Secret Command (1944)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

A. Edward Sutherland

Writers:

Roy Chanslor (writer)
John Hawkins (story)

Release Date:

30 July 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

DRAMA...by a handful of men and women who fight the enemy within our gates!

Plot Keywords:

WWII | Spy | Melodrama | Beautiful Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Pat O'Brien	...	Sam Gallagher
Carole Landis	...	Jill McGann
Chester Morris	...	Jeff Gallagher
Ruth Warrick	...	Lea Damaron
Barton MacLane	...	Red Kelly
Tom Tully	...	Colonel Hugo Von Braun aka 'Brownie' Brownell
Wallace Ford	...	Miller
Howard Freeman	...	Max Lessing
Erik Rolf	...	Ben Royall
Matt McHugh	...	Curly
Frank Sully	...	Shawn
Frank Fenton	...	Simms
Charles D. Brown	...	James Thane
Carol Nugent	...	Joan
Richard Lyon	...	Paul

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Company:

Torneen Productions

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Red Kelly (Barton MacLane) first meets Jill McGann (Carole Landis), he says, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kelly," which is HIS character's last name. A moment later, he calls her by her 'proper' name, Mrs. Gallagher.

Pretty good stuff--a WWII propaganda film that's well worth seeing

This film is a slight departure for its star, Pat O'Brien, because in this film he is an undercover agent trying to expose saboteurs at a ship-building plant. He gets a job doing "grunt work" but really is outside his element--since he knows nothing about ships or machinery. His brother, Chester Morris, has no idea why Pat wants this job, but reluctantly hires him. It's obvious there is some bad blood between them, though exactly what it is doesn't ever get explained. However, Morris and the rest of the guys at the plant give him a pretty hard time until he eventually proves himself. To make the ruse more believable, Pat is set up with an instant family--a pretend wife and two cute little pretend kids who are actually war orphans. Over time, Pat can't help but love the pretend family--and looking at them, I could certainly see why.

At the plant, almost no one knows O'Brien is an agent. His contact there is Wallace Ford--who has already started to infiltrate the gang of Nazis planning on sabotaging something--exactly what and when are unknown. How this all comes together in the end is very exciting and kept my attention. In fact, the movie was so well-written and tense that it managed to somehow rise above the genre and is STILL an excellent drama...and I LOVED the ending even though it was a tad "schmaltzy".