Resisting Enemy Interrogation

...and director Bernard Vorhaus. An American bomber crew, shot down over enemy territory, is captured and brought to a villa for interrogation. There are no torture or other hardcase tactics used. Instead, the Germans use subtle psychological manipulation, electronic surveillance, and other techniques to amass intelligence on future bombing missions. Featuring Lloyd Nolan, Carl Esmond, Arthur Kennedy, Steven Geray, Craig Stevens, Don Porter, James Seay, Peter Van Eyck, and Kent Smith.

This is a military training film that uses fictionalized events to illustrate real-world problems and solutions for air combat crews. It was meant for military use only, but got a screening in New York City that made it eligible for a Best Documentary Feature Oscar. That seems like a stretch, as this is a scripted movie with actors playing parts, and not at all what I would consider a documentary.

It's entertaining in its depictions of the various sneaky techniques used to ferret out info. I liked one scene where the American being subtly questioned catches on and "reveals" info about the US's brand new Flash Gordon fighter jets equipped with disintegrator rays and "magnetic arcs". This was remade as a mainstream feature in 1951 titled Target Unknown, which also featured Steven Geray.

I had heard of this film over the years, and finally got to see it today. This is a clever use of film for training American flyers to clam up if they are captured. Our flyboys end up in the clutches of the clever Germans, who use all kinds non-violent means to soften up the unsuspecting GI's to give up info on an upcoming raid.Others have commented on the Germans using torture to get information, but it is known now that Herman Goering, who made sure the Luftwaffe kept shot down flyers, would not allow that. Lloyd Nolan's opening and closing lines are terrific. He gives the lesson it's exclamation point very well. I give it an 8 out of 10. Look for it to come on again and record it if you have to, just to get a glimpse of WWII film-making.

Because this film doesn't appear to have been made for viewing by the public at large, it's very hard to rate it. Instead, I assume that it was a Hollywood film meant as a training aid to show flight crews the importance of keeping quiet and recognizing various means the enemy might use to interrogate them. I am not sure how true all the scenarios are, though they seemed way too subtle and nice for Nazis. I assume in reality, if the Germans really wanted to get these secrets they would probably just torture it out of them. However, soldiers needed to be aware of the mind games that might be played and the consequences to America fliers if they gabbed to their captors.

When seen today, the movie is quite fascinating for historical reasons. Plus, it's neat to see some stars in various roles (such as Kent Smith as a Nazi as well as Arthur Kennedy and Don Porter as American fliers). Considering I am an old movie fan AND a history teacher, it's natural I'd enjoy it. However, even for NORMAL folks, it's pretty entertaining and worth a look.

Thanks to TCM for giving us an opportunity to see this gem. Made by the Army Air Force's famous First Movie Unit well into the war (1944), this is one of their most polished efforts. It has a simple, but effective narrative: a US air crew of 5 is downed by the Nazis, who use every trick in the book (short of torture) to pump information out of them: ingratiation, intimidation, deceit and psychological welfare. None of the downed fliers means to co-operate with the enemy, but each in his own way contributes some information to their clever Nazis captors, which is then pieced together by the Nazi commanding officer, somewhat flamboyantly portrayed by Carl Esmond. The consequences are disaster.

The point of the film as a training device (forcefully driven home by Lloyd Nolan in the closing sequence) was that ANY information, no matter how innocent or trivial seeming on its face, could complete the jigsaw puzzle for Nazi intelligence services. All that should EVER be revealed to ANYONE outside your own crew once you were captured was name, rank and serial number. A simple lesson, you would suppose, but for 70 minutes (rather lengthy by the genre's standards, I think) the point is expertly honed by a fairly effective little drama.

In addition to Nolan, the other "big name" actor here is a young Arthur Kennedy, who appeared in many excellent films over the following quarter century.

This film was originally produced and released as a training film for the Army Air Force during WWII. It covers the various (supposed) tactics that the Nazis would use to gather information from American (and other Allied Forces members) pilots and soldiers who are captured. Rather than being a dull, *by the numbers* lesson, however, the filmmakers present a solidly told little story in which the air crew of the mythical B-99 gradually...and presumably unintentionally...give up information that foils the success of a near-future air raid. If you see this, do tolerate a little preaching that occurs at the very end of the film (by an uncredited Lloyd Nolan) since this film WAS intended to teach a lesson; the ending is perfectly suitable for this kind of film. Certainly not on a par with Citizen Kane, but a solid enough piece of film making that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. 7* out of ten.