One of our favourite films is 5 Fingers (1952), starring James Mason. It’s a spy thriller loosely based on a true story, as recounted by L.C. Moyzisch in his 1950 memoirs Der Fall Cicero (Operation Cicero). Moyzisch worked as a diplomat in the German embassy in Ankara, Turkey, during WWII.
In the film, Mason is the valet to the British ambassador in Ankara. Mason is, of course, an urbane, polished man with a secret: He photographs his boss’s Top Secret war documents and sells the film to the Germans.
His goal is to raise £200,000 (approx. £7M today) so he can go to Rio de Janeiro and live like a King in a villa overlooking the harbour. He makes a nice profit; each roll of illicit film sells for £15,000 a pop.
Officials at the British Embassy know documents are being leaked – Who’s the mole? – and they call in a security specialist (Michael Rennie). Rennie wonders about Mason, but isn’t convinced he has the fortitude to be a traitor.
Added to this, Mason becomes involved with a Polish Countess (Danielle Darrieux) in a Complicated relationship. Mason was valet to her late husband, so now things are Awkward. They have to make rules about who’s the Boss of What, so it’s not your typical affaire de coeur.
This is a tense, tense film, although it wouldn’t seem that way on paper. Frankly, there isn’t much chasing or shooting. Instead, there are a lot of discussions about money and security leaks.
So, when we recently re-watched 5 Fingers, it was startlingly obvious what made it so suspenseful, and we felt foolish for not having seen it before.
It’s the music. The music makes this movie what it is.
A relationship between power brokers. Image: Pinterest
Now, we don’t mean to take anything away from the skilled directing or the fabulous cast of 5 Fingers. You can’t improve upon either of those.
But this film depends on its music. For example, during the opening credits, Bernard Herrmann’s score immediately tells you this is a thriller set in the Middle East.
Herrmann’s score then focuses on two main issues. First, it tells us what is Significant. Even if we don’t yet understand why something is important, the music tells us to make a mental note.
Secondly, the score sets the tempo of the film. It paces the tension, infusing us with a greater sense of urgency than visuals alone provide.
And yet. When a climactic twist occurs, Herrmann refrains from using music until the character is caught in a No Win Situation, then the score jump starts a desperate run for survival.
When you think about it, it’s almost as though this movie were created for Herrmann’s score.
Herrmann in the 1960s. Image: The Bernard Herrmann Society
Herrmann began his career in radio in 1934 at CBS, and he eventually became chief conductor for the CBS Symphony Orchestra. He worked with Orson Welles during this time, including Welles’s infamous The War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938.
His first film score was also in association with Welles, Citizen Kane (1941), for which he received an Oscar nomination.
Herrmann is best known for his collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock. He scored seven Hitchcock films, starting with The Trouble with Harry (1955), and ending with Marnie (1964). It was he who created the piercing music for the shower scene in Psycho.
His final film score was for Taxi Driver (1976). Sources say Herrmann finished work on the film on December 23, 1975, then viewed a rough cut of his next project. He returned to his hotel room that evening, and died from a heart attack in his sleep.
He won an Oscar,for The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941), and was nominated for four more times, including his final film, Taxi Driver.
If you want to experience Bernard Herrmann’s work in an exceptional thriller, give 5 Fingers a go. It’ll be worth your time.
This post is part of The Bernard Herrmann Blogathon, hosted by The Classic Movie Muse.
5 Fingers: starringJames Mason, Danielle Darrieux, Michael Rennie. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Written by Michael Wilson. Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952, B&W, 108 mins.
5 Fingers is indeed an excellent movie. I thought it was the true story aspect, the location shooting, that ironic ending, and perhaps that crush I have on Michael Rennie that drew me to it. No! It was the subtle manipulation by the master, Bernard Herrmann all the time. I really must watch, pardon me, listen to this movie again soon.
I haven’t yet seen Odd Man Out, but when I do, I know I’ll be happy for the heads up. As for 5 Fingers, I really hope you get the chance to see it. I think you’d really like it.
Oh yes, James Mason is great in everything, isn’t he? He’s a terrific spy here – cocky one minute, afraid the next. I don’t want to say too much in case I give anything away.
Ruth, I can’t wait to see this movie, it sounds like a winner! Love your take that the music sells the movie. I will be keeping your comments in mind as I happily indulge in this thriller for the first time. Thanks so much for participating in my blogathon with this excellent post!! 🙂
I love Bernard Herrmann–I studied him when I took a course on Hitchcock when I was doing my film degree. And James Mason is wonderful–my favourite was when he played Watson in Murder By Decree!
It’s nice to see one of Herrmann’s lesser-acclaimed scores get some love. As you wrote, it works amazingly well with the movie and is more proof that Herrmann was truly one of the great movie composers.
I watched 5 Fingers (I liked it a lot) before I knew who Herrmann was, so I need to rewatch it. Anyhow, thanks for highlighting one of Bernie’s less discussed music scores.
I totally agree with you that certain movies get superbly enhanced with music. I need to watch this James Mason movie and check Herrmann’s work. Thank you for sharing this interesting post!
First off, I love your post’s title, “Music for Clever Spies”. Cute! 🙂 Also, I LOVE the sleek look of your site. Very chic and sophisticated – perfect for classic films.
James Mason is one of my favorites, but I have yet to see this movie. However, your post makes me want to remedy that soon. 🙂
Like you, this blogathon helped me step back and realize the powerful impact Hermann’s scores added to his films. (In my case, it was Pyscho, which you mentioned here. Before writing my post, it had not dawned on me that the infamous “knife noise” was actually music!) What an incredible talent he had.
I’m glad I participated in this blogathon (my very first, actually!), as it’s opening me up to this brilliant composer whose work is totally new to me – and introducing me to more bloggers along the way. 🙂 I enjoyed reading your post. If you haven’t yet, I’d love for you to check out my entry on Psycho. Thanks! 🙂
(I accidentally posted my comment twice. 😦 There was some sort of weirdness going on with WordPress, and it asked me to sign in again – so I didn’t think my comment went through the first time. I now realize they both did – and this will make three. :p I’m sorry. They’re basically the same, so feel free to delete one – plus this one, too, once you’ve read it. Thanks!)
5 Fingers is such a gem. It’s one of my favorite movies as well, and rewatching it recently made me see and hear things that had passed by me the first time around. I know what you mean when you write about this film almost existing to have a Bernard Herrmann score: it’s a perfect soundtrack, like almost all of Herrmann’s.
Greetings!
Le
I’m not very musical, and the first few times I saw the film, I took almost no notice of the music. Happily, this blogathon made me pay closer attention.
Silver Screenings 
5 Fingers is indeed an excellent movie. I thought it was the true story aspect, the location shooting, that ironic ending, and perhaps that crush I have on Michael Rennie that drew me to it. No! It was the subtle manipulation by the master, Bernard Herrmann all the time. I really must watch, pardon me, listen to this movie again soon.
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Agreed! I love it for all the reasons you pointed out – especially the ending. This film is a gem.
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Hi. How goes it? I didn’t know about this film. I like James Mason. Have you seen Odd Man Out? It’s a good one, and he’s good in it.
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I haven’t yet seen Odd Man Out, but when I do, I know I’ll be happy for the heads up. As for 5 Fingers, I really hope you get the chance to see it. I think you’d really like it.
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Nice post Ruth! This does get my attention immediately with James Mason… sounds very intriguing. Hope all good with you.
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Oh yes, James Mason is great in everything, isn’t he? He’s a terrific spy here – cocky one minute, afraid the next. I don’t want to say too much in case I give anything away.
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You have got me intrigued now. Just saw him recently in The Last of Sheila. He totally stole every scene from the all Star cast.
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He does that, doesn’t he? It’s hard to think of a film where James Mason isn’t missed when he’s not on screen.
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That’s so true, he adds gravitas and presence to the smallest of roles,
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Ruth, I can’t wait to see this movie, it sounds like a winner! Love your take that the music sells the movie. I will be keeping your comments in mind as I happily indulge in this thriller for the first time. Thanks so much for participating in my blogathon with this excellent post!! 🙂
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Bernard Herrmann’s score is pure brilliance – and if you hadn’t hosted this blogathon, I probably wouldn’t have paid proper attention to it.
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I love Bernard Herrmann–I studied him when I took a course on Hitchcock when I was doing my film degree. And James Mason is wonderful–my favourite was when he played Watson in Murder By Decree!
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Ooh – I’ve yet to see Murder By Decree. For a self-proclaimed James Mason fan, I’ve got a lot of movie catching-up to do.
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He’s so good in it. The scene with the peas gets me laughing every time!
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It’s nice to see one of Herrmann’s lesser-acclaimed scores get some love. As you wrote, it works amazingly well with the movie and is more proof that Herrmann was truly one of the great movie composers.
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This blogathon has helped me appreciate his talent even more. A true genius.
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I watched 5 Fingers (I liked it a lot) before I knew who Herrmann was, so I need to rewatch it. Anyhow, thanks for highlighting one of Bernie’s less discussed music scores.
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I’m a little chagrined for not realizing before how brilliant the score is.
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I totally agree with you that certain movies get superbly enhanced with music. I need to watch this James Mason movie and check Herrmann’s work. Thank you for sharing this interesting post!
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It’s a terrific movie. I hope you enjoy! 🙂
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First off, I love your post’s title, “Music for Clever Spies”. Cute! 🙂 Also, I LOVE the sleek look of your site. Very chic and sophisticated – perfect for classic films.
James Mason is one of my favorites, but I have yet to see this movie. However, your post makes me want to remedy that soon. 🙂
Like you, this blogathon helped me step back and realize the powerful impact Hermann’s scores added to his films. (In my case, it was Pyscho, which you mentioned here. Before writing my post, it had not dawned on me that the infamous “knife noise” was actually music!) What an incredible talent he had.
I’m glad I participated in this blogathon (my very first, actually!), as it’s opening me up to this brilliant composer whose work is totally new to me – and introducing me to more bloggers along the way. 🙂 I enjoyed reading your post. If you haven’t yet, I’d love for you to check out my entry on Psycho. Thanks! 🙂
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Ack! I wonder what happened with the commenting? I’m sorry to hear it was a bit of an annoying process.
This blogathon was a great idea, wasn’t it? I have so much more resoect for Herrmann’s talents now.
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(I accidentally posted my comment twice. 😦 There was some sort of weirdness going on with WordPress, and it asked me to sign in again – so I didn’t think my comment went through the first time. I now realize they both did – and this will make three. :p I’m sorry. They’re basically the same, so feel free to delete one – plus this one, too, once you’ve read it. Thanks!)
LikeLiked by 2 people
5 Fingers is such a gem. It’s one of my favorite movies as well, and rewatching it recently made me see and hear things that had passed by me the first time around. I know what you mean when you write about this film almost existing to have a Bernard Herrmann score: it’s a perfect soundtrack, like almost all of Herrmann’s.
Greetings!
Le
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I’m not very musical, and the first few times I saw the film, I took almost no notice of the music. Happily, this blogathon made me pay closer attention.
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Another one for the watchlist–it looks so good. 🙂
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I hope you get the chance to see it. The suspense is Top Notch (thanks to the music).
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