ACTING STYLE AND ABILITY - IS THE CHARACTER BELIEVABLE AND INTERESTING



CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY contains few well known actors and the top billed was gangster actor Edward G. Robinson taking one of his few roles as ‘the good guy’ FBI agent Leon G. Turrou. ROBINSON is only in approximately 30 minutes or so of the film, but he always brings authenticity to his roles. ROBINSON is largely known for roles in the ‘30’s and ‘40’s as the villan with one of his best roles opposite Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, and Lionel Barrymore in John Huston's classic Key Largo (1948). Actor Edward G. Robinson was probably best known as the evil and scheming Dathan in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments with CHARLTON HESTON as MOSES. The supporting cast is highlighted by Francis Lederer and George Sanders. LEDERER portrays ‘the spy’ who confesses to ROBINSON’s character the life altering spy missions he has performed and in LEDERER’s own mind his actions will create a new fatherland in AMERICA with HITLER as its leader. SANDERS plays the lead NAZI commander in charge of LEDERER’s efforts who always convinces LEDERER’s character to keep giving Germany secrets for nominal pay. FRANCIS LEDERER was a film actor through the 1950’s with a long stage career until his death at age 100 in 2000. LEDERER holds the record for being the oldest working actor and one of the oldest veterans of World War I. GEORGE SANDERS is best known for his work as the character THE SAINT in numerous films.



THE STORY LINE - DOES THE STORY OR PLOT FLOW SMOOTHLY THROUGHOUT THE FILM



NAZI SPY revolves around a group of mostly GERMAN immigrants who become intangled in the NAZI propaganda that democracy and AMERICA are the evils of the world. The message is presented by a German doctor Dr. Karl Kassel played by Paul Lukas and believed whole heartedly by a frustruated unemployed immigrant Kurt Schneider played to the hilt by HUNGARIAN JEWISH stage actor Francis Lederer. SCHNEIDER’s purpose is to become important in the NAZI regime so he writes a letter to HITLER himself proposing his services to the Fuhrer. His request is handled by intellegence officer Franz Schlager eeriely played by BRITISH actor George Sanders. The result is one of the largest spy ring trials in U.S. history and a box office hit for WARNER BROS. STUDIOS.



PRODUCTION - DOES THE DIRECTOR HAVE STYLE, DOES THE PRODUCER HAVE AN OVERALL GOOD PRODUCT, AND DOES THE EDITOR MAKE THE FILM'S STORY AND ACTORS COME ALIVE



The film is produced by WARNER BROS. top film makers in the 1930’s and 1940’s Hal B. Wallis and Jack L. Warner . WALLIS’s career spanned almost 50 years in the film and television industry with his crowning achievement ACADEMY AWARD winning picture Casablanca in 1942. WARNER was the founder of WARNER BROS. studios who were noted for making quality films including Casablanca, Now, Voyager, and Yankee Doodle Dandy. NAZI SPY was a big money maker in 1939 for the studio, even though the film is largely forgotten today, and highlighted some of the best talents of the day most notably EDWARD G ROBINSON, with a first rate script and fast paced directing along with awe inspiring music by legendary composer Max Steiner.



THE UNDERGROUND UNIVERSE – OVERALL THOUGHTS



CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY is a fascinating look at a film about World War II before AMERICA was even interested in joining the war effort. Largely considered a propaganda film by today’s standards, NAZI SPY was based on the files of FBI agent Leon G. Turrou. It gives a fascinating and frightening look into the world of the NAZI movement in AMERICA as a social and political movement, unthinkable in the light of HITLER’s atrocities after World War II. The network of spies has a feeling similar to AL QUAEDA cells working in the states and worldwide today with a parellel possible destruction found on cable shows such as TNT’S THE CELL and SHOWTIME’S SLEEPER CELL. Even though CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY suffers from over the top acting and the clear ‘RaRa AMERICA’ sentimentality, NAZI SPY is an interesting historical drama to convince AMERICANS that our participation in the impending World War was vital for the survival of AMERICA and world peace.