Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
Directed by Anatole Litvak

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.

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...