Like most film genres, the spy film developed from a literary tradition. This
can be dated to the first of the future war stories, G.T. Chesney's 'The Battle
of Dorking' (1871), describing a surprise Franco-Russian invasion of Britain. So
successful was the story (selling over 80,000 copies) that it spawned a series
of similar fictional accounts. However, the first real spy story was probably
William Le Queux's serial, 'The Great War in 1897' (published in book form in
1894). The serial outlined a French attack on Britain masterminded by a Russian
spy. Other authors followed suit: Rudyard Kipling's 'Kim' (1901), about Russian
advances in India; Erskine Childers' 'Riddle of the Sands' (1904) - filmed in 1978
- imagining a German invasion attempt, and Joseph Conrad's anarchists tale, 'The
Secret Agent' (1907) - filmed as Sabotage (d. Alfred Hitchcock, 1936).
So popular was this sensationalist literature that The Times newspaper
described it as "...[a] class of literature that is rapidly becoming a
nuisance." Indeed, questions were asked in Parliament, and various factions,
such as those advocating naval and military reform, seized on the books as an example of Britain's unpreparedness for invasion. Le Queux, and other authors,
continued to feed the public's imagination for sensational spy stories. His most
successful book, 'The Invasion of 1910' (published in 1906), sold over 1 million
copies and is probably the inspiration for the film The Invaders (d. Percy Stow,
1909).
Such scare stories were not confined to print. The play 'An Englishman's Home' ran for eighteen months from January 1909 and was filmed in 1914. Although the
nationality of the invaders was not mentioned, the ruler was coyly referred to
as the 'Emperor of the North', and the spiked helmets worn by the soldiers gave
the game away. So successful was the play that a recruiting office for the new
Territorial Army was set up in the foyer.
The genre increasingly reflected the international situation. At first, the
enemy was France or Russia, but over time these were gradually displaced by
Germany. Britain was at the height of its imperial power, Queen Victoria had
enjoyed a hugely successful jubilee in 1897 and the government followed an
international policy of 'Splendid Isolation', largely due to Britain's
superiority. However, growing colonial rivalries and developments within Europe
led to a gradual retreat from this policy. The near-defeat in the Boer War
(1899-1902) and the increasing rivalry with Germany (for colonies, industrial
strength and naval developments) led to Britain developing alliances with Japan
(1902), France (1904) and Russia (1907).
The German naval build-up proved a stumbling block to reconciliation with
Britain. The Royal Navy was seen as the defender of Britain and her empire, and
any attempt to outdo its numerical or technological advantage was seen as a
threat. Britain was to develop a new breed of battleship - HMS Dreadnought - and
in 1909 there was a public outcry when fewer battleships were expected to be
built. Many of the spy films would feature the Royal Navy, its personnel,
weapons or codes; indeed two of the main spy heroes were naval officers (as was
their successor, James Bond).
This naval race led to widespread Anti-German feeling, and The Daily Mail
newspaper offered the following advice: "Refuse to be served by an Austrian or
German waiter. If your waiter says he is Swiss, ask to see his passport!" A
series of newspaper articles appeared which seemed to support the fictional
accounts of a Britain overrun by spies. Claims that an army of German spies
masquerading as waiters and often working near naval bases or ports were printed
in newspapers and widely circulated. Estimates ranged from 50,000 to a highly
improbable military claim that 350,000 such spies were in Britain. The clamour
for government action led to the establishment, in 1909, of MI5, whose brief to
monitor espionage in Britain successfully resulted in the rounding up of all
German spies on the eve of the war. However, the hidden army failed to
materialise.
The anti-German feeling was a manifestation of Britain's increasing
xenophobia. The Russian pogroms on Jews had led to large-scale immigration of
eastern European Jews into Britain's urban centres. Widespread public alarm at
this alien immigration led to the Aliens Act 1905, requiring all aliens to
register while in Britain. Two films, The Alien Question and The Alien Invasion
(both 1905), highlighted the plight of British workers being forced out of their
employment by cheaper foreign (often Jewish) labour. The Invaders features
foreign soldiers disguised as Jewish tailors preying on the fear of the
alien.
Aliens were often seen as anarchists, and anarchists, in turn, as spies. Films frequently depicted anarchists as beard-wearing members of secret societies out to destroy Britain. Anarchy was associated with violent acts of terrorism, and there had been a number of high-profile assassination attempts
(notably American president William McKinley in 1901). Britain itself had
experienced the 1911 Sidney Street siege, in which anarchists fought off the
police and army.
Thus was laid the foundations for the development of the spy genre:
popular literature, fear of invasion, xenophobia and a stereotyped enemy. The
first spy films were merely re-enactments of real events from the Boer war
and later the Russo-Japanese War (1904). However, the invasion
literature, newspaper articles and increasing international tension led to a
flourishing of spy films. From 1909 there was a gradual build-up in their
production to a high point in 1914-15, when around 30 such films were made. This
peak reflected the outbreak of World War I and the genuine threat of invasion.
As the war progressed, the films' popularity waned, possibly as a result of the
continuing war and its hardships. The genre lay largely dormant in the postwar
years, to revive somewhat with the rise of Nazism and its new threat to the
British way of life.
Simon Baker
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