The House on 92nd Street (1945)

Bill Dietrich becomes a double agent for the F.B.I. in a Nazi spy ring.

Director:

Henry Hathaway

Writers:

Barré Lyndon (screenplay) (as Barre Lyndon), Charles G. Booth (screenplay)

Stars:

William Eythe, Lloyd Nolan, Signe Hasso

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
William Eythe	...	Bill Dietrich
Lloyd Nolan	...	Inspector George A. Briggs
Signe Hasso	...	Elsa Gebhardt
Gene Lockhart	...	Charles Ogden Roper
Leo G. Carroll	...	Col. Hammersohn
Lydia St. Clair	...	Johanna Schmidt
William Post Jr.	...	Walker (as William Post)
Harry Bellaver	...	Max Coburg
Bruno Wick	...	Adolf Lange
Harro Meller	...	Conrad Arnulf
Charles Wagenheim	...	Gustav Hausmann
Alfred Linder	...	Adolf Klein
Renee Carson	...	Luise Vajda

Storyline

Preface: a stentorian narrator tells us that the USA was flooded with Nazi spies in 1939-41. One such tries to recruit college grad Bill Dietrich, who becomes a double agent for the FBI. While Bill trains in Hamburg, a street-accident victim proves to have been spying on atom-bomb secrets; conveniently, Dietrich is assigned to the New York spy ring stealing these secrets. Can he track down the mysterious "Christopher" before his ruthless associates unmask and kill him?

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Plot Keywords:

nazi | fbi | double agent | spy | german american | 

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Taglines:

The house that hid a secret more terrifying than the mind can conceive!

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller | War

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Opening credits prologue: "This story is adapted from cases in the espionage files of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Produced with the F.B.I.'s complete cooperation, it could not be made public until the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan. The scenes in this picture were photographed in the localities of the incidents depicted, Washington, New York, and their vicinities; wherever possible, in the actual place the original incident occurred. With the exception of the leading players, all F.B.I. personnel in the picture are members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation."

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Goofs

When the agents are preparing to do the first survey of the house they are wearing CD (Civil Defense) arm bands on their right arms. The next scene shows them approaching the house and the arm bands are now on their left arms.

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Quotes

Narrator: The Germans felt that Dietrich was an extremely valuable man... so did the FBI.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown as someone flipping through the pages of a file.

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Connections

Spin-off The Street with No Name (1948)

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Soundtracks

You Say the Sweetest Things (Baby)
(uncredited)
Music by Harry Warren
Played as background music at the talent agent's office

User Reviews

Breaking the code

This semi documentary film, shows the FBI at work in those early days of the European conflict. Henry Hathaway, the director, focus on the work behind the scenes of a group of German spies, operating in New York and how the FBI is able to infiltrate the group.

The film, as seen today, still holds the viewer's attention, although the technology is obsolete by today standards. We are given a suspenseful story about the group that established the base of operations in the house on 92nd Street and Madison Avenue in the Manhattan of the 40s. The crisp black and white cinematography by Norbert Brodine still looks pristine and sharp.

The cast headed by Lloyd Nolan as Briggs, do a good job under Mr. Hathaway's direction. Best of all is Signe Hasso as Elsa Gebhart, the designing woman with a lot of secrets. Leo G. Carroll is also seen as one of the spies. Gene Lockhart also has a minor role.

It was fun to watch uncredited New York based actors in the background such as E.G. Marshall, Vincent Gardenia, Paul Ford, among others making small contributions to the film.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

16 October 1945 (France)

Also Known As:

Now It Can Be Told

Filming Locations:

George Washington Bridge, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1