The Fallen Sparrow
Encyclopedia
The Fallen Sparrow is a 1943
spy film starring John Garfield
, Maureen O'Hara
, and Walter Slezak
. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes
. An American returns home to find out who murdered his friend.
. However, he managed to withhold the vital information sought by his captors, particularly their leader, a never-seen Nazi
with a limp. His lifelong friend, Louie Lepetino, arranged his escape. When Louie, a New York police lieutenant, dies under suspicious circumstances, Kit ends his convalescence in Arizona and returns to the city to investigate. At the end of the trip, he bumps into attractive fellow passenger Toni Donne (Maureen O'Hara).
When Kit goes to the police to find out what they know, Inspector Tobin (John Miljan
) tells him it was suicide, but Kit knows better. After arranging to stay in the apartment of another friend, Ab Parker (Bruce Edwards), he begins to make the acquaintance of the various guests at the party in which Louie made his fatal plunge. Among them are noted Norwegian historian and wheelchair-using refugee Dr. Christian Skaas (Walter Slezak), his nephew Otto (Hugh Beaumont), Kit's old flame Barby Taviton (Patricia Morrison
), who hosted the ill-fated party, and Toni Donne. Also present were singer Whitney Parker (Martha O'Driscoll), who is Ab's cousin, and her piano-playing accompanist Anton (John Banner
). Kit is shaken when Dr. Skaas discusses the superiority of modern methods of torture over those of the past; it jibes too closely with what he endured.
Kit does not know whom to trust, but is attracted to Toni, and she to him. However, it turns out that Toni was the only witness to Louie's fall, raising Kit's suspicions. Meanwhile, Kit repeatedly hears, or imagines he hears, the man with the limp, showing that he may not be fully recovered from his ordeal.
Later, when Kit returns to the apartment, he is attacked in the darkness. He manages to gain the upper hand. When he turns on the light, he discovers his assailant is Anton. Anton reveals that Kit was allowed to escape from Spain, and that he has been watched constantly ever since in the hope that he would betray himself. It turns out that Kit's brigade killed a general who was very close to Adolf Hitler
. Hitler vowed to get all those responsible and to hang the brigade's battle standard on his wall; Kit knows where the flag is hidden.
The next morning, Kit is awoken by a shot; he finds Ab dead in the next room with a bullet through the head. Again, Inspector Tobin insists it must have been suicide. However, Kit knows that Ab was terrified of guns as a result of a childhood incident.
Kit publicly gives Toni a medallion (from the battle standard) he has had mounted in a necklace, a declaration for all to see that he knows where the flag is. Toni begs him to give up what she considers to be just a "dirty rag", but Kit is determined to foil the "little man" in Berlin.
In the end, Kit insists she choose between him and the enemy; she agrees to help him get into Dr. Skaas's office during another party. Before though, he has to drink a toast with Skaas. As he had before when drinking with the doctor, Kit switches his goblet with Skaas's, an "old Borgia custom". However, Skaas has outwitted him, having prearranged for Toni to drug his own drink. While Kit is searching the office, he hears once again the man with a limp. The door opens, and Skaas enters, free of his wheelchair and dragging one leg. Skaas reveals that Kit has been drugged, that Otto killed Lepetino (who was investigating the Skaas for the federal government) and that he himself murdered Ab. However, before the drug can take full effect, Kit manages to shoot and kill the doctor, and summon the police.
Before they arrive, Toni explains that she was forced to betray him because of her young daughter, held hostage. Kit lets her go and arranges to meet her in Chicago. However, when he and Inspector Tobin watch her board an airplane bound for Lisbon
, he knows for certain that she has thrown in her lot with the enemy. She is removed from the plane, and Kit takes her seat to fetch the flag.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
spy film starring John Garfield
John Garfield
John Garfield was an American actor adept at playing brooding, rebellious, working-class character roles. He grew up in poverty in Depression-era New York City and in the early 1930s became an important member of the Group Theater. In 1937 he moved to Hollywood, eventually becoming one of Warner...
, Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, and Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
. It was based on the novel of the same name by Dorothy B. Hughes
Dorothy B. Hughes
Dorothy B. Hughes was an American crime writer and literary critic. Hughes wrote fourteen crime and detective novels, primarily in the hardboiled and noir styles, and is best known for the novels In a Lonely Place and Ride the Pink Horse .Born Dorothy Belle Flanagan in Kansas City, Missouri, she...
. An American returns home to find out who murdered his friend.
Plot
John "Kit" McKittrick (John Garfield) endured two years of brutal torture after being captured in the Spanish Civil WarSpanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
. However, he managed to withhold the vital information sought by his captors, particularly their leader, a never-seen Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
with a limp. His lifelong friend, Louie Lepetino, arranged his escape. When Louie, a New York police lieutenant, dies under suspicious circumstances, Kit ends his convalescence in Arizona and returns to the city to investigate. At the end of the trip, he bumps into attractive fellow passenger Toni Donne (Maureen O'Hara).
When Kit goes to the police to find out what they know, Inspector Tobin (John Miljan
John Miljan
John Miljan was an American actor of Serbian origin. He appeared in 201 films between 1924 and 1958.He died from cancer.-Selected filmography:* The Lone Chance * Silent Sanderson...
) tells him it was suicide, but Kit knows better. After arranging to stay in the apartment of another friend, Ab Parker (Bruce Edwards), he begins to make the acquaintance of the various guests at the party in which Louie made his fatal plunge. Among them are noted Norwegian historian and wheelchair-using refugee Dr. Christian Skaas (Walter Slezak), his nephew Otto (Hugh Beaumont), Kit's old flame Barby Taviton (Patricia Morrison
Patricia Morrison
Patricia Morrison is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. She worked with The Bags, The Gun Club, The Sisters of Mercy, and The Damned.-Biography:...
), who hosted the ill-fated party, and Toni Donne. Also present were singer Whitney Parker (Martha O'Driscoll), who is Ab's cousin, and her piano-playing accompanist Anton (John Banner
John Banner
John Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria....
). Kit is shaken when Dr. Skaas discusses the superiority of modern methods of torture over those of the past; it jibes too closely with what he endured.
Kit does not know whom to trust, but is attracted to Toni, and she to him. However, it turns out that Toni was the only witness to Louie's fall, raising Kit's suspicions. Meanwhile, Kit repeatedly hears, or imagines he hears, the man with the limp, showing that he may not be fully recovered from his ordeal.
Later, when Kit returns to the apartment, he is attacked in the darkness. He manages to gain the upper hand. When he turns on the light, he discovers his assailant is Anton. Anton reveals that Kit was allowed to escape from Spain, and that he has been watched constantly ever since in the hope that he would betray himself. It turns out that Kit's brigade killed a general who was very close to 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...
. Hitler vowed to get all those responsible and to hang the brigade's battle standard on his wall; Kit knows where the flag is hidden.
The next morning, Kit is awoken by a shot; he finds Ab dead in the next room with a bullet through the head. Again, Inspector Tobin insists it must have been suicide. However, Kit knows that Ab was terrified of guns as a result of a childhood incident.
Kit publicly gives Toni a medallion (from the battle standard) he has had mounted in a necklace, a declaration for all to see that he knows where the flag is. Toni begs him to give up what she considers to be just a "dirty rag", but Kit is determined to foil the "little man" in Berlin.
In the end, Kit insists she choose between him and the enemy; she agrees to help him get into Dr. Skaas's office during another party. Before though, he has to drink a toast with Skaas. As he had before when drinking with the doctor, Kit switches his goblet with Skaas's, an "old Borgia custom". However, Skaas has outwitted him, having prearranged for Toni to drug his own drink. While Kit is searching the office, he hears once again the man with a limp. The door opens, and Skaas enters, free of his wheelchair and dragging one leg. Skaas reveals that Kit has been drugged, that Otto killed Lepetino (who was investigating the Skaas for the federal government) and that he himself murdered Ab. However, before the drug can take full effect, Kit manages to shoot and kill the doctor, and summon the police.
Before they arrive, Toni explains that she was forced to betray him because of her young daughter, held hostage. Kit lets her go and arranges to meet her in Chicago. However, when he and Inspector Tobin watch her board an airplane bound for Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, he knows for certain that she has thrown in her lot with the enemy. She is removed from the plane, and Kit takes her seat to fetch the flag.
Cast
- John Garfield as John McKittrick
- Maureen O'Hara as Toni Donne
- Walter Slezak as Dr. Christian Skaas
- Patricia MorisonPatricia MorisonPatricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
as Barby Taviton - Martha O'Driscoll as Whitney Parker
- Bruce Edwards as Ab Parker
- John BannerJohn BannerJohn Banner , born Johann Banner, was an American film and television actor, who was born and died in Vienna, Austria....
as Anton - John MiljanJohn MiljanJohn Miljan was an American actor of Serbian origin. He appeared in 201 films between 1924 and 1958.He died from cancer.-Selected filmography:* The Lone Chance * Silent Sanderson...
as Inspector Tobin - Hugh Beaumont as Otto Skaas