The Spider and the Fly | BFI | British Film Institute

Year: 1949

Production Country: Great Britain

Directed by Robert Hamer
Featuring Eric Portman / Guy Rolfe / Nadia Gray

Posters (1)
Stills (4)

In pre-World War I Paris, a battle of wits exists between a French thief and a shrewd police chief. However, during the war, the thief is persuaded to put his talents to better use, by aiding the Allied Powers in stealing secrets from the Germans.

Cast & credits

Cast

Inspector Fernand Maubert Eric Portman
Philippe de Ledocq Guy Rolfe
Madeleine Saincaize Nadia Gray
Minister of War Edward Chapman
Jean Louis/Alfred Louis John Carol
Colonel de la Roche Maurice Denham
Marc George Cole
Belfort Harold Lang
minister's secretary John Salew
Monique May Hallatt
mayor James Hayter
town clerk Arthur Lowe
Captain Le Maître Patrick Young
inspector at Amiens Sebastian Cabot
Jacque Jeremy Spenser
Jacque's grandmother Madge Brindley
Father Pletsier Keith Pyott
Nicole Porte, girl in Berne Natasha Sokolova
café manager Philip Stainton
Swiss taxi driver Hal Osmond
watchman at legation Alastair Hunter
[coding clerk] Gerald Andersen
[2nd coding clerk] Hamilton Keene
[nightwatchman] Andrea Malandrinos
[Swiss warder] Frederic Steger
[customs official] Wallace Douglas
[Madeleine's maid] Ann Gunning
[Inpector Le Jeune] Howard Douglas
[barmaid, Café Michel] Hattie Jacques
[police officer] Arnold Diamond
[young shop assistant] John Fabian
[waiter, Café Schader] Charles Paton
[Belfort's escort] Campbell Singer

Credits

Direction

Director Robert Hamer
Assistant Director Don Weeks
[Assistant Director (2nd)] Christopher Noble
Continuity Connie Willis
[Assistant Continuity] Barbara Stanton

Production

Production Company Mayflower Pictures Corporation
© Pinewood Films
Producer Aubrey Baring
Production Manager E.M. Smedley Aston
[Production Secretary] Cynthia Frederick
[Floor Runner] Tony Adcock
Studio Pinewood Studios

Casting

[Casting] Weston Drury Jr

Writing

Screenplay from his own novel by Robert Westerby

Photography

Director of Photography Geoffrey Unsworth
Camera Arthur Ibbetson
[Focus Puller] Gerry Massey-collier
[Clapper Loader] Bill Morris
[Chief Electrician] Fred Butler
[Camera Grips] Frank Earp

Stills

[Stills] Bert Cann

Editing

Editor Seth Holt
[Assistant Editor] Bill Lenny
[Assistant Editor] Kenneth Peck

Design

Art Director Edward Carrick
[Assistant Art Director] William Hutchinson
[Art Director's Secretary] Eileen Salter
[Set Dresser] John Cooper
[Draughtsman] John Harman
[Draughtsman] Bernard Goodwin
[Draughtsman] John Craig
[Prop Buyer] Chris Chapman
[Prop Master] Bert Gaiters
[Chief Construction Manager] Ted Hughes
[Unit Construction Manager] W. Allgar

Costumes

Miss Gray's Costumes Designed by Elizabeth Haffenden
Dress Supervisor Doris Lee
[Ladies' Wardrobe Supervisor] Dorothy Edwards
[Ladies' Wardrobe Assistant] Dorothy Perry
[Men's Wardrobe Supervisor] Bob Raynor
[Men's Wardrobe Assistant] Bert Simmonds
[Men's Wardrobe Assistant] John Hilling

Make-up

Make-up Ernie Gasser
[Make-up Supervisor] George Blackler
[Assistant Make-up] Eddie Harrison
[Assistant Make-up] Cliff Sharpe
Hairdresser Pearl Gardner
[Supervising Hairdresser] Biddy Chrystal

Music

Music Georges Auric
Music Played by London Symphony Orchestra
Music Conducted by Muir Mathieson

Sound

Sound Sid Wiles
Sound Gordon K. McCallum
[Sound Camera Operator] Tony Kaye
[Boom Operator] Gerry Bennett
[Boom Assistant] D. Jackson

Consultant

French Adviser Jacques Brunius

Publicity

[Publicity Director] Stuart Chant
[Floor Publicist] Donald Murrey
[Publicity Secretary] Pamela Mann