Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Theatrical poster
Directed by	Anatole Litvak
Produced by	Hal B. Wallis Jack L. Warner Robert Lord
Written by	Leon G. Turrou (articles) Milton Krims John Wexley (screenplay)
Starring	Edward G. Robinson Francis Lederer George Sanders Paul Lukas
Music by	Max Steiner (uncredited)
Cinematography	Sol Polito Ernest Haller
Editing by	Owen Marks
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	6 May 1939
Running time	104 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	USD$1.5 M

Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a 1939 American spy thriller film and the first blatantly anti-Nazi film produced by a major Hollywood studio prior to World War II.^[1] The film stars Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated from their country after the rise of Adolf Hitler. Though the film can be seen as propaganda, it was based on the articles of former FBI agent Leon G. Turrou, who had been active in investigating Nazi spy rings in the United States prior to the war, and lost his position at the Bureau when he published the articles without permission.^[2]

Despite its controversial subject, the film was a major worldwide box office hit for Warner Bros. and won the year's National Board of Review award for Best Film. Confessions of a Nazi Spy was banned in Germany, Japan, and many Latin American and European countries.^[3]

Scenes from Confessions of a Nazi Spy are shown in War Comes to America, the last of the Why We Fight propaganda film series.

Plot

Dr. Karl Kassel (Paul Lukas) comes to America to rally support for the Nazi cause among German-Americans. He instructs his audience at a German restaurant that the Führer has declared war on the evils of democracy and that as Germans, they should carry out his wishes. Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer), an unemployed malcontent, joins the cause and eventually becomes a spy for the group. A letter written by Schneider to a liaison in Scotland is intercepted by a British Military Intelligence officer (James Stephenson), leading to the ring's downfall.

FBI agent Ed Renard (Edward G. Robinson) is assigned to the case, and is able to capture Schneider and extract a confession. Through Schneider, Renard is led to Hilda Kleinhauer (Dorothy Tree), then Kassel's mistress Erika Wolff (Lya Lys), and eventually the ringleader himself. While the FBI manages to capture many members of the ring and their accomplices, several, including Kassel, are secretly spirited back to Germany, but some ultimately face a worse fate there.

The character and event portrayed by Ward Bond as an American Legionnaire is based on an actual event that occurred in late April 1938 when approximately 30 World War I American Legion Veterans stood up to the Bund in New York City during a celebration of Hitler's birthday. The veterans were severely beaten and later Cecil Schubert, who suffered a fractured skull, was personally recognized by Mayor La Guardia for his bravery.

In 1946, Robinson appeared in a post-war anti-Nazi film, The Stranger.

Cast

• Edward G. Robinson as Edward Renard
• Francis Lederer as Kurt Schneider
• George Sanders as Franz Schlager
• Paul Lukas as Dr. Karl Kassel
• Henry O'Neill as U.S. Atty. Kellogg
• Dorothy Tree as Hilda Kleinhauer
• Lya Lys as Erika Wolff
• Grace Stafford as Helen Schneider
• James Stephenson as British Military Intelligence agent
• Hedwiga Reicher as Lisa Kassel
• Joe Sawyer as Werner Renz
• Sig Ruman as Dr. Julius Krogmann
• Henry Victor as Hans Wildebrandt
• Hans Heinrich von Twardowski as Max Helldorf
• Wolfgang Zilzer as Johann Westphal
• Rudolph Anders as Capt. Wilhelm Straubel
• Eily Malyon as Mrs. MacLaughlin
• Ward Bond as American Legionnaire (uncredited)
• Martin Kosleck as Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (uncredited)

Notes

1. ^ Joseph D'Onofrio. "Confessions of a Nazi Spy". tcm.com. http://tcmdb.com/title/article.jsp?contentId=313. 
2. ^ Fox, John (FBI historian) on Turner Classic Movies broadcast, 24 July 2008
3. ^ Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust, 2004 documentary film, Daniel Anker

See also

• The Stranger (1946 film)

External links

• Confessions of a Nazi Spy at the Internet Movie Database
• Confessions of a Nazi Spy at the TCM Movie Database
• Confessions of a Nazi Spy at AllRovi