Garbo: The Spy

If you ever read Graham Greene's “Our Man in Havana,” or saw the classic screen version starring Alec Guinness, you'll remember the main character was a British spy who duped his handlers into thinking he had a huge network of agents. Juan Pujol Garcia was a real-life spy in the same mold. A Barcelona-born World War II double agent who worked for the British while convincing the Germans he was their man, Pujol was at one point getting paid for the support of 27 entirely fictional agents. Known simultaneously by his code names Arabel (German) and Garbo (British), Pujol had a key role in the success of Operation Fortitude, misleading the Germans about the timing and location of the Invasion of Normandy. In recounting Pujol's fascinatingly bold story, Spanish filmmaker Edmon Roch interviews Spanish and English espionage historians, including an American Countess who worked in Spain as a spy. GARBO: THE SPY stylishly intercuts archival footage with excerpts from spy movies, including, of course, “Our Man in Havana.” Shortly after the war, word got out that the great Juan Pujol Garcia had died. But this international man of mystery had one last trick up his sleeve… (In English, Catalan, Spanish, and German with subtitles) – B.B.