1991)
• True Lies (1994)
• Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible film series (1996-2006)
• Austin Powers series (1997-2002)
• The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
• The xXx film series (2002-2005)
• Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)
• The Agent Cody Banks film series (2003)
• Johnny English (2003)
• Mr. and Mrs. Smith (2005)
• The Matador (2006)
• The Spy Kids trilogy 2001-2003
• Stormbreaker (2006)
• RSTC: Reserve Spy Training Corps (2006)

This article is about the spy series. ... Rare childrens storybook based upon Left to right: David McCallum, Robert Vaughn, and Leo G. Carroll. ... Our Man Flint is a 1966 action film which stars James Coburn as Derek Flint. ... Derek Flint surrounded by bikini girls on the beach in In Like Flint. ... Matt Helm as depicted on the back cover of The Wrecking Crew, 1960 Matt Helm, a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton, is a U.S. government counteragent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary... Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, film actor, television personality, and comedian. ... Modesty Blaise was a comedic spy-fi motion picture produced in the United Kingdom and released worldwide in 1966. ... Nikita (re-titled La Femme Nikita in some countries) is a 1990 French movie written and directed by Luc Besson. ... For the 1991 motion picture, see If Looks Could Kill (film). ... True Lies is a 1994 action/comedy remake of the 1991 French film La Totale!. It was directed by James Cameron, and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Arnold, Bill Paxton, Tia Carrere, Charlton Heston and Art Malik. ... Tom Cruise (born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV on July 3, 1962) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe Award-winning American actor and film producer. ... Mission: Impossible (1996) is a film directed by Brian De Palma and featuring Tom Cruise, based on the television series Mission: Impossible. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... The Man Who Knew Too Little is 1997 comedy starring Bill Murray. ... Look up XXX in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 drama film directed by George Clooney. ... Agent Cody Banks is a movie released in the U.S. on March 14, 2003 that follows the adventures of 15-year-old Cody Banks (played by Frankie Muniz) who has to finish his chores, avoid getting grounded, and save the world by going undercover for the CIA. Hilary Duff... Johnny English is a British comic film parodying the James Bond secret agent genre, released in 2003. ... Mr. ... The Matador is a 2005 black comedy film written and directed by Richard Shepard and starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear. ... The Spy Kids trilogy is a trilogy of family-action-adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez and beginning in 2001 and ending in 2003. ... Stormbreaker is an upcoming motion picture based on Stormbreaker, the first novel in the Alex Rider series. ...

TV Shows

• The Avengers (1961-1969)
• Danger Man (1960-1962) and (1964-1966)
• The Man from U.N.C.L.E (1964-1968)
• I Spy (1965-1968)
• Get Smart (1965-1970)
• Mission: Impossible (1966-1973) and (1988-1990)
• The Prisoner (1967)
• Stawka większa niż życie (1967-1968)
• Callan (1967-1972)
• Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973)
• The Sandbaggers (1978-1980)
• Reilly, Ace of Spies (1980)
• Aeon Flux (1995)
• La Femme Nikita (1997-2001) This show was based upon the original French film directed by Luc Besson (see above Nikita), co-produced by Jay Firestone (Firestone Entertainment) and Warner Bros., and created for television by Joel Surnow, who later co-created 24 with fellow La Femme Nikita executive consultant Robert Cochran.
• Alias (2001-2006)
• 24 (2001-present)
• Spooks (2002-present)
• L/R: Licensed by Royalty (2003)

Spy films or television series that include elements of science fiction are sometimes called Spy-fi. The Avengers is a British 1960s television series featuring secret agents in a fantasy 1960s Britain. ... This article is about the 1960s TV series which was also known as Secret Agent and shouldnt be confused with the 1990s television series Secret Agent Man. ... Rare childrens storybook based upon Left to right: David McCallum, Robert Vaughn, and Leo G. Carroll. ... The I-SPY books were spotters guides written for British children, and particularly successful in the 1950s and 60s. ... For other uses, see Get Smart (disambiguation). ... Mission: Impossible is the name of an American television series which aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to September 1973. ... For other uses, see The Prisoner (disambiguation) and Prisoner. ... Stawka wiÄ™ksza niż życie (More Than Life at Stake, Stakes Larger Than Life or Playing for High Stakes) is a very successful Polish black and white TV series about the adventures of a Bond-like Polish secret agent, Hans Kloss (real name, StanisÅ‚aw Kolicki, codename J-23), who... Template:Infobo Callan was the title of a British action-adventure television series that aired on ITV broadcasters over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972. ... Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973) (Семнадцать мгновений весны in Russian), also Seventeen Instants of Spring is a Soviet TV miniseries. ... Roy Marsden as Neil Burnside in The Sandbaggers The Sandbaggers is a British television drama series about men and women on the front lines of the Cold War. ... Sam Neill portraying Sidney Reilly in the television mini-series, Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983). ... Æon Flux DVD cover Æon Flux is an animated science fiction television series that aired on MTV. It premiered in 1991 on MTVs Liquid Television experimental animation show as a six-part serial of short films, followed in 1992 by five individual short episodes. ... Nikita (re-titled La Femme Nikita in some markets) was a Canadian-produced television series loosely based on the movie of the same name (see Nikita). ... Alias was an American Spy-fi television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006, spanning five seasons. ... 24 is an Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning American action drama television series. ... For the music band, see The Spooks. ... L/R: Licensed by Royalty is an animé show about Cloud Seven, a fictional organisation whose job is to protect British royalty. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Spy-fi is a fan name for television series and movies - especially those from the 1960s - that blend the espionage genre with elements of science fiction. ...