Name: A Compassionate Spy
Genre: Documentary
Released: 2023-08-04T00:00:00.000Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Rating: 72
Cast: Joan Hall, Ted Hall, Joseph Albright, Daniel Axelrod, Tom Goodwin

2023
1 h 41 m

2023
1 h 41 m

Summary A Compassionate Spy is a gripping real-life spy thriller about controversial Manhattan Project physicist Ted Hall, who infamously provided nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union, told through the perspective of his loving wife Joan, who protected his secret for decades. Recruited in 1944 as an 18-year-old Harvard undergraduate to help Rober...

Documentary

Directed By: Steve James

2023
1 h 41 m

2023
1 h 41 m

A Compassionate Spy

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

User Score Available after 4 ratings

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Where to Watch

Documentary

Directed By: Steve James

Where to Watch

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

90% Positive
18 Reviews

10% Mixed
2 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

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Metascore

Generally Favorable Based on 20 Critic Reviews

90% Positive
18 Reviews

10% Mixed
2 Reviews

0% Negative
0 Reviews

All Reviews
Positive Reviews
Mixed Reviews
Negative Reviews

100

The Guardian

Mar 22, 2023

James’s sleek telling excels at intertwining the personal and the political with illuminating detail.

By Phil Hoad FULL REVIEW

Los Angeles Times

Aug 4, 2023

This absorbing, thoughtful film doesn’t take sides; that’s not James’ way.

By Noel Murray FULL REVIEW

TheWrap

Sep 9, 2022

It’s worth being reminded by James’s layered, grippingly told account of a principled betrayal that when it comes to the biggest threats facing the globe, sometimes one person in the right circumstance can make a difference.

By Robert Abele FULL REVIEW

Chicago Sun-Times

Aug 3, 2023

The film leaves no doubt Ted Hall was a brilliant man, and that he and Joan had a beautiful marriage. His legacy beyond that remains a subject of intense debate.

By Richard Roeper FULL REVIEW

The New York Times

Aug 3, 2023

The general impression given by this warm, low-key film is that the spying was a simple act of pacifism. Countervailing voices are faint and few; anyone seeking more vigorous pushback will have to look elsewhere.

By Jeannette Catsoulis FULL REVIEW

Washington Post

Aug 1, 2023

A Compassionate Spy is less a full companion piece to “Oppenheimer” than an intriguing sidebar.

By Michael O'Sullivan FULL REVIEW

The Daily Beast

Aug 4, 2023

A Compassionate Spy takes a far more rose-tinted, one-note view of Hall—a tack that requires skirting past major conflicting particulars and eschewing the very uncertainty that Hall himself exhibits in numerous archival interviews.

By Nick Schager FULL REVIEW

See All 20 Critic Reviews

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Details

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Production Company Kartemquin Films, Mitten Media, Participant

Release Date Aug 4, 2023

Duration 1 h 41 m

Genres

Documentary

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Awards

Sofia International Film Festival

• 1 Nomination

It's All True - International Documentary Film Festival

• 1 Nomination

Americana Film Fest

• 1 Nomination

Where to Watch

Where to Watch

Top Cast

Joan Hall

Self

Ted Hall

Self

Joseph Albright

Self

Daniel Axelrod

Tom Goodwin

FBI Agent 3

Edward N. Hall

Self

Sara Hall

Self

Marcia Kunstel

Self

Ruth London

Self

Mickey O'Sullivan

FBI Agent Robert McQueen

Ethel Rosenberg

Self

Julius Rosenberg

Self

Boria Sax

Self

Sarah Sax

Self

Saville Sax

Self

Iosif Stalin

Self

Harry Truman

Self

Lucy Zukaitis

Joan Hall

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

Critic Reviews

User Reviews

User Reviews

Details

Details

Awards

Awards

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