Secret Lives on AllMovie

The WW1 melodrama I Married a Spy was originally released in England in 1937 under the title Secret Lives (the title of the Paul de Sainte Colombe novel upon which it was based). German film favorite Birgitte Horney stars as Lena Schmidt, a Teutonic lass who is forced into a marriage of convenience with French lieutenent Pierre de Montmalion (played by Hollywood's Neil Hamilton). If she hopes to avoid deportation from her adopted country of Switzerland, Lena will have to act as a French spy against her German countrymen. Her dilemma is exacerbated by the fact that Lt. De Montmalion despises her, and has no qualms about telling her so. Ultimately, however, the two fall in love, making the film's tragic finale all the more poignant.