Confessions of a Nazi Spy (1939)
Director: Anatole Litvak
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Anti-Nazi propaganda film from Warners, with Robinson (like Cagney, doing an about-face from gangster roles to more respectable characters) as the G-Man ferreting out Nazi fifth columnists working in America. Topically following hard on the heels of several anti-Nazi trials in 1938, the film achieved great popular and critical success in America (though banned in many Latin American and European countries); now, for all its admirable anti-Fascist relevance, it seems weakened by its patriotic flag-waving and the pseudo-documentary approach (sacrificing suspense) taken by Litvak. But the quietly determined Robinson, the sinister Sanders (as a Nazi villain, a role he would later develop in Lang's Man Hunt), and Lederer (the man duped into becoming a spy by his vain egocentricity) lend a power to the film that makes it still worth watching.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Anatole Litvak
Producer: Peter Lord
Cast: Edward G Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, Lya Lys, Henry O'Neill, James Stephenson full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 102 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now