Sombra do Passado

It now seems beyond belief that in the years leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbour, films in Hollywood with strong anti-Nazi themes were discouraged so as not to offend the Germans!

This first feature of Jules Dassin represents one of the early 'message films' designed to induce a sense of paranoia in American audiences which had the salutary effect of keeping them on their guard against Nazi espionage activity. It also happens to be, in the opinion of this viewer, one of the best of its type.

Although strictly speaking a 'B' this has the presence of Conrad Veidt who is in every respect an 'A'. He has a triple role here. That of the good German, Becker and his evil twin, Baron von Detner. Through force of circumstance the former is then obliged to impersonate the latter. Herr Veidt captures brilliantly the subtle differences between the characters and their sharing duologues together enables Dassin and his cinematographer Harry Stradling Snr to utilise a split-screen effect.

Excellent support here from Marc Lawrence, Frank Reicher, Sydney Blackmer and Polish born Martin Koslek who had the distinction of being on Goebbel's hit list and ironically, playing him no less than five times. The female interest is supplied by Anne Ayars, better known as an opera singer. She is no great shakes as a actress but her role gives the film an emotional balance and the motive for Becker's act of self-sacrifice.

The script and editing are tight and Dassin's direction is subdued but effective. Although he was somewhat dismissive of his American output, his subsequent European films were a mixed bag.

This piece is really about the immaculate artistry of Conrad Veidt and it is such a pity that his fatal heart attack at just fifty denied him the satisfaction of seeing the destruction of the regime that he so despised.

Conrad Veidt plays twins, one good, one evil, in "Nazi Agent," a 1942 film directed by Jules Dassin.

Veidt plays Otto Becker, a bookstore owner, and his twin brother, Baron Hugo von Detner, who heads up the German consulate in the U. S. Hugo wants to use Otto's bookstore as a message drop for his agents.

Otto is in the country illegally, so with Hugo hanging this over his head, he has to go along. When a fight ensues between the two, Hugo is killed. Otto takes his place in the consulate and as head of the spy ring.

Veidt is very good in both roles, that of a sweet, generous man, and the usual Veidt persona - a cold, authoritarian, but charming Nazi.

The supporting cast includes Ann Ayars, Dorothy Tree, Frank Reicher, and Martin Kosleck.

Entertaining. I did wonder about why Otto made the decision that he did at the end of the film, though.

I saw that there was a couple of Nazi films on TNT last night and decided to give them a viewing. Sometimes these old black and whites can really have interesting stories. This was true to my expectations.

This was a Jules Dassin film. He was one of the most important directors in post-WWII America. Unfortunately he got caught up in the Red Scare led by Senator McCarthy and was blacklisted. he moved to Europe, where he continued to make movies.

His most influential film was the heist movie Rififi, which inspired a genre of movies including Ocean's Eleven and Mission: Impossible.

The movie stars Conrad Veidt, who is himself a very interesting character. Most movie goers would remember him as Gestapo Maj. Strasser in the classic Casablanca. This is interesting because he was a staunch anti-Nazi who was himself chased out of Germany under threat of assassination. He was to play Dracula in 1931, but Bela Lugosi got the job. His performance in The Man Who Laughs, was used as the basis for "The Joker" in the early Batman.

Veidt give a good performance as a twin whose brother is a Nazi agent. he kills him and takes his place to fight against the Nazi underground in America.

It is not a terribly exciting film, but it was suspenseful, and a chance to see one of the great American directors and a great German/British actor.

Nazi Agent presents a rare opportunity to see the great Conrad Veidt play a lead role (as twin brothers with opposite personalities and values, no less) in a well-preserved sound film with a solid, serious theme and lasting value. Although this is obviously a "B"-level production made on a low budget, the brisk direction by Jules Dassin, the tight and literate script and some very good supporting players, make it as satisfying as many an "A" effort.

Otto is a gentle expatriate German bookseller whose quiet life in America is disrupted when his Nazi twin, Baron Hugo von Detner, threatens to reveal his illegal immigrant status to the US authorities unless he allows the Nazi spy network to use his bookstore as a message center. Otto desolately goes along for a while but when he finally resists, Hugo comes to shoot him. They struggle. Otto shoots Hugo instead, then assumes his identity and proceeds to sabotage the saboteurs, who include the memorable Martin Kosleck, whose presence in many films from this time screamed "Nazi." With his marionette-like features, lacquered hair and fey efficiency, he was a top scene stealer. Another excellent performance comes from the prolific Frank Reicher as Fritz, Hugo's aging valet who quickly realizes that his master isn't really his master. But it's really Veidt's movie, playing warm and cold, frightened and bold, kind and cruel – all with shading, subtlety and expertise. The movies suffered an irreparable loss in April 1943 when this man died on a California golf course at the age of 50.

This quietly powerful film is an adventure of ideas and ideals. The ending, though not as well shot as it might have been, is both stirring and heartbreaking.

As Nazi Agent came out of MGM you might get fooled as even their B pictures such as this look like A films. The lack of any stars would give it away, but this is a great example about how MGM could make any of its product look like quality.

Of course it helps here that Conrad Veidt gives a pair of performances, come to think of it three of them in this film. First as American professor and naturalized refugee from Nazi Germany, second as the new German Consul twin brother and fanatical Nazi and third as the American brother impersonating the Nazi.

It all starts when Nazi Veidt decides to force American Veidt to help with the cause making his place a drop for espionage messages. But the good Veidt kills the bad Veidt and then takes his place at the German consulate and does his own little job of sabotaging the operations.

Because of Conrad Veidt this World War II era propaganda flick holds up well still today. In essentially three roles the professor has to tread very carefully to find out who can be trusted.

Besides Veidt performances to watch are Marc Lawrence as an Italian gangster working for them and all around rat, Ann Ayars as a French dress designer and Vichy sympathizer who has a change of heart, Martin Kosleck who was always cast as Joseph Goebbels but here is Veidt's ferret faced aide at the consulate and Dorothy Tree as a Nazi agent planted with Professor Veidt. Tree had blacklist problems and never returned to Hollywood, in fact left acting altogether.

But this film is really a salute to Conrad Veidt's versatility. The plot is taken somewhat from the Ronald Colman classic The Masquerader, but the ending is straight out of that other Colman film A Tale Of Two Cities.

Catch this one when it's on and be prepared to see how well it holds up.