The various subgenres of crime fiction were not only essential for shaping ideas about crime and defining the boundaries of social order but also for influencing audience perceptions of agency and active participation in everyday social(ist) life. Solving a crime, uncovering sabotage, or decoding a spy game often required proactive, goal-oriented heroes. In this sense, crime stories can also be seen as unique catalogues of concepts and values regarding action and agency. This makes the methods of detective and police as an institution and the characters of those pursuing justice particularly intriguing.

The secret agents and investigators of Cold War-era socialist spy films and crime stories formed a diverse gallery of characters. Among these, three unwavering heroes of Eastern European socialist spy tales stand out as icons: Poland’s Captain Kloss in the series More than Life at Stake (1968), the Soviet Colonel Isaev (known as Stirlitz) in the series Seventeen Moments of Spring (1973), and East Germany’s Stasi agent Werner Bredebusch in the series The Invisible Visitor (1973–1979). In Hungary, the first two heroes – and the series recounting their adventures – enjoyed particular popularity. Stanisław Mikulski, who played the lead in the Polish series, even appeared in Róbert Bán’s 1971 crime film The Killer Is in the House (A gyilkos a házban van) Captain Tímár.

These three socialist spy series were not cut from the same cloth. More than Life at Stake was a classic spy story centered on a Polish superspy embedded in the German military elite during World War II. As the Polish film historian Mikołaj Kunicki observed in his article on Socialist 007 spy stories, Captain Kloss was an Eastern European substitute for James Bond, whose wartime adventures often played out in luxurious settings with champagne and fragrant cigar smoke. Conversely, the Soviet series featured a much more ascetic portrayal of Stirlitz, a Soviet spy embedded among the Germans. The focus shifted from lavish settings to intricate conspiracies. Furthermore, the East German series moved its narrative to the early Cold War, with Stasi agent Werner Bredebusch, played by Armin-Mueller Stahl, working in exotic locations to foil anti-socialist conspiracies by former Nazis and American circles.

While the „big three” socialist spy series became icons, it seems that Hungarian and Czechoslovak productions gravitated towards genre parodies. Hungary contributed György Révész’s 1969 film The Lion Is Ready to Jump (Az oroszlán ugrani készül), while Czechoslovakia offered Václav Vorlíček’s 1967 The Most Secret Agent – W4C. Despite the prevalence of spy films in the Eastern Bloc, especially in the 1960s, Hungarian pop culture embraced István Bujtor’s parody character, Cool Head, from The Lion Is Ready to Jump, as its equivalent to James Bond.

Adventure series set against the backdrop of 20th-century historical upheavals were represented in Hungarian screen culture not by spy stories but by Bors (1969–1972), set between the two World Wars, and I’ll Be There in an Hour (Egy óra múlva itt vagyok, 1971–1974), set during World War II. However, the heroes of these series – Máté Bors and Vince Láng – were resourceful survivors more than determined agents. Though they occasionally adopted disguises and false identities, they were closer to the opportunistic, survival-driven characters of the legendary Hungarian WWII war comedy, The Corporal and the Others (A tizedes meg a többiek, 1965) than the goal-oriented heroes of Polish, Soviet, or East German spy tales.

Similarly, in the realm of crime series, the unwavering, vigilant guardians of socialism were often found in films and series from other Eastern Bloc countries rather than in Hungarian productions. For example, the Czechoslovak television series The Cases of Major Zeman chronicled Czechoslovakia’s post-1945 triumphant development and socialist transformation over 30 episodes in the 1970s. Each episode revolved around a specific crime with significant political implications, often based on real events, and Major Zeman’s heroism became synonymous with the narrative of Czechoslovak socialism.

In contrast, Hungary’s contemporary crime series, such as Kántor, presented a different approach. As Zsolt K. Horváth noted in his study, the police dog Kántor, that was modelled in the titular character in the series, worked during post-1956 years, often near the western border, thus his stories were directly connected to overt political and ideological topics of the Hungarian 1950s and post-Stalinist restauration. However, the Kántor TV series (1970s) avoided overt political themes, setting its stories in a more neutral context. Kántor, the exceptional dog, was discovered and nurtured by the clumsy yet kind-hearted Sergeant Csupati, whose limited capabilities were perfectly complemented by Kántor’s prowess. Unlike the superhuman socialist crime fighters of other Eastern Bloc series, Kántor embraced a more human-faced hero and his capable canine partner.

In socialist Hungarian crime films and series, resolute and effective detectives were rare. As Tüske Zsuzsanna noted in her article, Hungarian socialist thrillers often followed a „law of inertia.” A rare exception was the earlier mentioned The Killer Is in the House, but even here, the imported image of Stanisław Mikulski as Captain Kloss might have shaped viewer perceptions. Many Hungarian detectives were less active and successful. For example, the protagonist of the 1970s psychological thriller Defect, the protagonist, Gedeon was sharp-witted but clumsy in action. Though he discerned the pattern of a serial killer, he failed to act decisively and literally slept through critical events, leaving the final confrontation to the would-be victim.

By the 1980s, Hungarian crime fiction saw the emergence of two determined and capable detectives: Ötvös Csöpi and Linda Veszprémi. Csöpi, the protagonist of the successful crime comedy films was a tough and individualist detective (modelled on Bud Spencer’s character, Piedone), meanwhile Linda, the moped-riding, clog-wearing Budapest detective proved intelligent and effective both on the field and in action. However, both were rebellious figures: Csöpi was often suspended or reprimanded, while Linda was underestimated by her superiors. Yet, their success resonated in a softened late-Kádárist world increasingly oriented toward market dynamics rather than strict ideology.