In a 1989 National radio interview, John Le Carre said a spy, by definition, has to be entertaining. He has to interest potential sources, and be able to draw people in, if he is to succeed in recruiting an informant. Therefore, the spy is an ideal subject for the screen. "Onscreen and Undercover", the last volume in the author's 'spy trilogy', provides a history of spies in the movies, with an emphasis on the stories these films present. Since the days of the silent documentary short, spying has been a staple of the movie business. It has been the subject of thrillers, melodramas, political films, romances, and endless parodies as well. But, despite the developing mistrust of the spy as a figure of hope and good works, the variable relationship between real spying and screen spying over the past 100 years sheds a curious light on just how we live, what we fear, who we admire, and what we want our culture - and our world - to become. The book describes now-forgotten trends, traces surprising themes, and spotlights the major contributions of directors, actors, and other American and British artists.