Spy movie guides
Top 10 Non-Woke Spy Movies
Some spies wear tuxedos; others spend the film trying not to be noticed. These picks cover both, along with surveillance, double lives, and missions that go wrong.
Ranked list
The top picks
- 1
The 39 Steps (1935)
IMDb7.6out of 10Older title, not reviewedA man at a London music hall ends up with a dead woman in his flat and a half-heard secret in his head, then runs north with the police and the spies both behind him. Hitchcock invented most of the wrong-man chase grammar here, handcuffs and crowded trains included.
Best for
Viewers who want Hitchcock's brisk template for the innocent man in an espionage chase.
- 2
How we picked these
We looked for spy films with tradecraft, deception, divided loyalty, pursuit, and geopolitical stakes that remain compelling after their original headlines faded.
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