From the success of the written works, spy films began as simple reenactments of real-life events in war, and increasing international tensions in the early 20th century laid the groundwork for the spy genre to become particularly successful, peak with World War I, then reach a lull. The success of the serial inspired various other authors, such as Rudyard Kipling, to venture into this new written territory. Developing from the literary genre as early as the late 1800s, the first true piece of spy literature was a serial entitled “The Great War in 1897” by William Le Queux. Since the silent era of film, spy films have been offering up a certain kind of escapism for movie-going audiences.
