The Argyle Secrets (1948)

(On Cable TV, October 2022) The question beckons: Is The Argyle Secrets a film noir, or a subtle spoof of one? You can blame a lot on the film’s production circumstances, with a $100,000 budget and seven days of shooting—granted, those things went a lot farther in 1948 than today, but still: the entire production has the feeling of something shot quickly and cheaply, not really caring about the details. Inevitably, the slap-dash script and face-slapping casualness of the acting can feel as if it’s lampooning the seriousness of the subject matter. This is, after all, one of the rare 1940s films to suggest that American government benefited from naturalizing Nazi scientists (a historical fact, just not acknowledged at the time). But it’s in the execution that The Argyle Secrets either gets sloppy or funny. As our framed reported protagonist goes around collecting clues, he slaps a woman in the face and strangles another with her consent—bits of business that now appear more alien than the cheap sets and black-and-white cinematography. The chaotic plotting is difficult to follow, but director Cy Endfield (who would later direct the far slicker Zulu) keeps things hopping for a snappy 64 minutes. As a poverty row production, The Argyle Secrets is better than slick—it’s lively.