Address Unknown

I say this movie is good but a bit late because this tale of the progression of Nazism in Germany is very good but the timing awfully late. When the first film debuted, WWII was practically over--whereas films with similar themes, such as "Mortal Storm" came out before the US entered the war--and did a lot to turn public opinion against Nazi Germany. Heck, in 1944 saying the Nazis were bad and repressive wasn't exactly controversial in the United States--as we'd been fighting them for three years!

The film begins in the 1930s. Paul Lukas and his wife and kids (minus the oldest one) are leaving the US and moving back to Germany. They also decide to take their god-daughter (who is Jewish). Once there, Lukas slowly turns from a nice family man to a Nazi-lover. In the process, all sense of right and wrong seems to disappear from him. And, when his beloved god-daughter is in trouble, he refuses to help. At this point, there is a neat twist in the film involving coded messages and revenge. I won't say more, as it would spoil the film. Suffice to say that this twist gives the film a nice and fitting ending.

The acting, mood and story are all quite good and the film worth seeing. While not a great film it is clever and well-written--and a very good propaganda film to galvanize the folks at home in the war effort.

This is a fascinating movie on a number of levels.

For anyone who loves the look of films such as "Citizen Kane' or film noir, there is plenty to offer here. The director, William Cameron Menzies, was also a brilliant art director and he went to town on this picture. Just look at the camera work; he and his crew must have shot half the film from a pit in the floor judging from the dramatic angles.

The film is set a few years before WW2. Martin Schulz (Paul Lucas) and Max Eisenstein (Morris Carnovsky) run a successful art gallery in San Francisco, Both are German immigrants and are close friends. Martin's son, Heinrich, (Peter Van Eyck) who also works in the gallery, plans to marry Giselle Eisenstein, Max's daughter (K.T. Stevens). Max is due to return to Germany with his wife, Elsa (Mady Christians), to expedite the buying for the gallery. At the last minute, Giselle breaks off her engagement to Heinrich, and also decides to go to Germany to further her acting career.

In Germany, Martin communicates with Max and Heinrich back at the gallery by mail; through his letters they sense that Martin is falling under the spell of the Nazis. Eventually this hurts Martin's relationship with Max, who is a Jew.

Martin's seduction by the Nazis, and the advantages they offer has similarities to John Halder, Viggo Mortensen's character in the more recent "Good". Both are weak men who are easily led, and both turn their backs on a Jewish friend.

Much of the plot of "Address Unknown" hangs on the letters that go backward and forward between San Francisco and Germany. As the film goes on, we learn how powerful these communications are, especially with the Nazi censors involved.

Giselle's Jewish background puts her in jeopardy when she appears in a play. Interestingly, the lines she speaks, which offend the Nazi censors, are actually the words of Jesus from the "Book of Matthew".

"Address Unknown" has a couple of scenes that really hit home, with one that would have done Val Lewton proud, and has an ending with a twist worthy of an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

Although heavily stylised, the film highlights the persecution of the Jews in Nazi Germany, but "Address Unknown" was made in 1944, and the war didn't end until 1945. Films made during WW2, give an insight into what was influencing audiences at the time. Although the full extent of what had been going on in Germany didn't come to light until after the war, "Address Unknown" shows that the plight of the Jews before and during the war was far from a complete mystery.

The film is more restrained than some of the more strident films made during WW2, and it's somewhat abstract quality has prevented it dating all that much.

Martin Schulz (Paul Lukas) and Max Eisenstein (Morris Carnovsky) are business partners. Martin moves to Germany with all of his family except for his eldest son Heinrich (Peter van Eyck), who stays behind to look after things in San Francisco with Max. Meanwhile, Max's daughter Griselle (KT Stevens) travels to Germany to become an actress. The families are very close and Heinrich and Griselle have future plans to marry. Once Baron von Friesche (Carl Esmond) appears on the scene, Martin goes through a change and is indoctrinated into the Nazi lifestyle. This means rejecting his Jewish friend, Max, and his friend's daughter Griselle.

The story develops through letter correspondence between the two friends, Martin and Max. There are several stand out scenes, my favourites being the performance at the theatre when Griselle disobeys the Nazi authorities and the following chase that ensues in order to catch her. The acting is good, particularly from Carl Esmond. You just know that there is a nasty ulterior motive lurking behind everything that he says and does. Once Martin begins to receive coded letters, suspicion is aroused by the German censors and it's a matter of time before something happens to him... There is a twist at the end.

Paul Lukas gives probably a career-best performance as a businessman who becomes seduced by Nazi ideology when his return to Germany coincides with the rise of Hitler. Director William Cameron Menzies piles on the tension in the final third of the film without gloating over his antagonist's increasingly precarious situation, and by doing so he strengthens the film's power and message immeasurably.

This is a must see with all the drama coming from tiny choices that add up and how you can be seduced by evil for nominal reasons. Well worth tracking down.