Product Details

• Actors: Gary Cooper, Robert Alda, Lilli Palmer, Vladimir Sokoloff, J. Edward Bromberg
• Directors: Fritz Lang
• Writers: Alastair MacBain, Albert Maltz, Boris Ingster, Corey Ford, John Larkin
• Producers: Milton Sperling
• Format: Black & White, EP, NTSC
• Language: English, German, Italian
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Republic Pictures
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300208028
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #250,489 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Cloak and Dagger will go down in history as one of the first post-war, atomic power, spy thrillers. Gary Cooper is physics professor Alvah Jesper, sent to Europe on a secret mission to uncover the Nazis' atomic bomb program. The elements are all there for success: the legendary director Fritz Lang, Gary Cooper, World War II, spyies, murder, romance, the beautiful Lilli Palmer, and the danger of atomic power in the hands of the Nazis. But somehow it all falls a little flat. Cloak and Dagger is still worth checking out for fans of post-war espionage films and cinephiles interested in the historical pairing of Lang and Cooper. Unfortunately, most will find the film dated and should seek to satisfy their post-war cravings with Carol Reed's The Third Man --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The parts are greater than the whole., August 3, 2001

By 

Doghouse King "eddie_denman" (Omaha, NE United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloak & Dagger [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Fritz Lang was one of the world's directing treasures, yet too few people know his name. With credits such as M, Metropolis, The Woman in the Window and The Big Heat (as well as many brilliant lesser-known, often German-language films), he helped to *invent* many genre conventions that are now cliches. He is also one of two filmmakers who really influenced Hitchcock in concrete ways (Val Lewton being the other).

In many ways Cloak and Dagger is ahead of its time, and in others it is disappointingly dated. It offers several great scenes but loses its way several times as well. It starts out with some overly pretentious scenes as American nuclear scientist Gary Cooper is approached to help the Allies rescue a brilliant scientist held behind enemy lines. Then there are a couple of nice fights and some good direction and rising suspense as the mission gets underway. Then, it becomes a story of Gary Cooper meeting and falling in love with Lilli Palmer, a devoted but despondent member of the Italian underground fighting in WW2. But this is not really the story that the early portions had been building up to, so while the middle section is not bad, it is slower and seems out-of-place. Then when we return to the action of the Allied team rescuing a scientist held by fascists (none of which we see, hurting the film a lot), the impressive final shootout lacks the impact it should have had. And the movie takes a quick, easy way out of the situation, nullifying much of the suspense that had again been achieved and leaving a sour taste.

So despite all its small triumphs, Cloak and Dagger has to be classified a near- miss.

P.S. The best scene involves a struggle between Cooper and someone who has found him out. He has to keep the man from shouting for help to the policeman right outside. And then a little girl's ball bounces down the steps toward them, and she runs to retrieve it. How will our hero get out of this quickly and quietly enough to neither alert the cop nor make the girl scream...? It's admittedly great, edge-of-your- seat stuff, to rival any one scene in Hitch's canon.

See also: Hitchcock's early work; O.S.S.; Guns of Navarone; Across the Pacific; Night Train to Munich

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars why does everyone think its dated?, September 4, 2008

By 

Stephen Strong (texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cloak and Dagger (DVD)

i loved the film and the action scenes were well made.i never got the sense it was dated and i enjoyed the film all the way through.gary cooper acted nicely as always and this film is one reason why gary cooper is my favorite actor.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Coop, As A Snoop!, May 29, 2010

By 

Phoebe Stogstill (by the shores of Gitchee Gumee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cloak and Dagger (DVD)

Cloak And Dagger was made in '46, barely after the end of WWII. It is filled with the horrors of war and dangers of espionage, especially when attempted by scientists that have been recruited for the causes of their respective countries. The Coop-man makes a very interesting clandestine figure. The black and whites of this noir film are rich in texture, the shadowy contrasts, artistic. Robert Alda is both irritating and loveable as Pinky, and Lilly Palmer is a surprise as a possible romantic role to play off Cooper. The language of the movie contains Fascist and Nazi phrases which heighten the uneasiness of viewers as we await each new frighening development. The reason to watch any such movie is for the nail-biting suspense of seeing how the characters will get out of each new scrape and of course the main reason to watch it is Gary Cooper. He does not disappoint. His acting always appears effortless.