Underground (1941)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Vincent Sherman

Writers:

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

Release Date:

28 June 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

Tagline:

The World's Secret Battlefront!

Plot Keywords:

Violinist | Guillotine | Radio Broadcasting | Male Female Relationship | Gunfire

Cast

Jeffrey Lynn	...	Kurt Franken
Philip Dorn	...	Eric Franken
Kaaren Verne	...	Sylvia Helmuth
Mona Maris	...	Fräulein Gessner
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

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7184)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

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.

Soundtrack:

Rosen aus dem Süden, Op. 388 (Roses from the South)

One of the better, neglected World War II melodramas...

Vincent Sherman was on his way up as a film director at Warner Bros. when he was assigned to 'Underground', a low-budget feature without stars to bolster its box-office appeal. Nevertheless, he managed to weave an interesting, fast-paced tale of intrigue and suspense with the Nazi menace hanging like a heavy shadow over the whole film. Basically, it's the story of two brothers torn apart by their beliefs--one (Philip Dorn) is involved in an underground movement, an announcer for a resistance radio program. The other (Jeffrey Lynn) is a loyal German soldier who eventually joins his brother's cause when he realizes what Hitler is doing. This did fairly well at the box-office despite not having big names and deserves to be seen as the forceful war melodrama that it is.

Martin Kosleck does his usual turn as a vicious Nazi officer and Mona Maris is convincing as a woman not exactly loyal to the German cause. May not be an "A" feature but it certainly is worth viewing.