The Counterfeit Traitor (1962)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

George Seaton

Writers:

Charles Grenzbach (story)
Alexander Klein (novel)

Release Date:

2 July 1962 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Blacklisted in modern day WW2, a Swedish oil trader opts to assist British Allies, by means of infiltrating and surveying Nazi Germany.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Dominatrix | Woman Shot | WWII | Execution

Cast

William Holden	...	Eric Erickson
Lilli Palmer	...	Frau Marianne Möllendorf
Hugh Griffith	...	Collins
Carl Raddatz	...	Otto Holtz
Ernst Schröder	...	Baron Gerhard von Oldenburg
Charles Régnier	...	Wilhelm Kortner
Ingrid van Bergen	...	Hulda Windler
Helo Gutschwager	...	Hans Holtz
Wolfgang Preiss	...	Colonel Nordoff
Werner Peters	...	Bruno Ulrich
Erica Beer	...	Klara Holtz
Stefan Schnabel	...	Gestapo agent at funeral
Klaus Kinski	...	Kindler
Jochen Blume	...	Dr. Jacob Karp
Erik Schumann	...	Nazi Gunboat Officer

Runtime:

140 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Danish | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Copenhagen, Denmark

Company:

Perlsea Company

Quotes:

Marianne Möllendorf: In case one of us should get arrested and questioned, I think we ought to know a few intimate details about each other. Now, for your information, I have a scar, appendicitis, right here.
[Points to right lower abdomen]
Marianne Möllendorf: , and, um, a birthmark there
[points under her right breast]
Marianne Möllendorf: wine-colored.
Eric Erickson: White or red?
Marianne Möllendorf: Vin rose.

Be patient.

The beginning-the first third overall-is rather tedious ,with too much voice-over.No interesting character emerges and it essentially consists of William Holden's shuttling back and forth between Suede and Germany. One feels like calling it a day but wait....

The second third makes Lilli Palmer's character the center of the plot:a very interesting one,this German wealthy woman who betrays her country because of her Christian belief.This spy is not a routine femme fatale but a human being,who is smitten with remorse because the bombing which her informations allowed led to children's death.She has wonderful lines:"in a war,every victim becomes a brother".Two marvelous scenes:the first one ,probably the strongest in the whole movie,shows Palmer in a confessional,telling her sins to a man she thinks is a priest;the second one,she's to be shot in a jail,while Holden desperately tries,behind his bars, to say a last goodbye to her.Lilli Palmer's performance is moving,responsible and sensitive.

By the third part,no more Palmer,but the movie has hit its stride.Holden's return to Suede becomes an odyssey,with a lot of traps and his character has grown wiser and more human.He's able to show some compassion,probably the woman's influence.One of the most intriguing characters plays a small part now:a young boy,about 12,member of the Hitlerian Youth,proud of his uniform,he will make your hair stand on end.At the end of the movie,Holden has completely understood Palmer's line about the victims/brothers as the scene with Klaus Kinski testifies.

George Seaton has made an entertaining movie,which does not forget to ask questions and to moot responsibility.He does flay the nazi horrors,but he also puts the blame on the English agents ,stuffing themselves with lobster and sipping Champagne,while other people die unnoticed ,simply because the victims are their brothers.