The Man I Married (1940) User Reviews

A remarkably powerful movie

[richard-1787 · 7/10 · 13 November 2017]

This is really a very fine movie, something I did not expect from the leads, neither of whom have ever done much for me. If you watch it thinking of the time of its release - August 1940, by which time France had signed an armistice with Germany and Germany occupied two thirds of France while getting ready to start its assault on England - it seems particularly ominous.

The one part that could have used a lot more work in the script is explaining why Eric Hoffman, the male lead, would have fallen for the propaganda of the Nazi regime, especially after having lived in the U.S. for so many years. We never know if it is the ideology that has swayed him, or the attractive blonde (played well by Anna Sten).

The movie does a fine job of letting us see only slowly the horrors - some of them - of the Nazi regime, first letting us hear only the positive propaganda.

All the acting is good.

There is no real love story here, which, I suppose, is one reason the movie failed to leave a mark. But it is well-made, and must have come as a wake-up call to at least some Americans who believed, as so many still did in 1940, that the war in Germany was none of our business.

Definitely worth watching. You won't be bored.

I married a Nazi

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 21 December 2007]

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.

Proof that the studios were finally getting sick and tired of neutrality

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 3 October 2015]

A seldom-known aspect of US history that most Americans don't know is that a law was enacted in the 1930s that made it illegal--YES, illegal for the studios to favor one side or the other in the European conflict that became WWII. Studios were forbidden to get involved and these companies all followed along with the law--seeing neutrality as a patriotic ideal. Part of it, I am sure, is that neutrality could insure that US films would STILL be rented in Europe (regardless who wins--neutrality guarantees the studios will deal with the victor). However, by late 1938 and into 1939, some brave studio execs started to balk at this. After all, the Nazis had proved themselves to be monsters--and the studios were beginning to take sides--law or not! While "The Man I Married" is not among the first of these anti-Nazi films from the US, it is one of the better ones and holds up well today.

Carol and Eric Hoffman (Joan Bennett and Francis Lederer) are living in the States when the movie begins. Eric was born in Germany but has lived in America a decade. Carol is an American--born and raised. The Hoffmans take their son to Germany for a visit and soon Mrs. Hoffman is aghast at the hate and viciousness she sees. What's worse...over time, she sees her husband buying into the Nazi rhetoric more and more. Pretty soon she's worried...can she even get out of Germany. And, more importantly, can she do so with her young son?

This movie doesn't pull punches. It talks about Dachau, prisoners being murdered in the camps and chalking it up to things like Apendicitis, Storm Troopers abusing non-Aryans and more. As I already said, though, it's not like any of this was much of a surprise to audiences, as by 1940 the war had been raging a year. Still, it's very well written and acted and holds up very well today. Nearly as good as contemporary films like "The Mortal Storm".

Enthralled with Hitler

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 13 November 2017]

The Man I Married released in 1940 has its plot set in 1938 after the Reich had taken Austria and Czechoslovakia and the world was waiting out its last year of peace. Joan Bennett stars with Francis Lederer who may have rehearsed for this role playing the title role in Confessions Of A Nazi Spy the year before.

Lederer is a German who had settled in America and married an American girl Bennett and they have a young son in Johnny Russell. They hear that his father Otto Kruger is getting on in years and his business in the old country is falling apart. He wants his son to return to the old country and help straighten things out.

So Lederer packs his family up and returns to Germany and he get enthralled with Hitler. He's taken with the fine industrial machine that the Nazi state has made and feels pride in his nationality. His father of the older generation is not so impressed. Bennett is frightened by her surroundings and she gains a sympathetic ear in correspondent Lloyd Nolan.

She's got more problems than that. Lederer and her have grown apart and he's taken up with a Third Reich true believer in Anna Sten. You remember that Samuel Goldwyn made three attempts to make her a star and couldn't sell her. A pity because in The Man I Married she really stands out as the fanatical Nazi woman. She'd have made a great Magda Goebbels in a film.

The Man I Married was also unique in that it tackled anti-Semitism in a very dramatic climax scene. Darryl F. Zanuck and 20th Century Fox deserve a lot of credit for making this most timely film in 1940.

Turn tail and run

[blanche-2 · 7/10 · 22 October 2017]

Joan Bennett realizes there is a problem with "The Main I Married" in this 1940 film also starring Francis Lederer, Otto Kruger, Anna Sten, and Lloyd Nolan.

Bennett plays Carol Hoffman, an editor, happily married to a German, Eric Hoffman (Lederer), for 8 years. They have a son named Ricky (Johnny Russell) and live in New York City. In 1938, Eric learns that he needs to return to Germany to take care of some business concerning his father's factory, so Carol and Ricky come along.

Eric's feet no sooner touch Deutschland that he begins to take up the Nazi fervor, aided and abetted by an old friend, Greta (Sten). Carol is vocal about not liking what she sees, and Eric keeps telling her not to listen to propaganda.

Finally, Carol realizes the truth about her husband, and with the help of an American journalist covering Berlin (Nolan), she decides to leave Germany with Ricky.

Good movie, great cast, solid performances. I don't know what the atmosphere in 1938 was but somehow I don't think I would have been interested in a trip to Germany. And frankly, Carol had good dose of denial about Eric or she would have left shortly after they arrived.

Otto Kruger is excellent as Eric's father, who feels as if he's lived too long, and Sten gives a strong performance as the unlikable Nazi Freda. Lederer has long been a favorite actor of mine, and here he's handsome and charming as a man ultimately gripped by nationalism.

Bennett is a beautiful, glamorous American woman who realizes how bad things are, and she gives a strong performance, brave in her disapproval and determined not to expose her child to it.

Irving Pichel does a good job of directing, and there is actual footage of Germany in 1938 throughout the film.

The movie was released in August of 1940, so it was probably made after war was declared in Europe, which was in September 1939. The film The Mortal Storm, released in June 1940, talks of the German oppression but never mentions Jews or Nazis. It seems that the studio moguls wanted America to enter the war, and promoted the cause with the films they produced, becoming a little bolder with each film.

Engrossing pre-war anti-Nazi propaganda

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 19 September 2021]

American Carol (Joan Bennett) is married to German immigrant Eric Hoffman (Francis Lederer), and the two decide to travel to Germany, along with their young son, to settle some business matters and to see the country. While Carol has heard some rumblings about Nazi abuses of power and the use of concentration camps, she's shocked and appalled by the extent of it, while Eric feels a renewed sense of pride in what he sees as his homeland returning to prominence. Carol begins to fear that she's losing Eric to the Nazi ideology, even while her contact with an American reporter (Lloyd Nolan) is putting a spotlight on just how far gone the Nazis and Germany really are.

This was controversial, inflammatory stuff at the time of its release, and Fox pulled the picture from theaters soon afterward. It's certainly one of the most unequivocal anti-Nazi American movies from before the war that I've seen. Bennett is good as the increasingly alarmed surrogate stand-in for Americans unaware or unwilling to face what was happening in Europe. Anna Sten is very hissable as the fanatical Nazi adherent that tries to sway Lederer's mind and heart.

Very Powerful Indictment of Nazi Regime

[Diosprometheus · 10/10 · 29 December 2005]

With the nation of the verge of entering World War II, 20th Century-Fox head, Darryl Zanuck set out to make a series of films to keep Americans up to date on the rapidly changing shape of Europe. The Man I Married was one of those many films. The film was about the rise of Nazism in Germany and the devastating effects it would have on the relationship between Carol Hoffman, played splendidly by Joan Bennett, and her German-American husband, Eric Hoffman, played by Francis Lederer. The story involved their family visit in 1938 to Eric's homeland, where Eric comes to embrace the Nazi regime while his wife becomes horrified by it. This is a powerful film. It was highlighted by the inter-cutting of period news footage that showed the bigotry and brutality of the Nazi regime and Hitler's ugly brand of anti-Semitism. The insight this film shows is all the more remarkable when one considers that it was made before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It is most unfortunate that this film is not better known or on DVD. UPDATE: Now on DVD.

Watchable propaganda film

[russjones-80887 · 6/10 · 22 May 2020]

In 1938 an American wife lives in New York with her German husband and their son. On a visit to his homeland her husband is attracted by Nazism which she finds distasteful.

Interesting propaganda film, released before the US entered the Second World War, which mixes in some documentary footage from the era. Joan Bennett and Francis Lederer as the couple play their parts well with a fine turn by Lloyd Nolan as an American journalist.

A Sharp and Sophisticated Early Anti-Nazi Film

[jayraskin1 · 10/10 · 28 September 2015]

"Blockade" (1938), "Beasts of Berlin" (1939) and "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" (1939) were the earliest Hollywood films to openly attack the Nazis. Another anti-Nazi film, "The Mortal Storm" opened in June, 1940. This film opened on August 9th 1940. That appears to make it the fifth openly anti-Nazi film released in America. This one was perhaps that sharpest and most effective of the anti-Nazi films. "Blockade" was about the Spanish Civil War, "Beasts of Berlin" was censored and hardly seen, "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" was about Nazis in America, and "the Mortal Storm" was set in Germany in 1933 when the Nazis first came to power. "The Man I Married" is set in 1938 and talks about contemporary events taking place in Germany at the time the film was released.

It is about a rather likable upper middle-class young couple, Carol and Eric Hoffman (Joan Bennett and Francis Lederer) and their young son visiting Germany. While Eric dismisses the bad things he has heard about the Nazis as propaganda, Carol is open-minded, taking a wait and see attitude. The movie becomes a fascinating dialectical discussion on the pros and con of the regime, with Eric finding the new Germany quite to his liking and Carol becoming more and more horrified. The audience identifies strongly with Carol's position. That is what makes it so effective.

The movie sees the Nazis as a psychotic cult. It shows the horror of a family member being taken over by a cult. It is really the blueprint for many contemporary anti-cult movies.

In his generally perceptive review of the movie, New York Times critic Bosley Crowther praised the movie for its intelligence, restraint and entertainment value. He praised Lederer's acting and others like Lloyd Nolan, but surprisingly attacked Joan Bennett's acting, saying that she just "model dresses and expresses incredulity." This is entirely unfair. Bennett carries the movie on her shoulders and really expresses her horror and disgust at the Nazi's actions with subtlety and intelligence. She is quite believable in every scene.

For an intelligent and enjoyable anti-Nazi film, I highly recommend it.

Not Without My Son

[disinterested_spectator · 6/10 · 18 November 2017]

The most interesting this about the movie "The Man I Married" was its similarity to the movie "Not Without My Daughter" (1991). Based on a true story, "Not Without My Daughter" is about a woman, Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field), who is married to an Iranian doctor, Moody (Alfred Molina). He convinces her to go with him back to Iran to visit his family, taking their six-year-old daughter with them. The year is 1984, and Betty is naturally hesitant, owing to the recent Iranian hostage crisis and the anti-Americanism that is aflame in that country, but she agrees.

Soon after they get there, the pressures of Iranian culture in general and that of his Iranian family begin to change Moody. He becomes a different person than the one Betty thought she was married to in America. She wants to go back to America, which she is free to do, but Moody will not let her take their daughter back with her. She is told that girls in Iran are sometimes married off as young as eight years old, so leaving her behind is unthinkable. Much of the movie is her struggle to sneak her daughter out of Iran, for which she requires the help of sympathetic Iranians.

There are two unnerving aspects to this movie. The first is the way Moody becomes a different man when he returns to Iran. Or perhaps I should say, he reverts to becoming the man he used to be before immigrating to the United States. The second is the problem Betty has in trying to tell who will help her and who will not. As a result of the differences in the American and Iranian cultures, the ordinary cues we take for granted here in America are not reliable in Iran. The people she thinks might help her turn on her and betray her, while a man she thinks is going to betray her turns out to be acting in her interest and is instrumental in getting her and her daughter safely across the border to Turkey.

I saw "Not Without My Daughter" over twenty years ago. But just the other night, I happened to watch "The Man I Married," which was made in 1940 but set in 1938, just prior to the outbreak of World War II. In that movie, Carol Hoffman (Joan Bennett) is married to a German immigrant, Eric, who wants her and their son Ricky to go on a vacation back to Germany with him to visit his father. Shortly after they arrive, Eric begins to fall under the sway of German culture, and it is not long before he joins the Nazi party. He even falls in love with Freda, who is also a Nazi, whom he wants to marry, and for which reason he wants a divorce from Carol. Carol is disgusted with him and the whole Third Reich, and so she agrees. But then she finds out that Eric will not allow her to take their son Ricky back with her to America, because he wants Ricky to become a Nazi too.

With the help of an American reporter, Kenneth Delane (Lloyd Nolan), she tries to sneak Ricky out, but Eric stops her. Eric's father is on Carol's side, and he tells Eric that unless he lets her take Ricky back to America, he will reveal to the Nazis that his mother was a "Jewess." Freda is there when this is revealed, and she is repelled at the thought of having had an affair with someone who had Jewish blood. Eric and crushed, and Carol takes Ricky and leaves without any resistance.

Carol does not have the same problem Betty did at reading the cultural cues of the people in Germany, probably because German culture is not as different from American culture as Iranian culture is. But in both cases, a man who is one person in America becomes another person when he returns his country of origin. Everyone has had the experience of being a different person around different people, but these movies take that ordinary experience to the next level. Notwithstanding our belief in the integrity of our individual selves, both these movies reveal the disturbing fact that our individuality can be powerfully influenced by the cultural milieu we find ourselves in. Of course, the women in both these movies, having been born in America and spent their whole lives there, are not similarly altered. But the husbands in these movies, having spent a lot of time in both America and their respective countries of origin, are far more susceptible to such influences.

Joan Bennett at the mercy of the reality of Nazi Germany - by her own husband

[clanciai · 10/10 · 18 December 2019]

This is one of those early prophetic films seeing through Nazism completely long before their actual madness was commonly known or even suspected. Joan Bennett is married to a German in New York who wants to return to Germany to see about his father's business (Otto Kruger in one of his best roles), where he turns into a definite Nazi, to the great shock of Joan Bennett. It's a very unpleasant film, you feel the creeping horrors of Nazism invading your being and life as you like Joan Bennett follow the revelations of the tale, but dramatically it's an ingenious film, carefully building up an almost unendurable suspense, to reach a climax in the wonderful final scene at home. It is very intelligently written, and you follow the arguments and developments with constantly increasing anxiety and thrill, and what's worse - films like this are pertinent still today, since the same sneaking danger of dictatorships is something that history always has seen the return of.

Time to re-marry

[AAdaSC · 6/10 · 6 June 2014]

American Joan Bennett (Carol) is married to German Francis Lederer (Eric). The year is 1938 and they live in the USA during the emergence of Hitler and his gang. They have a son Johnny Russell (Ricky) who looks like he has been given a few too many MacDonalds cheeseburgers. He's also annoying. Lederer takes his family on a trip into Germany to take care of matters with his father's (Otto Kruger) business where he also links up with wide-eyed Nazi sympathiser and friend Anna Sten (Frieda). Bennett and Lederer have also been asked to smuggle some money to a concentration camp prisoner so that he can bribe a guard and escape. It's not long before Bennett has seen enough but Lederer wants to stay and embrace the new Germany……

Unfortunately, there is not enough action here and the film has long segments of preachy dialogue, so it loses points as it loses its way during these sections. And the kid is irritating. It's interesting as a time capsule and the cast are fine given that they have to spout corny dialogue.

A fate worst then death itself

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 14 October 2016]

***SPOILERS*** It's when German national and soon to be proud Nazi Eric Hoffman,Francis Lederer, traveled to the fatherland from his adopted home in New York City to check on his dad Henrich's, Otto Kruger, automatic screwing machine factory-That screw buttons on German Army uniforms-in Bremerhaven he also took his American wife Carol, Joan Bennett, or "CoCo" as he likes to call her along with him on the trip. Greatly impressed by the German National Socialist experiment with full employment,compared to the US at the time 18% to 20% unemployment levels, he becomes in no time at all a full fledged Nazi and even dumps the more or less, in not knowing just what the Nazis are all about, "CoCo" for die in the wool Nazi fanatic Frieda, Anna Sten, who just thinks the world of Adolph Hitler and his policies.

It's later when Eric refuses to let their son the American born in Brooklyn NY Ricky, Johnny Russell, sail back home with her to the US that "CoCo" went to see hard boiled US foreign news reporter Ken Delane, Lloyd Nolan, for help. Delane who has no use for the Nazis tells "CoCo" to play it cool and check out with Ricky when her Nazi husband Eric has his back turned listening to Hitler give his next speech on the Nazi controlled radio. Eric who never lets his eye off "CoCo" or his son Ricky seems to have the upper hand when all of a sudden his Pop Henrich Hoffman drops a bombshell or uses the dreaded nuclear option in revealing just what kind of Nazi her Hitler loving spouse really is! Or better yet who his mom was that changed everything and left him a completely mindless and sputtering idiot! It was the very last thing that Pop Hoffman wanted to do but with the smart a** Eric keeping "CoCo" from having her child Little Ricky go back home with her to the US he left him no choice!

***SPOILERS*** The secret, that was so shocking that it caused people to go into shock and convulsions who were in the theaters watching the movie, that Pop Hoffman had kept from his son Eric was so devastating that even his at the time his Nazi girlfriend Frieda checked out on him in total shock and disgust and left poor and helpless Eric almost comatose! As for "CoCo" and little Ricky they checked out on the first ship back to the US leaving a dead to the world Eric and all this Nazi insanity that he amused himself in behind them. With Ken now opting-who knows a big scoop when he sees one- to stay behind in Germany until he was forced to leave a year later when Hitler declared war on the US: which Ken in fact predicted-As well as the final outcome of the Second World War-well in advance.

Niemals ohne meinen Sohn.

[ulicknormanowen · 7/10 · 21 August 2020]

Like Frank Borzage 's "mortal storm " , "The man I married " is effective anti-nazi propaganda ; less strong and less plausible ,for Borzague 's characters were all German ,and thus crashed headlong into the Hitlerian regime .

The American character,Ken, who becomes Carol's attentive escort is a little too providential ,but all that surrounds her is great :

-particularly ,the blonde Frieda ,who drags the "man I married" towards the terrifying nazi ceremonies ,where the individual is sacrificed to the cause and to the Führer.

-particularly old Heinrich Hoffman who 's lost his way in a country which is not his anymore (his unexpected secret is revealing);

-and mainly ,mainly , Madame Maria Ouspenskaya -also present as James Stewart 's mom in "mortal storm"- as the deported 's wife : in one scene ,she makes us feel all the suffering in the land.

A couple ,who,slowly but inexorably , discovers that they have nothing in common but a child ; hence the dilemma:shall he stay in this strong nightmarish country ,as his dad (abetted by his evil genius Frieda,the nice face of fascism )demands ,or shall he come back to the democratic America ?

Pre-war diatribe against the Nazis proves prescient

[Turfseer · 7/10 · 27 June 2021]

The Man I married came out in 1940, the same year Chaplin's Great Dictator was released. The absurdly overrated "Dictator" ended up as a misinformed treatment of Hitler as a buffoon. Years later Chaplin admitted that he would never have made the film had he been aware of the dangers of the Third Reich at the time. But The Man I Married managed to do what The Great Dictator could not: actually make a realistic film about Nazism and warn the pre-war US audience of the impending peril.

The film stars Joan Bennett as art critic Carol Cabbott who is married to German born Eric Hoffman (Francis Lederer); the couple have a seven year old son. The year is 1938. The couple decide to take an extended vacation in Germany at the behest of Eric's elderly father Heinrich (Otto Kruger) who no longer can manage the family business and wants Eric to take it over or sell it.

The naïve Carol really has no idea what's going on in Germany and tends to trust her husband who puts a positive spin on anything German. The atmosphere of dread is immediately introduced when a family friend, Dr. Hugo Gerhardt pays the couple a visit at their NYC apartment, and asks if they can deliver $500 in bribe money to get his well known philosopher brother Hans released from Dachau concentration camp, after being imprisoned as a political prisoner.

After taking a ship to Germany, Carol and Eric are on a train headed to Berlin when Eric reads a story about Austrian workers who have volunteered for work in the "Fatherland." He also extols the purported miracle recovery of the German economy (where he believes Nazi propaganda that there's no unemployment). A disembarking fellow traveler sarcastically informs both of them that the Austrians are forced laborers, pointing to the train on an adjacent track full of Austrian workers guarded by Nazi troops.

Once they arrive in Berlin, more and more ominous developments occur. Eric's old girlfriend, Freda Heinkel (a dyed-in-the wool Nazi played by Anna Sten), meets the couple at the train station. Remarkably the German characters actually speak German--unlike many of the films of the time--which adds to the heady verisimilitude (however, there are sadly no subtitles).

Eric's father is an old school progressive and bemoans what's happened to Germany. Eric, on the other hand, after attending a military rally (newsreel footage of the German military on display is used quite effectively here) is quite excited about what he sees. At a dance, he informs Carol he wants to stay in Germany and run the family business. Then Freda shows up and warns Carol not to take the bribe money to try and have Hugo's brother released-because she points out that he's a traitor.

Carol remains naïve and vows that she still intends to deliver the money. Soon afterward, Carol meets Kenneth DeLane (Lloyd Nolan), an American reporter working for the Overseas News Service. Kenneth later proves to be Carol's savior, as she is completely over her head in navigating the treacherous waters of Nazi Germany.

Kenneth informs Carol that Hans Gerhardt died of appendicitis so Carol decides to deliver the money she got from Hugo to their mother, Frau Gerhardt (Maria Ouspenskaya). While driving on the way there, Carol and Kenneth come upon an unforgettable scene in which SS troops stand over elderly people and children who are forced to clean the streets. Carol asks if they are Jews (notice "Jews" are actually mentioned by name in this film and not the generic "non-Aryans") but Kenneth informs here they're actually Germans of Czech ancestry.

In perhaps the most memorable scene in the film, one of the elderly men convinces the SS to allow him to dress up in his World War I uniform. Despite obviously being a German veteran, the Nazis still humiliate him by making him clean the streets. Thus we see how both physical and psychological violence was perpetrated by the Nazis on their victims.

At Frau Gerhardt's we learn that Hans had his appendix removed years ago and couldn't have possibly died because of that. Hence it becomes quite clear the Nazi authorities had been lying and he was a victim of foul play.

The stakes are raised even further when Carol runs outside to help the neighbor's son, wounded in an escape from a concentration camp-only to find herself turned into the Gestapo by the neighbor's young son (who rats them all out). Carol, still naïve about the danger she's in, tries to talk back to her Gestapo interrogator but luckily gets word to Kenneth by screaming into the phone as the interrogator talks with him at Gestapo headquarters.

The climax is extremely effective-after Eric informs Carol that he plans on keeping their son in Germany and will marry Freda, all appears lost. But Eric's father reveals the devastating family secret that his wife was actually Jewish. When Freda hears this she curses Eric and walks out, leaving Eric sitting at the kitchen table with his hands over his head in despair. Carol and son make their escape from Germany aided by Kenneth who arranges the proper paperwork.

Maybe the ending could have been developed a bit more-perhaps Freda could have returned with the Gestapo and had Eric arrested. This would have been even a more suitable comeuppance for the Nazi fanatic who truly deserved some additional "just desserts."

The acting here is top-notch, especially Anna Sten as Eric's former flame, now newly minted bride-to-be. Of the pre-war anti-Nazi films, this might have been the strongest entry.

Not quite as bad as some people (including me) make out!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 4 June 2018]

Producer: Raymond Griffith. Executive producer: Darryl F. Zanuck. Copyright 2 August 1940 by 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. New York opening at the Roxy: 2 August 1940. U.S. release: 2 August 1940. 77 minutes.

Alternative title: I MARRIED A NAZI.

SYNOPSIS: Is he is, or is he isn't a Nazi? Answers in the course of this movie: No. Yes. Maybe. Yes.

COMMENT: Pre-wartime propaganda pap, on a strictly soap opera level, of interest perhaps to students of sociology and the cinema, but otherwise an unparalleled bore, despite an interesting cast line-up.

Joan Bennett looks fairly attractive, though Peverell Marley's photography is way below his usual standard (a very slow worker, he was unable to adjust well to the fast demands of "B"-picture shooting).

Anna Sten has curiosity appeal. Otto Kruger attempts a character role, hidden behind a white beard and speaking with a German accent (!), with surprising success. Lloyd Nolan is cheerily capable, while Francis Lederer does as well as can be expected with the wishy-washy part of Miss Bennett's husband.

However, the film is not rounded out with as many character players as we would like (where's Martin Kosleck?) and Irving Pichel's direction is ruthlessly routine. Still, production credits are quite fair by "B"-picture standards.

No propaganda here

[ourilk · 8/10 · 6 September 2021]

Most reviews of this film are appreciative and respectful, recognizing the professional production qualities and creditable acting, including that of Joan Bennett and Lloyd Nolan. In fact, Nolan's portrayal of the tough, clear-sighted newsman may be one of his best.

The reviews and billing do a disservice, however, by using the term propaganda to describe the film and story line. My mid-20th Century dictionary describes propaganda as a movement to spread a particular kind of doctrine, or a system of information to help or injure a person or group. It also suggests, while not always including, bias and exaggeration. In other words, it is untrue. As a contemporary with the film's production, I offer hat there is no deception here.

Growing up when this film was made, I knew numerous refugees from the Nazi system, both before and after World War II. Their stories attested with little variation to the authenticity of the incidents portrayed in "The Man I Married." Nazi policies and actions were then common knowledge directly or indirectly known --not suspected. Children, as I was then, know. Accounts of survivors dispelled any idea that the film was one of propagandistic excess. Any excess was that of the Nazi system. "Schindler's Lit" and "Counterfeit Traitor" are no less accurate. If you are a reader "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" will prove enlightening.

Keep this in mind also when entertaining thoughts that time can soften every period of ugly reality.

More Subtitles Please.

[joepaulagibson38-764-740853 · 6/10 · 11 June 2021]

This movie was excellent in all respects, from a curvaceous Joan Bennet to a handsome Francis Lederer and a convincing set of nasty Nazis.

I speak just a bit of German but no more and I was particularly upset at the extensive use of German dialogue with NO subtitles. The simple use of subtitles would have added so much to the understanding of the plot. Why?

I agree with reviewer Ourilk

[dannyv-56907 · 8/10 · 24 December 2021]

Movie is a great prewar flick.. Mixes some documentary footage in with a great storyline and great acting. Using the word propaganda to describe the film does it a disservice as it truly shows how so many were taken in BY propaganda. Can't believe Joan Bennett got bad reviews for her acting in this. I thought she was great.

Joan Bennett Soars

[myronlearn · 9/10 · 24 December 2021]

This picture isn't shown too often. It deals with an American woman living in NY (Bennett) who marries a man of German heritage.(Francis Lederer). He decides he wants to take his wife and their young son to Germany to visit his ailing father. The time coincides with rise of Nazism in Germany.

After a short period of time, he becomes a full fledged Nazi, much to how sides horror. He tries to impede her from going home with their son who he wants to remain with him. She recruits an American reporter working in Germany to help her get her son and herself back to the safety of the US. Suspenseful and well done.