Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Encyclopedia
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. 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.
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.
Scenes from Confessions of a Nazi Spy are shown in War Comes to America
, the last of the Why We Fight
propaganda film
series.
) 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
.
Spy film
The spy film genre deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way or as a basis for fantasy . Many novels in the spy fiction genre have been adapted as films, including works by John Buchan, John Le Carré, Ian Fleming and Len Deighton...
thriller film and the first blatantly anti-Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
film produced by a major Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
studio prior to World War II. The film stars Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
, Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer was a film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States.-Europe:...
, George Sanders
George Sanders
George Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated from their country after the rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
. Though the film can be seen as propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, it was based on the articles of former FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
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.
Despite its controversial subject, the film was a major worldwide box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
hit for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
and won the year's National Board of Review award for Best Film
National Board of Review Award for Best Film
The National Board of Review Award for Best Film is one of the awards given to either the director or producer of a film by the American National Board of Review.-1930s:-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...
. Confessions of a Nazi Spy was banned in Germany, Japan, and many Latin American and European countries.
Scenes from Confessions of a Nazi Spy are shown in War Comes to America
War Comes to America
War Comes to America was the seventh and final film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight World War II propaganda film series.The early part of the film is an idealized version of American history which includes mention of the first settlements, the American Revolutionary War , and the ethnic diversity of...
, the last of the Why We Fight
Why We Fight
Why We Fight is a series of seven war information training films commissioned by the United States government during World War II whose purpose was to show American soldiers the reason for U.S. involvement in the war. Later on they were also shown to the general U.S...
propaganda film
Propaganda film
The term propaganda can be defined as the ability to produce and spread fertile messages that, once sown, will germinate in large human cultures.” However, in the 20th century, a “new” propaganda emerged, which revolved around political organizations and their need to communicate messages that...
series.
Plot
Dr. Karl Kassel (Paul LukasPaul Lukas
Paul Lukas was an Austrian-Hungarian-born actor.-Biography:Born Pál Lukács in Budapest, he arrived in Hollywood in 1927 after a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany and Austria where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917...
) comes to America to rally support for the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
cause among German-Americans. He instructs his audience at a German restaurant that the Führer has declared war on the evils of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and that as Germans
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, they should carry out his wishes. Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer
Francis Lederer was a film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States.-Europe:...
), an unemployed malcontent, joins the cause and eventually becomes a spy for the group. A letter written by Schneider to a liaison in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
is intercepted by a British Military Intelligence officer (James Stephenson
James Stephenson
James Stephenson was a British actor.-Career:British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut in 1937 at the age of 48 with parts in four films...
), leading to the ring's downfall.
FBI agent Ed Renard (Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson
Edward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
) 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
Dorothy Tree
Dorothy Tree was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 motion pictures between 1927 and 1951....
), then Kassel's mistress Erika Wolff (Lya Lys
Lya Lys
Lya Lys , was a German-born Jewish-American actress of French-Russian decent who had a brief career in Hollywood.-Biography:...
), 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
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
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
The Stranger (1946 film)
The Stranger is an American film noir directed by Orson Welles and starring Welles, Edward G. Robinson, and Loretta Young. The film was based on an Oscar-nominated screenplay written by Victor Trivas. Sam Spiegel was the film's producer, and the film's musical score is by Bronisław Kaper...
.
Cast
- Edward G. RobinsonEdward G. RobinsonEdward G. Robinson was a Romanian-born American actor. A popular star during Hollywood's Golden Age, he is best remembered for his roles as gangsters, such as Rico in his star-making film Little Caesar and as Rocco in Key Largo...
as Edward Renard - Francis LedererFrancis LedererFrancis Lederer was a film and stage actor with a successful career, first in Europe, then in the United States.-Europe:...
as Kurt Schneider - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Franz Schlager - Paul LukasPaul LukasPaul Lukas was an Austrian-Hungarian-born actor.-Biography:Born Pál Lukács in Budapest, he arrived in Hollywood in 1927 after a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany and Austria where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917...
as Dr. Karl Kassel - Henry O'NeillHenry O'NeillHenry O'Neill was a film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:...
as U.S. Atty. Kellogg - Dorothy TreeDorothy TreeDorothy Tree was an American actress, voice teacher and writer. She appeared in a wide range of character roles in at least 49 motion pictures between 1927 and 1951....
as Hilda Kleinhauer - Lya LysLya LysLya Lys , was a German-born Jewish-American actress of French-Russian decent who had a brief career in Hollywood.-Biography:...
as Erika Wolff - Grace StaffordGrace StaffordGracie Lantz , also known by her stage name Grace Stafford, was an American actress and the wife of animation producer Walter Lantz. Stafford is best known for providing the voice of Woody Woodpecker from 1950 until 1972.-Career:Grace appeared in feature live action films from 1935, Dr...
as Helen Schneider - James StephensonJames StephensonJames Stephenson was a British actor.-Career:British stage actor James Stephenson made his film debut in 1937 at the age of 48 with parts in four films...
as British Military Intelligence agent - Hedwiga ReicherHedwiga ReicherHedwiga Reicher was a German actress, sister to actor Frank Reicher, and daughter to actor Emanuel Reicher. -Selected filmography:*The Leopard Lady as Fran Holweg.*True Heaven as Madame Grenot....
as Lisa Kassel - Joe SawyerJoe SawyerJoe Sawyer was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in over 200 films between 1930 and 1962.He was born in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, and died in Ashland, Oregon from liver cancer....
as Werner Renz - Sig RumanSig RumanSig Ruman was a German-American actor known for his comic portrayals of pompous villains.-Life and career:...
as Dr. Julius Krogmann - Henry VictorHenry VictorHenry Victor was an English-born character actor. Raised in Germany, Victor is probably best remembered for his portrayal of the strongman Hercules in Tod Browning's 1932 film Freaks. He originally was a leading figure in UK silent films...
as Hans Wildebrandt - Hans Heinrich von Twardowski as Max Helldorf
- Wolfgang ZilzerWolfgang ZilzerWofgang Zilzer was a German-American stage and film actor.-Career:Zilzer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to German-Jewish emigrant Max Zilzer, who was engaged at the local theater. Zilzer's mother died soon after his birth and his father returned to Germany in 1905...
as Johann Westphal - Rudolph AndersRudolph AndersRudolph Anders was a German character actor who came to the United States after the rise of Hitler, and appeared in numerous American films in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. During the 1940s, he used the stage name of Robert O. Davis...
as Capt. Wilhelm Straubel - Eily Malyon as Mrs. MacLaughlin
- Ward BondWard BondWardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...
as American Legionnaire (uncredited) - Martin KosleckMartin KosleckMartin Kosleck was a German film actor. Like many other German actors, he fled when the Nazis came to power. Inspired by his deep hatred of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Kosleck would make a career in Hollywood playing villainous Nazis in films. While in the United States, he would appear in more...
as Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (uncredited)