Nazi Agent
| Nazi Agent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jules Dassin |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | Irving Asher |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling |
| Edited by | Frank E. Hull |
| Music by | David Snell |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Loew's Inc. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Nazi Agent is a 1942 American
Plot
The U.S. has not yet entered
Becker becomes a prisoner in his own store, watched constantly. When he gives his good friend and fellow stamp enthusiast, Professor Jim Sterling (Ivan F. Simpson), a message to go to the police, Sterling is killed in a "traffic accident". Von Detner then comes to deal with the betrayal by his brother; the two men struggle and the Nazi is shot dead. Thinking quickly, Becker assumes von Detner's identity.
Nobody detects the substitution except Fritz (Frank Reicher), an old family servant and lately von Detner's butler; Becker first realizes that Fritz has discovered his true identity when he sees that Fritz left him a glass of milk as a nightcap instead of wine, knowing that Becker has always preferred this more-healthful beverage instead of alcohol --- "I knew it was you, Otto, when I saw the old bayonet-scar on your back as I was helping you dress after your shower; remember that I myself tended that wound for you." Fritz remains faithful to Becker, however, and keeps his secret. Meanwhile, as he continues to pass as von Detner, Becker starts feeding what he learns about the spy ring's operations to the police via anonymous telephone calls.
Becker becomes acquainted with Kaaren De Relle (Anne Ayars). She had been a secret agent loyal to the Nazis, but has become disillusioned by what she has seen and now continues with her duties for the spy ring only to prevent the Nazis from taking retribution against her family still in occupied France. She had spurned von Detner's romantic advances in the past. However, she finds the baron changed, and for the better, when Becker shows sympathy for her plight.
Information provided by Becker foils a plot to blow up a
Eventually, the only ones left are Becker, De Relle and Kurt Richten (Martin Kosleck), von Detner's aide at the embassy. Aware now of Becker's true identity and the fact that he was the informant, Richten threatens to punish him by notifying the authorities that De Relle is a spy. Becker sacrifices himself to save De Relle by offering to allow Richten to become Nazi hero by taking Becker, still posing as Consul von Detmer, back to Germany to be turned over to the Nazis as a traitor.
Cast
- Conrad Veidt as Otto Becker/Baron Hugo von Detner
- Ann Ayars as Kaaren De Relle
- Frank Reicher as Fritz
- Dorothy Tree as Miss Harper
- Ivan Simpson as Professor Sterling
- William Tannen as Ludwig
- Martin Kosleck as Kurt Richten
- Marc Lawrence as Joe Aiello
- Sidney Blackmer as Arnold Milbar
- Moroni Olsen as Brenner
- Pierre Watkin as Grover Blaine McHenry
- Jeff York as Keeler (uncredited)
Production
Principal photography on Nazi Agent began in early November 1941 and ended on December 16, 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war against the United States. The film is considered a war propaganda film.[2] The film was first announced under the title Out of the Past.[3]
Reception
The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther wrote, "The story turns entirely on a neat melodramatic trick. Mr. Veidt as a simple, unpretentious and loyal naturalized American is coerced by his twin, a Nazi consul, into assisting with some spy activities. But the moment comes when he is able to kill his brother without any one seeing the deed, and he takes this opportunity to place himself in the evil brother's shoes. His purpose thereby is, of course, to spy upon the spies ..."[4]
References
Notes
- ^ Eames 1982, p. 172.
- ^ " 'Nazi Agent' " Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: October 23, 2022.
- ^ Film Bulletin Company; Film Bulletin Company (1941). Film Bulletin (1941). New York The Museum of Modern Art Library. New York, Film Bulletin Company.
- ^ Crowther, Bosley. "Movie review: ' Nazi Agent,' an unpretentious but intriguing spy film, with Conrad Veidt in dual roles, opens at the Rialto." The New York Times, June 13, 1942.
Bibliography
- Eames, John Douglas. The MGM Story: The Complete History of Fifty Roaring Years. London: Octopus Books Limited, 1982, First edition 1979. ISBN 978-0-51752-389-6.
External links
- Nazi Agent at the TCM Movie Database
- Nazi Agent at IMDb
- Nazi Agent at AllMovie
- Nazi Agent at the American Film Institute Catalog
