The Argyle Secrets (1948)

The Argyle Secrets (1948) is a zany meta low budget fun and mysterious film noir parody item that while styled on such noir as The Maltese Falcon, does try to either massively plagiarise another work of art altogether, while concealing the fact in the copying of other mystery hits.

As an almighty act of cobbling together The Argyle Secrets (1948)

The Argyle Secrets (1948) exemplifies the creative opportunities and limitations of post-war Hollywood, a period marked by declining studio power and the rise of independent production. Changes in tax law, the fallout from the Paramount antitrust case, and declining audience numbers in 1947 all contributed to the weakening of the major studios, creating space for new production companies to emerge. 

At the same time, the political climate was shifting with the first hearings of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), although their full impact was not yet felt.

Despite operating on a minimal budget and an eight-day shooting schedule, The Argyle Secrets showcases some of the innovative storytelling techniques and styles of the postwar era. Endfield adapted the screenplay from his earlier radio script for CBS's Suspense series, performed in 1945. The script drew inspiration from the detective genre, particularly The Maltese Falcon (1941), but added a sharper political edge. 

It is believed that the political theme of Americans collaborating with Nazis may have been influenced by the play Decision (1943), which Endfield became aware of while serving at Camp Crowder.

The production of The Argyle Secrets (1948) exemplifies the financial and creative challenges of independent filmmaking in postwar Hollywood. Despite securing a modest budget of $125,000, director Cy Endfield, alongside producers Sam X. Abarbanel and Alan H. Posner, had to find additional funding. Each man borrowed $5,000 from friends at 6 percent interest, with profits as an incentive. 

Endfield's former Yale roommate, Albert Bildner, played a crucial role in this process, contributing funds and earning an assistant producer credit. Further financing came from silent film archivist Raymond Rohauer, who provided the final needed bond.

With financing in place, filming commenced over a tight nine-day schedule, mostly on studio soundstages, with only a single exterior shoot. Despite the constraints, the film came in $12,000 under budget. Endfield took pride in the project, his first solo writing and directing effort, which he completed at age thirty-three. 

Flatiron building filmed in film noir The Argyle Secrets (1948)

The film fits neatly within the visual and thematic styles of hard-boiled crime melodrama and the emerging genre of film noir, incorporating stock shots and moody lighting to heighten the sense of danger and intrigue.

Politically, The Argyle Secrets was notable for its sharp critique of American elites and their alleged dealings with Nazi collaborators, a bold theme in the early postwar period. The plot centers on a missing album of names, a MacGuffin reminiscent of The Maltese Falcon, but with a more politically charged twist. This element added depth to the film’s crime narrative, turning it into a reflection on wartime profiteering and corporate interests.

The production encountered last-minute negotiations with the Production Code Administration (PCA) over the portrayal of violence and sexual content. A scene between the lead characters Harry Mitchell (William Gargan) and Marla (Marjorie Lord) was toned down, with a symbolic coffee pot boiling shot cut and replaced with a more conservative dissolve. 

Despite these compromises, the film remains a significant early example of Endfield’s work, showcasing his ability to blend genre conventions with politically charged narratives.

Endfield collaborated with first-time producers Sam X. Abarbanel and Alan H. Posner to bring The Argyle Secrets to the screen. Abarbanel had a background in Hollywood marketing, while Posner, a wealthy Yale graduate, helped raise $125,000 for the film through their newly formed production company, Eronel Productions. They approached Endfield with the opportunity to direct the film if he could provide a script, which led to the creation of his first full-length auteur effort.

The Argyle Secrets (1948) is a complex and darkly atmospheric film that intertwines political intrigue with classic noir elements. Jonathan Rosenbaum has described the film’s plot as a “surreal overload,” highlighting its labyrinthine nature. The story centers on Harry Mitchell, a journalist who becomes embroiled in a dangerous quest to locate the elusive Argyle Album, a document containing records of American business elites who collaborated with Nazis during World War II to secure their financial interests, regardless of the war’s outcome.

Expressionist dream / drugs / violence hallucinations in film noir The Argyle Secrets (1948)

The film opens with Mitchell visiting political columnist Allen Pierce in the hospital, where Pierce dies under suspicious circumstances before he can reveal anything about the album. In a striking directorial touch, Pierce’s death is symbolized by a shot of a dripping faucet that abruptly stops, signifying the end of his life. From this moment, Mitchell is thrust into a high-stakes chase, pursued by various nefarious characters who also seek the album.

Mitchell is not depicted as a hero, but rather as a morally ambiguous figure. He is driven by a vague sense of obligation to uncover the truth, but his motivations are never fully clear. Unlike the hard-boiled detectives of traditional noir films, such as Humphrey Bogart’s character in The Maltese Falcon, Mitchell is not particularly likable or noble. 

His journey is marked by violence and betrayal, including a brutal beating at the hands of Winter, the film’s antagonist. Winter, played by Austrian Jewish refugee John Banner, leads a gang that seeks the album for its own purposes. Marla, Winter’s associate, reveals the album’s political significance to Mitchell, explaining that it holds evidence of treasonous deals made by wealthy Americans during the war.

The film’s climax takes place in a shadowy waterfront salvage store, where Mitchell faces Winter and his henchmen in an almost pitch-black scene. The intense confrontation, heightened by the threat of an acetylene torch, ends with Mitchell escaping as his enemies turn on each other. Yet, even as Mitchell locates the album, the ending is devoid of triumph or closure.

The Argyle Secrets (1948) unfolds as a tightly constructed, noir-infused mystery involving political intrigue, murder, and the pursuit of a dangerous dossier, the Argyle Album. This album, similar to a dossier, is said to contain the names of prominent Americans who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II. 

The film kicks off when veteran journalist Allen Pierce, on the verge of revealing the contents of the Argyle Album, is admitted to a hospital and soon dies under suspicious circumstances. Harry Mitchell, a fellow reporter, is the last person to see Pierce alive and quickly becomes embroiled in a high-stakes chase to uncover the secrets of the album.

After Pierce's death, Harry finds himself in the crosshairs of Lieutenant Samuel Seward Samson, the Homicide detective investigating the murder. The stakes rise when Harry discovers Pierce has been stabbed, and his photographer, Pinky, is also found dead in the hospital room. The mysterious deaths happen without any witnesses, making it a classic locked-room mystery. As Harry becomes the prime suspect, he embarks on a desperate search for answers.

Harry’s investigation leads him to Pierce's hotel room, where he encounters Elizabeth Court, Pierce’s secretary, and later the larger-than-life figure of Panama Archie Boleyn, a swordstick-wielding character reminiscent of Sydney Greenstreet’s Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon.

In typical noir fashion, Harry faces a series of manipulative figures, including femme fatale Marla and the sinister Winters, who lead a gang of thugs hoping to get their hands on the album. Marla, using seduction and deception, reveals that the Argyle Album contains records of Americans who secretly aided the Nazis, a discovery made during the chaos of a bombing. Now, Winters intends to use the album for blackmail.

As Harry evades danger, he finds himself in several darkly comedic situations, such as hiding in the apartment of a violinist's family and trying to avoid detection from the violinist’s cop brother, Melvyn, who is reading the newspaper with Harry’s face splashed across the front page. This scene provides a rare moment of levity in an otherwise tense narrative, with the film winking at its own absurdity while still maintaining a serious tone.

The climax of the film occurs in a dockyard office where Harry confronts Jor McBrad, a marine salvage agent and smuggler who had originally sold the album to Pierce. In a chaotic final scene, Panama Archie re-emerges to kill Jor, but a botched shootout ensues, resulting in both characters' deaths.

While The Argyle Secrets may not stand out for its visual flair, Cy Endfield’s direction keeps the story moving with brisk efficiency, focusing more on the tangled plot than the atmosphere. The political edge of the narrative, centered on treason and corruption, gives the film a uniquely sharp noir sensibility, turning the pursuit of the Argyle Album into a commentary on the moral compromises of wartime and postwar America

The film’s femme fatale, Marla, played by Marjorie Lord, is a duplicitous character who manipulates Mitchell, though he remains emotionally detached from her. Lt. Samson, the detective on the case, serves as a hapless figure, oblivious to the larger conspiracy at play.

In the end, Mitchell, for all his flaws, is the only one who grasps the gravity of the situation, though his lack of idealism and moral clarity leaves the viewer unsettled. The film’s bleak tone and politically charged narrative reflect the disillusionment of postwar America, making The Argyle Secrets a distinctive entry in the noir genre.

To secure funding, the producers contributed a modest $3,000 initially, with the Bank of America providing a loan for 70 percent of the budget. Distribution was guaranteed by Film Classics, a company impressed with Endfield's screenplay. 

The rest of the budget was raised through deferred salaries and agreements with suppliers, allowing the film to be completed within its tight financial constraints. Despite these challenges, The Argyle Secrets remains a significant milestone in Endfield's early career, representing the possibilities for innovation in low-budget, independent filmmaking.

The Argyle Secrets (1948)

Directed by Cy Endfield

Genres - Drama, Mystery-Suspense, Romance  |   Release Date - May 7, 1948  |   Run Time - 64 min.