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:

Charles Grayson (screenplay), Edwin Justus Mayer (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
Peter Whitney	...	Alex
Martin Kosleck	...	Heller
Erwin Kalser	...	Dr. Franken
Ilka Grüning	...	Frau Franken (as Ilka Gruning)
Frank Reicher	...	Professor Baumer
Egon Brecher	...	Herr Director
Ludwig Stössel	...	Herr Müller (as Ludwig Stossel)
Hans Schumm	...	Heller's Aide
Wolfgang Zilzer	...	Hoffman
Roland Varno	...	Ernst Demmler
Henry Brandon	...	Rolf

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.

---

Plot Keywords:

nazi | brother | newspaper headline | montage | map on screen | 

---

Taglines:

TODAY! THE BIG LOWDOWN ON THE "UNDERGROUND" (original print media ad - all caps)

---

Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance | War

---

Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was released five months one week and two days before the United States was attacked by Japan.

---

Goofs

When Kurt is having dinner with his family after returning from war; he is holding a spoon and pointing the bowl tip of it toward his family as he argues his viewpoint about war. But on the next immediate cut; the orientation of how he is holding the spoon has changed. On the next cut after that, he is no longer holding the spoon.

---

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.

---

Connections

Featured in Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust (2004)

---

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

Neat little propaganda piece

The Warner Bros. trademarks--fast pacing, good photography, tight editing, a cast of veteran character actors--are in full bloom in this well-made thriller from Vincent Sherman, soon to be one of Warners' top directors. Philip Dorn (who was actually Dutch, not German) and Jeffrey Lynn are two brothers, Dorn the leader of an underground German anti-Nazi movement and Lynn a crippled German soldier unaware of his brother's activities. Martin Kosleck is fine as a reptilian Nazi officer eager to destroy the resistance, and Dorn and Lynn have seldom been better. Sherman even manages to throw in a little humor as he satirizes the paranoia of the regime--Mona Maris, an aide to Kosleck who is actually a member of the Resistance, starts a rumor at work about Himmler that builds to the point that when Kosleck eventually repeats it back to her a short time later it bears little resemblance to the one she started. Although it is a first-rate propaganda piece, it unfortunately bears little resemblance to the real conditions in Germany; there was actually very little resistance to Hitler and Naziism among the populace. What little resistance there was came mainly from Catholic priests and Protestant ministers, who were quickly arrested and thrown into concentration camps, where many of them died. There was a small student movement known as the White Rose that engaged in some anti-Nazi activities, but they were soon captured (many of them turned in by their parents!) and executed. In any event, this is a well made little piece and really deserves to be better known than it is. Check it out.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

28 June 1941 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Voz da Liberdade

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

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