The year is 1940 and Nazi Germany is at the height of its military prowess, having captured most of Europe and eyeing the Soviet Union to the East. The Russian military command suspects hostile intent from Germany and so arranges for its spies to infiltrate ranks of the German military and the SS. Alexander Belov is a Russian spy, who travels from Soviet-held Latvia to Nazi Germany under an alias of Johann Weiss. His mastery of the German language, steel nerves and an ability to manipulate others help him to use his connections in the SS to ascend the ladder of the German intelligence. He uses his position to identify sympathetic Germans, who help him to procure vital intelligence, and to help local resistance movements in their collective fight against Nazism.
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Cast
130 people
Stanislav Lyubshin
Alexandr Belov / Johann Weiss
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Kin-dza-dza!
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Oleg Yankovsky
Heinrich Schwarzkopf
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Nostalgia
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Juozas Budraitis
Dietrich
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The Queen's Gambit
Black Lightning
Aleksey Glazyrin
Axel Steinglitz
Known for
Viy
Alla Demidova
Angelika Bucher
Known for
Mirror
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Algimantas Masiulis
Willy Schwarzkopf
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The Hearts of Three
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Anatoliy Verbitskiy
Gerd
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The Frog Princess
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Georgiy Martynyuk
Aleksey Zubov / Alois Hagen
Known for
Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №1. Testament of the Emperor
Valentina Titova
Nina
Known for
Mimino
Vatslav Dvorzhetsky
Landsdorf ist Abwehrmitarbeiter
Known for
Dead Man's Letters
To the Stars by Hard Ways
Christine Laszar
Brigitte
Also in
The Man with the Objective Lens
Far Is the Road
Wojciech Duryasz
Jerzy Czyzewski
Known for
The Witcher
Vladimir Basov Director · Vadim Kozhevnikov Screenplay Venyamin Basner Composer
First release August 19, 1968 · Produced in Russia, XG, Poland · Production DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme, Zespół Filmowy "Start"
Production
Mosfilm
Production
DEFA-Studio für Spielfilme
Production
Zespół Filmowy "Start"
Production
Russia · XG · Poland
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Щит и меч
Original language
Russian
Spoken on screen
Russian
Release dates
Russia · August 19, 1968
Theatrical · Films 1 & 2
No release date listed for United States.
Russia
September 3, 1968 · Theatrical · Films 3 & 4
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