So Clever Are German Spies in Their Disguises... (1914)

[coltsuperocean10]

True storey! In WW2 The Germans built many wooden useless tanks to fool the English spy planes, and positioned them in Northern France. The English dropped wooden useless bombs on them!!

[crazyknight2008]

hehe the german spie was actually the man walking beside the horse after the paper inspection :)

[wbrown95]

TSA screenings happen off camera

[DirtyDefeatist]

belgian soldiers

[JimTLonW6]

There were many German atrocity" stories in WW1, I'm not sure that the evidence stacks up.

[BeppeSapone]

@JimTLonW6 There's plenty from WW2 to keep you happy

[ELcapalla2]

I've never seen a newsreel this old before, very interesting.

[turnersage]

I'm sure this is a Monty Python sketch?

[Botany101]

gotta love propaganda.

Still around today.

Always was and always shall be.

[kennethj1956]

If they were spies why didn't they arrest and shoot them? Why did they let them go? Were people in those days dim witted? Maybe like most people they were illiterate!

[womanofnoimportance]

@kennethj1956 Apparently the average viewer was more literate than you are ... they are NOT spies, but because spies are so good at disguising themselves, they could be, which is why they have their papers checked.

[chosenbabyfrom1980]

Oh im sure one of them was a spy and the guards would have been nun the wiser. :)

[Garramedia]

So. The cameraman said "Cut", stopped cranking the camera, moved it further back, focused, shouted "action!", everybody moved and continued the filming....

Hmmmmm!!!

[brutuscassius1]

I tried to post this before and it failed: the men are actually Belgian, as the distinctive 'top hat' headgear and caps with tassles on them suggest. You can find images of the top hat online. The Belgians later opted for a French style metal helmet.

[lamalo80]

@brutuscassius1 I think you are right. I think they are part of the Carabiniers (search in google for Karabiniers 1914).

[flyhead2]

Who could possibly pass over the chance of frisking a nun? It's been my burning ambition since I was 14......

[applecounty]

Ah! So you were educated by them as well were you!

[nogginthefroggin]

Captain Mainwaring would have just ignored them, lol.

[applecounty]

And probably would have let in the entire German army for doing so.

[nogginthefroggin]

hopefully not, he had enough trouble with a single U boat crew :o)

[applecounty]

The info panel talks of exploiting prejudices prevalent in both W/wars, and a tad sniffy to boot. One has to remember we are viewing this from 2009 and not 1914 or 1939. Interesting film all the same. Makes me wonder if it was intended to be part of a larger presentation.

[impbr]

Robbie Coltrane and Eric Idle surely.

[Project25o1]

PMSL kudos

[TheTriumphTR2]

"Dashed clever, those German chappies . . . and you'd best check that horse's passport too while you're at it!"