While America Sleeps

The Crime Does Not Pay series of shorts from MGM were exceptionally made and highly entertaining films. However, the quality began to slip a bit during the war, as instead of entertaining, the films seem more concerned with preaching to the audiences about Americanism, spies and the like. While the US wouldn't enter WWII for two more years, you can clearly see in "While America Sleeps" that the film is preparing for that eventuality--even though no nations or nationalities are mentioned. It seemed clear to me that the filmmakers were worried about Nazi aggression but since the studios were compelled by laws (ridiculous ones at that) to remain neutral.

This film stars Dick Purcell--the same guy who later gained fame in serials playing the first Captain America. However, in this case, he's a jerk who hates America--or at least he's too selfish to care. He works for an aircraft manufacturer and is illegally photographing plans and sending them on to 'the enemy'. Naturally he's caught but instead of arresting him, government agents set a trap--ultimately proving that crime, particularly treason, does not pay.

There isn't a whole lot of subtlety to this one. It's preachy and brow-beats the audience--which is exactly what the series hadn't been doing up until this one. Unfortunately, as the war progressed, more and more of these films would be devoted to similar topics--forgetting their original style and purpose. Fair at best.

Fred Zinnman manages a slight shift in emphasis and gets a quite lively ending intercutting the fifth columnists' factory fire (cf. the one in his STUFFIE) with the punch-up between Purcell and the government agent. Otherwise it's clearly part of it's series.

The several thousand fold increase in WW2 spy activity in "a country whose sole intention is to stay at peace in a troubled world" means agent Lane and his men must foil Brecher, Vogeding and Varno's dastardly plot to sneak the latest American aviation engineering abroad.

Family man Purcell lives in the MGM tract home with wife Lane and their child but he's taking cash on the side for the photos of blueprints he makes with a borrowed camera. The spy team want the new bomb site, demonstrated with aviation stock footage in front of a terrible photo mural. Fat chance with US agents on their tail.

OK entry in this atitudinizing series.