Ivor Montagu

Film critic, author and filmmaker Ivor Montagu devoted most of his life to his two passions: cinema and leftist politics. Following studies at the Royal College of Science--where he obtained a degree in zoology and botany--and studies at King's College, Cambridge, where he earned a masters in zoology, Montagu turned towards pursuing his interest in film. He and Sidney Bernstein established the London Film Society, the first film club devoted to showing art films and independent films, in 1925. Over the years Montagu imported films, showed them and eventually began writing, producing, directing and editing his own short films. He also became a film critic, the first to work at such publications as "The Observer". His leftist political leanings led him to a long-term friendship with acclaimed Russian director Sergei M. Eisenstein, and for a time Montagu traveled with the great filmmaker across Europe and to Hollywood (he later he published an account of this journey in "With Eisenstein in Hollywood").

Founder of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and its first president, from 1926-1967.

For a time during the 1930s Montagu produced a few Alfred Hitchcock films including The 39 Steps (1935). During the Spanish Civil War he went to Spain to make propaganda films for the Republicans.

Once back in England he compiled some of that footage to make "Peace and Plenty" (1939). Montagu became interested in television in the late '50s and focused his energies there.

According to the book "Operation Mincemeat" by Ben Macintyre, Montagu was a spy for the Soviet GRU during World War II, as confirmed by decoded Russian messages through April 1942. His code name was "Intelligentsia" and he was head of a spy ring code-named the X group.

Inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.