malcolmgsw Colonel Alex Scotland did serve with the German Army between 1903 and 1907.However during the Second World War he was in charge of the London interrogation centre of Prisoners of war.He wrote about his experiences in The London Cage.So entertaining as this film is it is a fiction.In any event how valuable would such a source be when the Allies had Ultra and were reading the messages from Hitler's headquarters.

SimonJack The opening scene of "the two-Headed Spy" has a script that dedicates the film. It reads, "To those men of the Intelligence Service who worked in secrecy. Who struggled and died in darkness. To those lonely and courageous men who risked their lives daily in the enemy camp. This picture is dedicated. And, to one of those men, Colonel A. P. Scotland, O.B.E., British Intelligence Service, whose exploits over the past half century inspired this story. We wish to express our thanks."Indeed, the background of Alexander Scotland is very interesting. Here was an early implementer of interrogation methods, as well as a highly experienced spy. That's a story worth looking into. Scotland served as adviser for this film. While he had posed as lower ranking German officers and NCOs in World War I and at other times, he said he never was a high-ranking German official. Yet, when one notices some similarities in this film, it does raise a question. This film stars Jack Hawkins in a fictitious plot as just such a British spy. Gen. Alex Schotland was a British agent who served in the German Army of WW I. But, unlike most in the espionage business, after the war he didn't come out. He stayed in Germany, kept his military affiliation and identity, and when the Nazis began a rise to power, he jumped on the train. This is a very good and interesting look at how such high level direct espionage might have looked. One quickly comes to the conclusion that the best way to advance and get on the good graces inside the Nazi hierarchy was to agree with Hitler and promise that his every command could be carried out. Especially, if that went against the reasoned, experienced generals, regardless of how bad was Hitler's position. Anyway, that's how Schottland does it here. A distant romantic connection is provided by Gia Scala who plays Lili Geyr, a renowned German singer and entertainer of troops. The story has an interesting ending. Scala made a few very good films and had a promising career in movies and television. But, she suffered from depression and began drinking heavily. She underwent frequent psychiatric treatment. On April 30, 1972, she died from an overdose of alcohol and sleeping pills.

Poetica I have nothing much to add to the reviews already here, but that I loved the film. Stylish, beautifully paced, and remarkably suspenseful, it features an intriguingly controlled and flawlessly nuanced performance by Jack Hawkins, who makes you believe it possible that a British agent, hidden for twenty years, could exist undercover at the highest levels of the Third Reich. And as a sign of the 1958 that produced "The Two-Headed Spy," most revealing of the relationships between international film interests that the blacklisted Michael Wilson and Alfred Levitt were denied credit as scriptwriters in a British film because of its U.S. release by Columbia.However, for the record, I would like to correct a remark made by oxbridgeup from New Hampshire, who took issue with the use of tape recording in a scene, stating that it was not invented until 1947. Tape recording had actually been invented in Germany in the 1930s; it was used extensively in radio stations and by the Gestapo, most effectively as a tool to issue simultaneous statements by Hitler to units at all the various military fronts to give the Fuhrer the illusion of omnipresence. 1947 is the year the technology was introduced in the United States, and was patented by a group funded by Bing Crosby, who saw the potential in the format. An American audio engineer who, while assigned to the U.S. Army Signal Corps, had absconded with two of the pioneering German Magnetophon recorders (and numerous IG Farben magnetic tapes) at WWII's end, presented the technology to MGM and Crosby. Before this forming of Ampex, Farben had held the rights for magnetic tape (originally patented in the '20s as a long paper strip with an iron oxide coating) and AEG for recording/playing decks and their improvements -- most significantly, AC tape bias and stereophonic recording. Farben was, of course, dissolved in 1945 because of its cooperation with the Nazi regime (and notorious production of Xyklon-B), thus leaving its patents for the taking. How the AEG patents were voided is a mystery to me, but perhaps some knowledgeable reader might enlighten us.

sol1218 **SPOILERS**Having been planted in the German Army by British intelligence back in 1914, some 20 years before the Nazis took control of Germany, Alex Schottland, Jack Hawkins, was in the unique position, even though being a former British citizen, to work his way up the ladder. Scottland worked his way up to the point where he became in charge of supplies for the German Army without the slightest suspicion of German Furuer Adolph Hitler, Kennith Griffih, and his dreaded secret police the Gestapo.After the German conquest of Poland in 1939 Scottland is promoted to general for his excellent efforts in suppling the German Military in its 34 day blitzkrieg. The Nazi blitzkrieg on Poland stunned the world who thought that the war would last some six months well into the winter of 1939. Working behind the scenes Schottland with the help of his contact British Secret Agent Cornaz, Felix Aylmer, who poses as a inconspicuous old watchmaker gets the information back to MI5, the British version of the CIA, that the long expected invasion of Britian, Operation Sea Lion, was called off! Hitler and his General Staff decided instead to launch a massive 3 million man invasion of Soviet Russin the following summer. This gave the battered British Army and Navy breathing room to recover from the beating they took in the Nazis conquest of Western Europe in the spring and early summer of 1940. Britain who was being supplied with huge amounts of much needed war material by the US, who at the time considered itself to be neutral in the war, hoped that the Soviet Red Army would do what the allies, Britian & France, were unable to since the war began ;Stop the then unstoppable Nazi Juggernaut!As the war progresses and the Nazis start losing it becomes apparent to their high command that someone high up is giving the Allies secret information on their military planning! That's when things start to go sour for Gen.Schottland and those whom he's secretly working with. The first shoe to drop is on Gen. Schottland secret British contact in Berlin watchmaker Cornaz. Caught red-handed, in sneaking out information to Britain, by the Gestapo Cornaz is tortured to death but keeps his mouth shut not revealing his fellow spy Gen. Schottland.Having Cornaz replaced by the British with Italian singing sensation Lili Geya, Gia Scala, doesn't help Gen, Scottland much either. Gen. Scottland, who knew Lili before the war, was too busy keeping his eyes on the beautiful Lili more then his work leading to a number of major screw-ups on his part. All that eventually leads to Lili's unfortunate death in the dying days of WWII. Lili was shot by Gen, Schottland Aid-de-camp Lt. Reinisch, Erik Schumann, who recognized her when she tried to cross over to the British lines with a secret map, provided to her by Schottland, about future German troop movements.***SPOILER ALERT*** The both sly and slippery Gen. Schottland is so good at his work that he manages to outfox the Nazis at their own game, trickery and deception, by getting Nazi Generals loyal to the Fuhrer arrested and executed by the Gestapo for treason and disloyalty. Gen Schottland even goes so far as getting German Generals, one of them Gen Hartz played by Donald Pleasence, who are secretly in league with the allies like himself, to do in the Fuhrer, exposed and summarily executed just to keep the Gestapo from suspecting him!I don't know if the story about Gen Schottland is real but if it is the guy made legendary British Secret Agent James Bond look like a rank armature. Always a step ahead of the Nazis Gen.Schottland seems to be the luckiest man on the face of the earth in all the escapes he makes from being caught, at the expense of his fellow British spies, that he comes across not only as being unbelievably lucky but both omnipresent and prophetic, in him knowing what the Nazis are to do ahead of time even before the Nazis do, as well!P.S Look for an uncredited and young 25 year old Michael Cain in the movie playing a Gestapo Agent.