Underground (1941)

A World War II Hollywood propaganda film detailing the dark underside of Nazism and the Third Reich set between two brothers, Kurt and Erik Franken, whom are SS officers in the Nazi party. ... See full summary »

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

Edwin Justus Mayer (story), Oliver H.P. Garrett (story),

Stars:

Jeffrey Lynn, Philip Dorn, Kaaren Verne

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeffrey Lynn	...	Kurt Franken
Philip Dorn	...	Eric Franken
Kaaren Verne	...	Sylvia Helmuth
Mona Maris	...	Fräulein Gessner - Heller's secretary
Peter Whitney	...	Alex Schumann, Underground Member
Martin Kosleck	...	Col. Heller
Erwin Kalser	...	Dr. Albert Franken
Ilka Grüning	...	Frau Franken (as Ilka Gruning)
Frank Reicher	...	Prof. Hugo Baumer
Egon Brecher	...	Herr Director of the Chemical Institute
Ludwig Stössel	...	Herr Gustav Müller, a Neighbor (as Ludwig Stossel)
Hans Schumm	...	Heller's Aide
Wolfgang Zilzer	...	Walter Hoffman
Roland Varno	...	Ernst Demmler, Underground Member
Henry Brandon	...	Josef Rolf, Underground Member Shot by Gestapo

Storyline

A World War II Hollywood propaganda film detailing the dark underside of Nazism and the Third Reich set between two brothers, Kurt and Erik Franken, whom are SS officers in the Nazi party. Kurt learns and exposes the evils of the system to Erik and tries to convince him of the immoral stance that marches under the symbol of the swastika.

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Plot Keywords:

brother | nazi | guillotine | spy | cafe | 

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Taglines:

The World's Secret Battlefront!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 June 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Voz da Liberdade

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

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. You'll only take me back.

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Soundtracks

"Rosen aus dem Süden, Op. 388 (Roses from the South)"
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß
Played on the violin at Maxels Cafe

User Reviews

Good small Warners film

"Underground" is a good propaganda movie that came out of Warner Brothers in 1941. It's lacking major stars, but the story is certainly A list. Philip Dorn and Jeffrey Lynn star as German brothers on opposite sides. Dorn is a member of the underground, which uses a traveling illegal radio to broadcast to the people, while Lynn is a returning soldier who has lost his arm. He becomes interested in an attractive violinist, Sylvia (Kaaren Verne) who performs in a tavern, unaware that his brother knows her from the underground and that they are both members. This leads to problems as the Nazis close in.

Vincent Sherman does an excellent job of directing. The rest of the cast includes Martin Kosleck a a nasty Nazi, and Mona Maris as his assistant, also an underground member. The Dutch Dorn gives a very good performance, as does Lynn. The ending of the film is quite touching.

As someone on this site pointed out, the Germans let the Nazis come into power and didn't do much in the way of resistance. There was a strong French resistance, as well as the Yugoslav Partisans, the Polish Home Army, the Soviet partisans, the Italian CLN, the Norwegian Resistance, the Greek Resistance and the Dutch Resistance. One doesn't hear much about German resistance. Warner Brothers probably just assumed it was active.

A good movie.