Underground
Directed by Vincent Sherman
Written by Edwin Justus Mayer, Oliver H. P. Garrett and Charles Grayson
1941/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Roan Group DVD
[box] Kurt Franken: I’m not going to let you go on working with those traitors.
Sylvia Helmuth: Take me back and I’ll do anything you want me to do.[/box]
I enjoyed this Hollywood propaganda exposée of Nazism.
By day Kurt Franken (Jeffrey Lynn) is an official in the Nazi Government, by night he is the voice of Illegal Radio urging the German people to resistance. One day, his soldier brother Eric (Phillip Dorr) comes home from the war missing an arm. Eric is a stalwart party member. He is also looking for a girlfriend. He spot’s Sylvia’s address in Kurt’s wallet and begins a dogged pursuit of her. Sylvia is also a secret member of the resistance. She is eventually arrested for receiving radio equipment and Eric tries to prove her innocence. When he finds out she is guilty, he has some hard decisions to make.
This is fairly exciting and not too preachy. It is the most graphic Hollywood condemnation of Nazi brutality I have run across yet. Of course it is nothing compared to the real thing.
For an article about real-life German resistance to the Nazis go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widerstand
To see the trailer on TCM go here: http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/140815/Underground-Original-Trailer-.html
