Secret Agent

On 10 May 1916, during the First World War, British Captain and novelist Edgar Brodie (Gielgud) returns home on leave, only to discover his obituary in the newspaper. He is brought to a man identifying himself only as "R", who asks him to undertake a secret mission: to identify and eliminate a German agent on his way to Arabia to stir up trouble in the Middle East. Upon agreeing, Brodie is given a new identity (Richard Ashenden), a fake death, and the assistance of a killer known variously as "the Hairless Mexican" and "the General" (Lorre), though he is neither bald, Mexican nor a general.