Espion nazi

... and director Jules Dassin has Otto Becker (Conrad Veidt) as a kindly, meek German-American immigrant who runs a small bookstore and who spends his free time growing his stamp collection. His mundane life is shattered when his twin brother Baron Hugo von Detner (also Veidt) pays him a surprise visit. Baron Detner has been assigned as a diplomatic envoy in the area, and he's also heading up a secret espionage cabal who are already responsible for the destruction of supply ships headed to the European theater of the war. The Baron wants to use his brother's bookstore as an operations front, but after a series of incidents, Otto finds himself masquerading as his brother and trying to thwart the spy ring from the inside.

This "B" effort is well put together and features one of Conrad Veidt's best English-language performances. Known primarily for playing slick and sophisticated villains, his turn as the stamp-collecting brother Otto is believable and affecting. The movie is short, and it's not trying to be anything but an entertaining flag-waver, but sometimes even movies with meager ambitions can be worthwhile viewing.

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.

In one of his last roles, Conrad Veidt plays both the GOOD twin and the EVIL twin, during WW II. The "bad" twin tries to talk the "good guy" into helping the dark side, but he doesn't want to. According to IMDb, this was released in March of 1942, so just a couple months after the U.S. was dragged into WW II, in December of 1941. Just like the Bette Davis films, or every other "twins" movies, one of them poses as the other. Veidt would die quite young at age 50.....heart attack. Mostly slow. Predictable. No big surprises here, but an entertaining WW II film. The suspense of watching him maneuver as he tries to avoid being found out as an imposter. This could have been a Hitchcock, but its not. This was Jules Dassin's second film as director, making him the young age of 31 when the film was made. Not bad.

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.

This was a nice little programmer from the '40s that played the lower half of double-features. CONRAD VEIDT is interesting (as always) as a pair of identical twins, one of whom is a Nazi agent. When the bad brother is killed, the good brother takes his place and has to convince everyone that he is the loyal Nazi. Only gradually do a couple of people come to realize who the man really is.

Veidt excels in the kind of role he always fared well in, especially riveting as the bad twin. Not the leading man type, he nevertheless manages to hold the screen with his histrionic finesse at playing either smooth villains or men with deeper convictions of honor.

ANNE AYARS is the lovely romantic lead and the supporting cast, which includes MARTIN KOSLECK as a fierce Nazi (a role he's played so often and so well) is more than adequate.

Good entertainment of its kind, it's a low-budget film directed by Jules Dassin.