Film Review
Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a
hugely significant film in that it was the first anti-Nazi propaganda
film to come out of the United States, released just as the
conflagration of war had begun to engulf Western Europe. Although
concerns about what was happening in Europe were growing by the day,
American politicians and businessmen were reluctant to get involved
because Germany was seen as a valuable trading partner. In
Hollywood, the mood was more ambivalent, with growing tension between
the bosses, who were fearful of losing their valuable European market,
and artists, who were eager to make a statement against Nazism.
The first studio to break ranks was Warner Brothers, who had a track
record of broaching important social and political issues in their
films. The stimulus came when Jack and Harry Warner learned
that one of their agents in Germany had been brutally murdered by Nazi
supporters; as far as they were concerned, the propaganda war had
begun.
The film was based on a series of articles by an FBI agent, Leon G.
Turrou, and directed by Anatole Litvak, a Russian émigré
of Jewish birth who was a committed anti-fascist and passionate
believer in the American way of life. During WWII, Litvak made
several big budget war films, although today he is perhaps best known
as the director of the Ingrid Bergman classic,
Anastasia
(1956).
Litvak's films of 1930s and early 1940s are distinguished by their
stylish and highly effective use of chiaroscuro to create atmosphere
and a sense of realism.
Confessions
of a Nazi Spy is a good example of this, and in some places it
has the feel of an early film noir, particularly in the way the harsh
lighting is used to add dramatic intensity and suggest
conflict. The film uses newsreel-style voiceover
narration and a number of cleverly assembled montage sequences to give
it a documentary feel; whilst this dates the film, it no doubt
made it a more effective propaganda piece at the time.
Two performances stand out as particularly memorable - George Sanders
as the coldly sinister German spymaster Schlager and Edward G. Robinson
as the cool and calculating FBI investigator Renard. Robinson was
keen to appear in the film, since he was one of Hollywood's most active
anti-Nazi campaigners. It's worth noting that his character in
this film is almost the exact opposite to the thuggish gangster role
that brought him fame; here Robinson is an amiable, softly spoken man
who uses his charm and his intelligence, rather than bullets, to get
his way.
Viewed today,
Confessions of a Nazi
Spy appears laboured, unsubtle and didactic. The German
characters in the film could hardly be more demonic if they were to
wear big pointy horns and cloven hooves, whilst the FBI, that
well-known champion of American society, is portrayed as a wise paragon
of virtue which can do no wrong. Of course, back in 1939 American
cinema audiences were less exigent and certainly far less cynical than
they are now (the Land of the Free had yet to be acquainted with Nixon,
Enron and Bush Jr.), so the film proved to be a great critical and
commercial success. Whether it actually did any good and helped
influence America's decision to join the fight against fascism is
anyone's guess, but it certainly made an impression and raised
awareness of the threat posed by Nazism.
© James Travers 2008
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Next Anatole Litvak film:
All This, and Heaven Too (1940)
Film Synopsis
1938, a decisive year in the history of man. Under the leadership
of Adolf Hitler, the Nazis have committed themselves to a fascist dream
that will make Germany the centre of a new world empire. It will
be a Modern Utopia in which everyone will share the same thoughts and
values, purged of the free-thinkers and deviants that have prevented
mankind from achieving his true potential. Crucial to the
realisation of this vision is control over the United States. To
that end, Dr Kassel is sent to New York to contact Americans of German
origin and persuade them to support the Nazi cause, by spreading racial
hatred and passing on military secrets to Germany. Kassel's
Nietzschean tirades inspire an unemployed teacher, Kurt Schndeider, to
offer his services to Schlager, a Nazi officer who runs a huge network
of spies. Having grown distrustful of Schlager, Schndeider
writes directly to his paymasters in Berlin, suggesting a plan to
kidnap an American officer. The letter is intercepted by the FBI,
which, in an investigation led by Edward Renard, sets about dismantling
the Nazi spy ring...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.