5 Fingers (1952)

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

L.C. Moyzisch (book)
Michael Wilson (screenplay)
(more)

Release Date:

22 February 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

5 FINGERS...BEHIND THEM THE FABULOUS TRUE EXPLOITS OF THE HIGHEST PAID SPY IN HISTORY! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Based on a true story. In neutral Turkey during WWII, the ambitious and extremely efficient valet for...

Plot Keywords:

Countess | Nazi | WWII | Valet | Ambassador

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

James Mason	...	Ulysses Diello
Danielle Darrieux	...	Countess Anna Staviska
Michael Rennie	...	Colin Travers
Walter Hampden	...	Sir Frederic Taylor
Oskar Karlweis	...	L. C. Moyzisch
Herbert Berghof	...	Col. von Richter
John Wengraf	...	Count Franz Von Papen
Ben Astar	...	Siebert (as A. Ben Astar)
Roger Plowden	...	Keith Macfadden
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Diane Adrian	...	Singer on French Record (uncredited)
Hannelore Axman	...	Von Papen's secretary (uncredited)
Salvador Baguez	...	Ship's captain (uncredited)
Maurice Brierre	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Alexis Davidoff	...	Turk Guard (uncredited)
Lawrence Dobkin	...	Santos (uncredited)
Antonio Filauri	...	Italian Ambassador (uncredited)
Martin Garralaga	...	Butler (uncredited)
Stuart Hall	...	British military attache (uncredited)
Lumsden Hare	...	M. P. (uncredited)
Yeghishe Harout	...	(uncredited)
Frank Hemingway	...	(uncredited)
Paul H. Jackson	...	Turk (uncredited)
Aram Katcher	...	Turk (uncredited)
Faith Kruger	...	German singer (uncredited)
Stanley Logan	...	M. P. (uncredited)
Richard Loo	...	Japanese Ambassador (uncredited)
Lester Matthews	...	Undersecretary (uncredited)
Keith McConnell	...	Johnson (uncredited)
Alberto Morin	...	Anna Staviska's butler (uncredited)
Neyle Morrow	...	Moslem Priest (uncredited)
Jeroma Moshan	...	Charwoman (uncredited)
Leo Mostovoy	...	Spectator (uncredited)
Nestor Paiva	...	Turkish Ambassador (uncredited)
Michael Pate	...	Morrison (uncredited)
John Candan Rahmi	...	Turk (uncredited)
Gene Roth	...	Turkish Policeman (uncredited)
Konstantin Shayne	...	Headwaiter (uncredited)
Marc Snow	...	Banker (uncredited)
John Sutton	...	Narrator (uncredited)
Sadik Tarlan	...	(uncredited)
Walter Theil	...	German Secretary (uncredited)
Ivan Triesault	...	Steuben (uncredited)
Joan Van Dyke	...	Bit part (uncredited)
Otto Waldis	...	Pullman porter (uncredited)
Patrick White	...	Code Clerk (uncredited)
David Wolfe	...	Da Costa (uncredited)
Alfred Zeisler	...	General Joseph Kaltenbrunner (uncredited)

Directed by
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz		uncredited
L.C. Moyzisch		book "Operation Cicero"
Michael Wilson		screenplay

Produced by
Otto Lang	....	producer
Gerd Oswald	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernard Herrmann

Cinematography by
Norbert Brodine

Film Editing by
James B. Clark

Art Direction by
George W. Davis
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Set Decoration by
Thomas Little
Walter M. Scott

Makeup Department
Ben Nye	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Gaston Glass	....	unit manager (uncredited)
Max Golden	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Bruce Fowler Jr.	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Otto Lang	....	director of additional sequences (uncredited)
Gerd Oswald	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
W.D. Flick	....	sound
Roger Heman Sr.	....	sound (as Roger Heman)

Special Effects by
Fred Sersen	....	special effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Ray Kellogg	....	special photographic effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Charles Le Maire	....	wardrobe director (uncredited)

Music Department
Bernard Herrmann	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Florence O'Neill	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Mehmet Adil Ozkaptan	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Baron Otto von Strahl	....	technical advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Hispano Foxfilms S.A.E. (1953) (Spain) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1962) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• 20th Century Fox (1952) (France) (theatrical) (35 and 16 mm)
• Adams Filmi (1966) (Finland) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Carlotta Films (2004) (France) (theatrical)
• Fox Films (1952) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Les Acacias (2002) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Les Acacias (2008) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Fox Video (USA) (VHS)
• Optimum Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Titra Film Paris  subtitles (original version with French subtitles)

Also Known As:

Five Fingers

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | Portuguese | Turkish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:PG | West Germany:12 | Finland:K-11 (new rating: 2001) | Finland:K-12 (new visa: 1966) | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Spain:18

Filming Locations:

Ankara, Turkey

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Finnish censorship visa # 36107 delivered on 27-5-1952, renewed on 9-6-1966.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the Britsh ambassador's valet Diello (Brit James Mason) suggests that his new German spymaster change the combination on the latter's safe, he gives the existing combination 1-30-33 as based on the date of Hitler's rise to power, suggesting instead 6-18-15, the date of the Battle of Waterloo. One would expect an employee of the Britsh Embassy (particularly one born in the UK) to have used "European" notation (date/month/year) instead of US notation (month/day/year), particularly when speaking with a German.

Quotes:

Count Franz Von Papen: I've often wondered, Countess - why did you leave Warsaw?
Countess Anna Staviska: Bombs were falling. I felt I was in the way.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Vanités (2004) (V)

Witty, Suspenseful & Well-Acted!

I'd never heard of this film when I tuned in to the History channel of all places, hoping for a diversion. I was immediately caught up in this suspenseful and well-acted TRUE STORY of how and why the Nazis obtained advance knowledge of the D-Day invasion, but made no use of it. Some of the most implausible aspects of this fictionalized account - the delicious surprise twist at the end - are TRUE! One of my film guides informed me that "5 Fingers" won the '53 Golden Globe for its excellent screenplay. The highlights of the witty script include the interplay of James Mason, as the suave valet I couldn't help rooting for, and Danielle Darrieux, as the penniless yet glamourously seductive Countess Staviska. The acting of these two is top-notch; the supporting cast is consistently strong, and the Turkish location shooting gives it body. And the direction, by Joseph Mankiewicz is solid. This is a film about which you will ask, as I did: "Why Haven't I Heard of THIS one Before!?!"