Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Before viewing this film on DVD or TCM, I recommend clicking on this You Tube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw4_xmUgo3w&feature=related It'll give you a lot of perspective on German Nazi ambitions before 12/7/41 here in the states. Hitler's theory was "why not America?" Afterall, he had used his pre-war excuse of bringing together all Germans under Third Reich rule as a pretext for marching into the Rhineland, the Austrian Anschluss, the Sudetenland, all of Czechoslovakia, the Polish Corridor and the Polish city of Gdansk renamed Danzig by the Germans. "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" conveys a clear cut message which was to destroy the United States from within. I found the film to be quite compelling and well acted. I refrain from discussing plots when writing a review because plots can easily be read on IMDb however I will say that Edward G.Robinson comes across perfectly as the G-man investigator of the subversives. Also plaudits go to the convincing acting of three Nazi agents, Francis Lederer, George Sanders and especially Paul Lukas.

source: Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Exciting espionage picture from Warner Bros. that holds the distinction of being the first explicitly anti-Nazi movie made in America. Star Edward G. Robinson doesn't appear until nearly midway through the film. The first half of the movie is about the various characters involved in a Nazi spy ring. Robinson plays an FBI agent who catches one German-American (Frances Lederer) acting as a spy and uses him to try and nab bigger Nazi fish. Fascinating from a historical perspective but also gripping entertainment. It was based on a real case, which might explain why it has this realistic feel to it that you don't often see in pictures of the time. For example they don't even catch all the bad guys in the end. I'm surprised the Code allowed that as it usually called for all evil-doers to be punished. The newsreel-style narration is also a nice touch. The cast is good with (mostly) solid performances from everyone. Frances Lederer is hammy but he grows on you after awhile. Paul Lukas and George Sanders play Nazis. Sanders is good and Lukas is fantastic in the film's meatiest role. Robinson is also great in an understated performance. Given that this is WB we're dealing with, there's of course a wonderful supporting cast featuring the likes of Joe Sawyer, Dorothy Tree, and many German actors (some of whom used fake names to protect their families back in Germany). "You guys are worse than gangsters" shouts one man when he's thrown out of a German American Bund meeting for expressing a dissenting opinion. There's some humor in that, I suppose, since WB was the pioneer of the gangster movie. But they would also make some of the best ant-Nazi war films during WW2. In many ways, this could be seen as their first step in that direction.

I'd never heard of this film but when I saw it in the cable lineup for Turner Classics this morning I had to be there, especially with Edgar G. Robinson heading the cast. Interestingly, Robinson doesn't even appear until about half way into the picture as an FBI agent hot on the trail of a German-American turned Nazi spy. I have to admit, there were times the story got pretty chilling for me the way it portrayed Nazi infiltration into American daily life look so easy to do. The blind obedience to Adolph Hitler professed by Dr. Karl Kassel (Paul Lukas) in his speeches to local bund gatherings is somewhat hard to imagine today, but then again, I've seen era footage of a Hitler rally in Madison Square Garden, so I have to believe this wouldn't have been impossible. What I thought was pretty cool was the way Agent Renard (Robinson) got Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer) to crack, playing to his vanity and sense of self importance. No doubt the job was made easier by Schneider's inability to make his spy activities pay off in a big way with his German contact Schlager (George Sanders). It's also noteworthy to mention how Germans in the film reacted in horror to the mere mention of the word 'Gestapo'; every time it was uttered it brought on a near panic attack. I'm really curious how this film was received back when first released. Gallup polls taken in 1936 showed that only one in twenty Americans were in favor of America getting involved in another war, but it took only two more years of Hitler's aggression to convince Americans that strengthening our Armed Forces for a conflict would be in our best interest. In perhaps the best line of dialog that would preview America's eventual entry into World War II, Attorney Kellogg (Henry O'Neill) states his considered view to Agent Renard that "When our basic liberties are threatened, we wake up."

Based on a series of articles, then a book, "Nazi Spies in America," by ex-F.B.I agent Leo Turrou, who lost his job for writing, this is an interesting period piece. The dialogue has its clunky moments, especially when characters pause to speechify. But that was probably necessary as part of the propaganda of the time, when it was important to wake up America to the dangers of Nazism before Pearl Harbor. It was a time when too many voices were saying Hitler's was a European war and that America should keep out of it, and pro-Nazis like Charles Lindberg and the radio priest, Father Charles Coughlin, drew large audiences. Although there certainly were Nazi spies in the U.S., resulting in numerous convictions, at the same time it's worth noting that the direct threat to America was exaggerated in the film. In 1939-1940 Hitler was focused on continental Europe first, then Britain, and had spent little time thinking about America. But the existence of Nazi spies certainly justified setting off alarm bells across the country and an effort to determine just how serious the threat was. Again, the film's value is largely as a period piece. I do fault the script for portraying the spies as confessing and switching sides much too easily. Those moments struck me as highly unrealistic. The website of the FBI describes the spy cases on which the articles, book and film were based. The case of Guenther Rumrich, who attempted to obtain 50 blank passports by posing as the Secretary of State is described at http://1.usa.gov/SbtCWj, although the FBI describe him as "crafty" while in the film he appears as a fool. The FBI also admits its failure in the case, reporting that "four times as many spies had escaped, including the biggest fishes." Leon Turrou, the ex-agent who wrote the book on which "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" was based, fares very badly in the FBI account. Another case related to the movies was the Duquesne Spy Ring, involving 33 spies, described by the FBI at http://1.usa.gov/TcR74V.

Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939) *** (out of 4) Better than expected propaganda film from Warner is probably more historically interesting than entertaining but there's still enough good stuff here to make it stand up well in today's times. The film centers on an FBI agent (Edward G. Robinson) who is trying to track down and break a Nazi ring working inside the United States. Watching this film today the subject matter is rather heavily handled and preachy. I'd go even further to say that the director and screenwriter are constantly beating their subjected over the head of the viewer but one has to remember that the Nazi movements in America were pretty much kept quiet back in the day and this film bravely threw them under the bus a few times. One has to applaud the film for trying what it did in 1939 and I'm sure the movie opened the eyes of many people (even though I've heard it wasn't a hit for the studio). The story told here is a pretty good one that will certainly grab your attention and keep you going throughout the film. The documentary-style telling doesn't work overly well but that doesn't matter too much. Robinson turns in a good, quiet performance as the main FBI guy. He doesn't shout or get too worked up, which is something I haven't seen from him in his earlier films. I really enjoyed how Robinson played the character and it really paid off in the end. Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, Henry O'Neill and Joe Sawyer add nice supporting performances.

Old movies, like old photographs, should spark that "shock of recognition," reminding us that what we have been, we can be again.

Even though this is a documentary of real events, the film never forgets that it is a film and must entertain as well as teach. The story illustrates how insidious treachery is and how the enemy always comes disguised as a friend. The spies at first see themselves as the "master race" and the Americans as "simple minded." But soon the egos of the Nazis become their undoing. The film never stoops to melodrama but is emphatic in its point -- that one must never take democracy too much for granted. The director went on to assist Frank Capra in the "Why We Fight" series which includes a scene from this film in part VII, "War Comes to America." Another effective film that is similar in theme is MGM's KEEPER OF THE FLAME with Tracy and Hepburn.

This is a fast-paced, sometimes slightly confusing but never boring semi-documentary- style FBI drama about the hunt for a ring of Nazi spies in the US in the years leading up to World War Two. The nastiest Nazis are played by such villainous actors as George Sanders, Martin Kosleck and Hans von Twardowski; somewhat softer but still powerful characterizations are supplied by Frances Lederer as a misfit with dreams of grandeur and Paul Lukas as a cultivated and respected doctor who lectures at gatherings of the German- American Bund. They are all scheming to steal military secrets for the use of the Third Reich in its ambitions to conquer America. Edward G. Robinson plays the FBI official who tracks them down. If you are familiar with later movies like House on 92nd Street, Double Indemnity, Hangmen Also Die, They Drive By Night, The Stranger and Man Hunt you will see that all of these actors were past masters of the types of roles they played therein. Based on a true story of a spy ring in the Yorkville section of Manhattan, these frightening individuals are brought to compelling life under the no-nonsense direction of Anatole Litvak. Although the film can certainly be described as propagandistic, particularly with the bombastic Walter Winchellesque narration, who can argue that something sinister wasn't afoot in those days and that America wasn't directly threatened by a powerful and totalitarian rival? Sure, America was not perfect either, but it is easy to be roused by the spirit of independence and individual liberty that is evoked by the good guys trapping and defeating the bad guys. One of the best scenes is the interrogation of Frances Lederer by the seasoned FBI agent Robinson who cleverly yet forcefully appeals to Lederer's vanity to coax him into confessing and naming names. Paul Lukas is also gripping as the suave and confident doctor who by degrees crumbles in defeat after first being cornered by the FBI and then set upon by the Gestapo. Unfortunately the fate of some of the spies is not resolved at the end and the narrative just seems to drop them in favor of a blitzkrieg of wartime propaganda (much of it added after the film's initial release to update it for 1940 audiences). According to the FBI historian who appeared on Turner Classic Movies to introduce and discuss the film, this anti- espionage effort was largely a failure but the FBI learned a great deal from it and got better at its job in ensuing years. Part documentary, part detective story, part human drama, part cat-and-mouse chase adventure. Something for everyone.

Well paced and watchable even if obvious propaganda, the film does not have much in the way of a good story, but some very competent acting and good editing keep it afloat. The narration is heavy-handed and far too dramatic to have any impact, and there are many stereotype characters in the mix, but yet the film has a sort of exciting, riveting style to it, and therefore it is easy to imagine that it was effective propaganda in its time, even with some shortcomings and a lack of subtlety. It is not brilliant film-making, but there are a couple of reasons why it may be of some interest. Firstly, it captures the attitudes and propaganda ideas that were around at the time. Secondly, the film is relatively entertaining, even if quite predictable and a bit obvious. It is not a great film, but it is worth a look.