The Man I Married (1940)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Irving Pichel

Writers:

Oscar Schisgall (short story) and
Oliver H.P. Garrett (writer)

Release Date:

9 August 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Anti-Nazi tract laced with 1938 newsreel footage finds American girl (Bennett) married to a German (Lederer) gradually learning he is a Nazi...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | WWII | Marriage | Beautiful Woman | Wife

Cast

Joan Bennett	...	Carol Hoffman
Francis Lederer	...	Eric Hoffman
Lloyd Nolan	...	Kenneth Delane
Anna Sten	...	Frieda
Otto Kruger	...	Heinrich Hoffman
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Frau Gerhardt
Ludwig Stössel	...	Dr. Gerhardt
Johnny Russell	...	Ricky
Lionel Royce	...	Herr Deckhart
Frederick Vogeding	...	Traveller
Ernst Deutsch	...	Otto
Egon Brecher	...	Czech
Willy Kaufman	...	Train Conductor (as William Kaufman)
Frank Reicher	...	Friehof

Also Known As:

I Married a Nazi

Runtime:

77 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

I married a Nazi

Carol Hoffman, an art critic, seems to be happily married to Eric; they lead a somewhat happy existence in New York. When they decide to pay a visit to Germany, she immediately notices the changes that had befallen that country in the eve of WWII. Her husband, though, finds all the changes to his liking, as he considers how advanced his homeland has become.

Eric becomes interested in the Nazi party because of his involvement with Frieda, an attractive woman who clearly thinks Hitler and his cohorts are in the right path to solve all their problems. Carol realizes to what extent the new system has played on Eric and decides to take their young son back to America. Her father in law is horrified by what he notices Eric is becoming, and he wants to set his hon straight about a little family secret the younger man is not aware of.

This film has some interesting aspects in that it points out how a totalitarian regime can be dangerous for a country. History proves how devastating the situation in Germany was. Director Irving Pichel guides the proceedings with his usual style to create a powerful melodrama.

Joan Bennett, who plays Carol, is one of the assets of the film. The other is Francis Lederer, who plays Eric, the man that is dazed by the Germany he suddenly discovers. Anna Sten is also effective as Frieda, the ambitious woman who is horrified at the end when she discovers the secret about Eric. Venerable Otto Kruger appears as the patriarch Henrich Hoffman, and Lloyd Nolan appears as the American reporter who befriends Carol and warns her about the impending changes in Germany.

The film will not disappoint.