Bergstrom, a radio engineer expert goes missing during WW II. Deerhold, a resident- alien radio engineer (Richard Arlen, Santa Fe Trail) helps Ann Patterson (Wendy Barrie, Love on a Bet, the "Falcon" movies) when her purse gets snatched. The viewer sees the FBI trying to track down where the enemy radio transmissions are originating, but so far, no luck. Arlen and Barrie get caught up in the search for the people behind the radio transmissions before more US ships get sunk. Maxwell Shane had written many of these military action films in the 1940s. It's all wrapped up neatly in the last minute of the film, and then the usual affirmation of US loyalty by Arlen to the viewing public. Some interesting scenery of downtown LA. Also some choppy edits, and long blackout pauses between scenes. This is one of the films in the "50 Action Classics" from Treeline/TCM. Some big Hollywood names might have added some zing.
18 Reviews
Short and to the Point
Zoooma27 May 2013
It's a shame someone would equate this film to a propaganda reel. Unnecessary jingoism was part of American culture at the time. Only three brief instances of possible propaganda exist here -- 1) when our protagonist says he wouldn't want to join the New World Order because he doesn't like their tactics. Saying that is a bad thing? I guess it was not fair since we didn't get a Nazi response to how their way of life really is. 2) the quote over the intercom "You know what to do, boys" when the air squadron heads out for a combat mission. Unnecessary cheerleading in a movie, yes, but part of American film culture at the time. 3) at the end, when our antagonist becomes an American citizen, he says "We know our way of life is best, and we're fighting to keep it that way." Again, should the movie have been fair to Nazis by giving their point of view on their way of life? Seriously?!? Sometimes we know wrong is wrong and there doesn't need to be a defense of it. Therefore, not propaganda.
Lastly, this movie does NOT defend the right to be an illegal alien. Nothing is illegal about our antagonist. He's a legal alien but not a citizen. Illegal status never once enters the conversation.
Overall, an okay, swift moving crime/war drama that isn't very memorable but definitely not a terrible 76 minutes.
Lastly, this movie does NOT defend the right to be an illegal alien. Nothing is illegal about our antagonist. He's a legal alien but not a citizen. Illegal status never once enters the conversation.
Overall, an okay, swift moving crime/war drama that isn't very memorable but definitely not a terrible 76 minutes.
"I don't bargain with rats!"
classicsoncall11 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers
You've got the makings of a neat little espionage thriller buried here in a 1940's 'B' programmer, not too dis-similar from the Charlie Chan flicks of the era. A stolen radio transmitter at the center of the story allows Nazi operatives to track the movements and destroy seafaring tankers loaded with oil by means of an enemy submarine. Recently fired from his job, radio technician Lewis Deerhold (Richard Arlen) is surreptitiously recruited to the Nazi cause under a false pretext, and winds up in a boat load of trouble of his own, dodging FBI agents and Nazi bullets as he tries to figure out who the good and bad guys are. Even his romantic interest, Ann Patterson (Wendy Barrie) winds up looking like she framed him in a set up, so you can't help feeling old Deerhold will get the short end of the stick either way it turns out.
I have to say, I thought it was pretty harsh at the start of the picture for the FBI to call for mass firings in the broadcast industry just to see who might turn up sympathetic to the Axis cause. Not that I doubt it could have happened for real, but seeing it portrayed that way sent a nasty shiver up my spine. What's even more incredible, Deerhold's boss tells him straight up that the FBI made him do it - "I'm sorry old man, but we're at war..." But you know, the Nazis themselves were a pretty chilling lot too; how about that menacing 'Heil Hitler' salute among the bad guys.
I'm actually quite addicted to these 1930/'40's era mysteries, but this is the first time I've ever seen a police chase featuring a cop on a running board shooting at a getaway car. Another first was catching Deerhold using the 'saved by the water wheel trick' at the Nazi hideout. And while we're at it, the death by tractor scene at the opening was also a novel way to open up a story. So for a virtually unknown drama from Paramount's early days, this one managed to entertain in quite the original fashion.
Not to say that it was all credible, there was some goofy stuff too. When the American pilots locate that German sub and knock it out to high heaven, the toy sub they used to film the scene was pretty transparent - "One bomb, one sub, let's go home." And say, how do you explain amateur radio jockey Johnny hooking up with the Feds when they make the bust at Old Mill Springs? Sure Johnny, we can use a twelve year old along for the ride when we pinch the Fuerher's boys!
Those little quirks aside, this could be the basis for a pretty thrilling modern day re-make in the right hands. Of course you'd replace all that 1940's gadgetry with the latest in electronic surveillance and telecommunications gizmos. The only thing is, you'd have to come up with an updated hook to revive the Nazis. Which by the way, wasn't the choice of Dr. Huneker's attack dog ironically clever - it was a German Shepherd!
I have to say, I thought it was pretty harsh at the start of the picture for the FBI to call for mass firings in the broadcast industry just to see who might turn up sympathetic to the Axis cause. Not that I doubt it could have happened for real, but seeing it portrayed that way sent a nasty shiver up my spine. What's even more incredible, Deerhold's boss tells him straight up that the FBI made him do it - "I'm sorry old man, but we're at war..." But you know, the Nazis themselves were a pretty chilling lot too; how about that menacing 'Heil Hitler' salute among the bad guys.
I'm actually quite addicted to these 1930/'40's era mysteries, but this is the first time I've ever seen a police chase featuring a cop on a running board shooting at a getaway car. Another first was catching Deerhold using the 'saved by the water wheel trick' at the Nazi hideout. And while we're at it, the death by tractor scene at the opening was also a novel way to open up a story. So for a virtually unknown drama from Paramount's early days, this one managed to entertain in quite the original fashion.
Not to say that it was all credible, there was some goofy stuff too. When the American pilots locate that German sub and knock it out to high heaven, the toy sub they used to film the scene was pretty transparent - "One bomb, one sub, let's go home." And say, how do you explain amateur radio jockey Johnny hooking up with the Feds when they make the bust at Old Mill Springs? Sure Johnny, we can use a twelve year old along for the ride when we pinch the Fuerher's boys!
Those little quirks aside, this could be the basis for a pretty thrilling modern day re-make in the right hands. Of course you'd replace all that 1940's gadgetry with the latest in electronic surveillance and telecommunications gizmos. The only thing is, you'd have to come up with an updated hook to revive the Nazis. Which by the way, wasn't the choice of Dr. Huneker's attack dog ironically clever - it was a German Shepherd!
OK Once It Gets Going
Snow Leopard12 January 2006
Once this wartime B-feature gets going, it's not bad, and it builds up enough suspense and intrigue to help you look past the low production values. Richard Arlen and Wendy Barrie also contribute with solid performances in the two leading roles. For movies of the era and genre, it is a little less strident than most in its attacks on Axis nationalities, giving somewhat more emphasis to the personal plight of the main character (Arlen).
Arlen plays a radio engineer who, not being a US citizen, finds himself out of work when the FBI orders his employer to let him go. While Axis spies try to dupe him into helping them with a special transmitter that they are using to target Allied tankers, the G-Men are still keeping their own tabs on him. Barrie comes into the story as something of a wild card.
The script takes somewhat too long to set things up, and it adds some characters that are never used for anything of importance, so that it takes a while to start making any real progress. But after that, it works all right, as Arlen's character finds himself in one fix after another. By portraying the federal agents as rather heartless and unimaginative, the movie's tone becomes somewhat darker than what you might normally expect from a picture whose general aim is to promote the Allied cause.
Though there's nothing new or particularly impressive about "Submarine Alert", there's probably enough to make it worth seeing for those who have an interest in the era and genre.
Arlen plays a radio engineer who, not being a US citizen, finds himself out of work when the FBI orders his employer to let him go. While Axis spies try to dupe him into helping them with a special transmitter that they are using to target Allied tankers, the G-Men are still keeping their own tabs on him. Barrie comes into the story as something of a wild card.
The script takes somewhat too long to set things up, and it adds some characters that are never used for anything of importance, so that it takes a while to start making any real progress. But after that, it works all right, as Arlen's character finds himself in one fix after another. By portraying the federal agents as rather heartless and unimaginative, the movie's tone becomes somewhat darker than what you might normally expect from a picture whose general aim is to promote the Allied cause.
Though there's nothing new or particularly impressive about "Submarine Alert", there's probably enough to make it worth seeing for those who have an interest in the era and genre.
A pretty standard low-budget WWII spy film.
planktonrules25 July 2009
Warning: Spoilers
This film was made by Pine-Thomas Productions (distributed by Paramount)--a tiny company with only a few credits to its name before SUBMARINE ALERT. Not surprisingly, it's a low budget film with the services of two leads whose careers had seen better days. Richard Arlen had been a big name in the silent and early days of talkies (having, for example, co-starred in the first Best Picture Oscar-winner, WINGS). But, by 1943, he was pretty much doing journeyman roles--taking what was available at a fraction of his earlier salaries. As for Wendy Barrie, while never a big star, she had been in a decent number of films (most notably, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES and a recurring role in the Saint series). Here, they both give their best efforts and the results are certainly nothing they should have been ashamed of--even with such a tiny studio.
The film is about a plot by the combined Nazi and Japanese espionage agencies to sink American shipping. These dirt-bags recruit Arlen because they assume (incorrectly) that because he recently lost his job due to security concerns over his citizenship status, that he'd betray his adopted country. Naturally, though, he, Berrie and the FBI work together to destroy these Axis creeps--huzzah! Overall, the story is interesting, the action generally good (except for the toy sub that was blown up in the end) and it did its job in convincing the folks at home that the enemy was evil but easily defeated. Worth a peek.
The film is about a plot by the combined Nazi and Japanese espionage agencies to sink American shipping. These dirt-bags recruit Arlen because they assume (incorrectly) that because he recently lost his job due to security concerns over his citizenship status, that he'd betray his adopted country. Naturally, though, he, Berrie and the FBI work together to destroy these Axis creeps--huzzah! Overall, the story is interesting, the action generally good (except for the toy sub that was blown up in the end) and it did its job in convincing the folks at home that the enemy was evil but easily defeated. Worth a peek.
Why isn't this better known?
dbborroughs6 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Some one is using a new radio system to alert submarines of the course tankers and supply ships will be taking. When the radio signals go silent and a radio expert turns up dead the FBI thinks something has happened to the radio. Taking matters in to their own hands they have several other radio men fired hoping that the saboteurs will contact one of them to repair the radio. One man is contacted and he begins working for the enemy agents unaware what he is working on or that the FBI is keeping an eye on him. Very good war time spy thriller moves along at a good clip. While it doesn't have any big names it does have plenty of atmosphere including a spooky mill that plays a nice role in the closing portion of the film. This is a solid little film that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Worth a look.
Way too many plot holes
screenwriter-972-1496125 January 2021
Add 'Submarine Alert' to the long list of films that wasted Wendy Barrie's considerable acting skills. You'll note she's the sole competent actor in this close to being a kid's film about spies, the FBI, a sick child and lots and lots of plot holes. Too many to mention. If....and it's a big 'if', you can keep from saying 'hey wait a minute' or 'that just doesn't make any sense' out loud while watching, then this movie might have some merit as a time piece. Beyond that, it's a mess.
No-nonsense spy movie
Panamint18 January 2016
Well made and edited, this is a focused, no nonsense WWII spy movie that has a somewhat interesting technological foundation regarding radio transmission. Richard Arlen always had a wooden acting style but he is a bit less stiff than usual in this one and his capable action-star abilities are well used in the vigorous aspects of his role. Nils Asther, Marc Lawrence, Wendy Barrie and others provide solid performances and do excellent work.
If you can ignore the final two minutes that are spliced on for propaganda purposes and concentrate on the film itself, you will be rewarded with a solid, surprisingly well made action/spy flick. Surprising especially since it was only a quickly conceived WWII studio effort that was a product of the Hollywood switch to war themes following the sudden outbreak of the war. While obviously quickly made, "Submarine Alert" lacks any sloppiness, unnecessary padding or other b- quality attributes in its acting or overall results.
I consider my rating of "6" as being for the film itself, since it completely ends before the final add-on section.
If you can ignore the final two minutes that are spliced on for propaganda purposes and concentrate on the film itself, you will be rewarded with a solid, surprisingly well made action/spy flick. Surprising especially since it was only a quickly conceived WWII studio effort that was a product of the Hollywood switch to war themes following the sudden outbreak of the war. While obviously quickly made, "Submarine Alert" lacks any sloppiness, unnecessary padding or other b- quality attributes in its acting or overall results.
I consider my rating of "6" as being for the film itself, since it completely ends before the final add-on section.
Defending the right to be an illegal alien
Chase_Witherspoon19 October 2012
Don't be too quick to judge this WWII espionage caper, while it appears to labour early on, it picks up the pace and delivers a coherent, economical jaunt through a Nazi plot to scuttle oil tankers en route to the allies, after acquiring a top secret transmitter that's capable of pinpointing the location of ships using pre-determined supply routes. Arlen is the recently unemployed radio engineer who inadvertently finds himself wanted by the FBI when he's duped into assisting the enemy.
Arlen is stoic in his patriotism, even giving a little call to arms rally in the film's post script, while Asther, Biberman and the prolific Marc Lawrence play the principal bad guys within contemporary stereotypes. Wendy Barrie plays an FBI operative whose ends up fighting the good fight alongside our noble hero.
It's a shame the film ends the way it does, as there needn't have been the unnecessary jingoism - this is a film after all, not a propaganda reel. Nevertheless, for your 66 minute investment you'll get a reasonably well paced espionage pot-boiler with a hint of intrigue, the usual raft of clichés and for bonus material, there's even a "MacGyver" moment to rally the allies into action. Solid plot and taut execution, just a shame that it morphs into trite propaganda.
Arlen is stoic in his patriotism, even giving a little call to arms rally in the film's post script, while Asther, Biberman and the prolific Marc Lawrence play the principal bad guys within contemporary stereotypes. Wendy Barrie plays an FBI operative whose ends up fighting the good fight alongside our noble hero.
It's a shame the film ends the way it does, as there needn't have been the unnecessary jingoism - this is a film after all, not a propaganda reel. Nevertheless, for your 66 minute investment you'll get a reasonably well paced espionage pot-boiler with a hint of intrigue, the usual raft of clichés and for bonus material, there's even a "MacGyver" moment to rally the allies into action. Solid plot and taut execution, just a shame that it morphs into trite propaganda.
Fast But Not Too Fast.
rmax30482312 December 2015
Warning: Spoilers
It's a hurried story of enemy spies sending signals to German U-boats offshore about the sailing of American cargo ships down the coast. Of course it's low budget and rude but I kind of liked it. (The Morse code used is real, not just gibberish. That is, somebody CARED.)
It's 1942 and the US is having a tough time with so many freighters and tankers being sunk off the coast. And they were being sunk in numbers, too. The U-boats called it the second "happy time." But it didn't require Nazi spies. The US had just entered the war and unlike Britain had no clear idea of how to proceed with the business of protecting its shipping. The coast was considered safe from submarines because of the submarine's short cruising range. But they were supplied mid way across the Atlantic by Milchkühe, "milk cows."
The cities along the coast -- Boston, New York, Charleston, and the rest -- left their lights on at night, so U-boats could silhouette our ships easily. It was so easy for the U-boats that the crews sometimes greeted survivors and distributed food to the lifeboats. "Charge this to Churchill."
In this movie, the FBI, realizing that the unnecessary transmitter must be tiny and portable, and must be carefully attended, sees to it that dozens of radio engineers are fired, hoping that one will be approached by the Nazis. Richard Arlen is one of the experts fired and the Nazis offer him a job which, all unwittingly, he accepts.
True. It's as improbable as all hell. Furthermore, these white-collar types lead stuffy lives. They all wear suits and ties, their shoes are shined, and their manners unimpeachable. Dwight Frye ("Renfield") is cast as a Nazi agent. The non-diegetic music is out of a Saturday-afternoon serial, popular at the time. But please, let's not get off on a tangent. Let's stick to events, shall we?
It's a little puzzling that after the FBI's machinations that result in the firing of all these radio experts, those that are offered jobs are treated as potential traitors. After all, they've done nothing but legally exercised their skills. Frankly, I didn't get the logic. But in any case, the lead character, Richard Alrlen, a dull actor, is followed by an FBI agent, Wendy Barrie. He falls in love with her fifteen minutes after they first meet. The evildoers try to steambath Arlen and Barrie to death. It doesn't work.
It's dumb but comforting, like hearing a Kindergarten child recite the ABCs flawlessly and everyone is happy.
It's 1942 and the US is having a tough time with so many freighters and tankers being sunk off the coast. And they were being sunk in numbers, too. The U-boats called it the second "happy time." But it didn't require Nazi spies. The US had just entered the war and unlike Britain had no clear idea of how to proceed with the business of protecting its shipping. The coast was considered safe from submarines because of the submarine's short cruising range. But they were supplied mid way across the Atlantic by Milchkühe, "milk cows."
The cities along the coast -- Boston, New York, Charleston, and the rest -- left their lights on at night, so U-boats could silhouette our ships easily. It was so easy for the U-boats that the crews sometimes greeted survivors and distributed food to the lifeboats. "Charge this to Churchill."
In this movie, the FBI, realizing that the unnecessary transmitter must be tiny and portable, and must be carefully attended, sees to it that dozens of radio engineers are fired, hoping that one will be approached by the Nazis. Richard Arlen is one of the experts fired and the Nazis offer him a job which, all unwittingly, he accepts.
True. It's as improbable as all hell. Furthermore, these white-collar types lead stuffy lives. They all wear suits and ties, their shoes are shined, and their manners unimpeachable. Dwight Frye ("Renfield") is cast as a Nazi agent. The non-diegetic music is out of a Saturday-afternoon serial, popular at the time. But please, let's not get off on a tangent. Let's stick to events, shall we?
It's a little puzzling that after the FBI's machinations that result in the firing of all these radio experts, those that are offered jobs are treated as potential traitors. After all, they've done nothing but legally exercised their skills. Frankly, I didn't get the logic. But in any case, the lead character, Richard Alrlen, a dull actor, is followed by an FBI agent, Wendy Barrie. He falls in love with her fifteen minutes after they first meet. The evildoers try to steambath Arlen and Barrie to death. It doesn't work.
It's dumb but comforting, like hearing a Kindergarten child recite the ABCs flawlessly and everyone is happy.
Subpar Pine-Thomas Flick
boblipton21 May 2020
German spies are transmitting shipping secret shipping news to Japanese submarines off the coast. The Feds are aware of this, so they fire resident alien electrical engineer Richard Arlen -- he's from Minnesota, but he has a French name -- and then promptly lose track of him as the Nazis try to recruit him, and Wendy Barrie snubs him.
It's a sub-par efforts from producers William Pine and William Thomas, Paramount's favorite B team, who never produced a money-losing movie in their careers. Director Frank MacDonald doesn't seem to put much effort into the film, and Maxwell Shane's script is arranged like a serial, only the cliffhangers are paced uninterestingly. With Nils Asther as an emigre scientist, Abner Biberman as a Japanese sub commander, and Dwight Frye as a creep.
It's a sub-par efforts from producers William Pine and William Thomas, Paramount's favorite B team, who never produced a money-losing movie in their careers. Director Frank MacDonald doesn't seem to put much effort into the film, and Maxwell Shane's script is arranged like a serial, only the cliffhangers are paced uninterestingly. With Nils Asther as an emigre scientist, Abner Biberman as a Japanese sub commander, and Dwight Frye as a creep.
think piece a little low on think
drystyx12 February 2010
Richard Arlen generally took on films which had some thought involved over action. Here, the thought is missing.
It is a McCarthy era style film about espionage, with Arlen as a "brainy" sort who gets into a lot more fisticuffs than one would imagine. We're given the FBI characters who really don't fit into any mold-they're not McCarthy, they're not sharpshooters, they're not any of the usual cinema stereotypes, and that may be the only thing going for this very generic spy piece, since the plot never even begins to make any sense.
We have a "cute kid" of course, since a Hollywood male hero has to be a family man or former family man. The kid does an excellent job, too, but is really just a gimmick in this formula film.
It is a McCarthy era style film about espionage, with Arlen as a "brainy" sort who gets into a lot more fisticuffs than one would imagine. We're given the FBI characters who really don't fit into any mold-they're not McCarthy, they're not sharpshooters, they're not any of the usual cinema stereotypes, and that may be the only thing going for this very generic spy piece, since the plot never even begins to make any sense.
We have a "cute kid" of course, since a Hollywood male hero has to be a family man or former family man. The kid does an excellent job, too, but is really just a gimmick in this formula film.
Typical WWII 'Spy Movie' Quickie
gsfsu28 April 2022
Very light on reality (Japanese sub and German spy's?) and even lighter in the acting, this terrible movie doesn't measure up either as a professional work or condition (as stored in someone's attic for too many summers).
Poorly written spy caper.
DigitalRevenantX724 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
During World War II, Nazi agents operating in the US have managed to steal a top secret radio transmitter that could broadcast signals in near-stealth conditions. Using this invention, they direct a Japanese submarine off the US coast to make attacks on Allied shipping. The FBI decides to spring a trap – they get a noted radio technician fired from his job in order to use him as bait. Sure enough, the ruse works. The tech is approached by the Nazi agents for repair work when their transmitter breaks down. The tech, helped along by a female FBI agent as an insurance plan, attempts to sabotage the Nazis' plot to bring down Allied oil tankers.
Submarine Alert is an old spy thriller from the early 1940s, when World War II was in full swing. The film was part of a large array of B-budget spy thrillers designed to get the public on the Allied side. Of course, the problem with many of these films at the time was a shortage of original ideas & poorly written scripts.
Submarine Alert is one of these poorly-written spy capers. The film is reasonable enough for a once-over & has some rudimentary suspense but the story is sabotaged by not having enough thought put into it. The FBI's plan to get a radio technician fired so he can lead them to the Nazis' illegal shortwave transmitter was a dumb idea – wouldn't it be better to get the hero to play along with the plan instead of having him strung up as bait? The characters are drawn up to stereotype & the various chases & shootouts don't hold up too well in today's age. The el cheapo DVD print seen here is in terrible condition – the transfer's high contrast makes reading the opening credits near on impossible so you won't be able to get much information from it.
Submarine Alert is an old spy thriller from the early 1940s, when World War II was in full swing. The film was part of a large array of B-budget spy thrillers designed to get the public on the Allied side. Of course, the problem with many of these films at the time was a shortage of original ideas & poorly written scripts.
Submarine Alert is one of these poorly-written spy capers. The film is reasonable enough for a once-over & has some rudimentary suspense but the story is sabotaged by not having enough thought put into it. The FBI's plan to get a radio technician fired so he can lead them to the Nazis' illegal shortwave transmitter was a dumb idea – wouldn't it be better to get the hero to play along with the plan instead of having him strung up as bait? The characters are drawn up to stereotype & the various chases & shootouts don't hold up too well in today's age. The el cheapo DVD print seen here is in terrible condition – the transfer's high contrast makes reading the opening credits near on impossible so you won't be able to get much information from it.
This isn't war, It's WAR!
mark.waltz7 January 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Call it a war on espionage, a war on terrorism, a war for world peace. It's a serious example of the horrors of what evil will do to destroy freedom and create anarchy. This starts off with the most horrifying murder, that of a scientist who has created a tracking devise to prevent our ships and oilers from being detected. The enemy uses it for just the opposite, to be able to track tankers and destroy them so bombers cannot be re- fueled. When radio engineers are let go from their positions out of suspicion of being part of this espionage ring, one of them (Richard Arlen) unknowingly becomes involved with the villains, putting both the government and the bad guys on his trail.
A subplot involving Arlen's niece being in surgery sugar-coats the drama which at its best has elements of film noir and at its weakest, elements of DrKildare. Some of the chase sequences with Arlen desperate to get the goods away from the Japs and Nazi's is close to what Dick Powell was trying to do in the same year's "Murder My Sweet". Wendy Barrie is along for the ride as a government agent who at first follows Arlene around and later tries to help him.
One dimensional villains give a predictability to this interesting and often complex drama that isn't overloaded with war propaganda and is at its best when it focuses on the important elements of the story and gets off the unnecessary soap involving the little girl. More psychologically gripping than action packed, it ranks slightly higher than most of the propaganda filled action films released through Pine Thomas at Paramount around the same time.
A subplot involving Arlen's niece being in surgery sugar-coats the drama which at its best has elements of film noir and at its weakest, elements of DrKildare. Some of the chase sequences with Arlen desperate to get the goods away from the Japs and Nazi's is close to what Dick Powell was trying to do in the same year's "Murder My Sweet". Wendy Barrie is along for the ride as a government agent who at first follows Arlene around and later tries to help him.
One dimensional villains give a predictability to this interesting and often complex drama that isn't overloaded with war propaganda and is at its best when it focuses on the important elements of the story and gets off the unnecessary soap involving the little girl. More psychologically gripping than action packed, it ranks slightly higher than most of the propaganda filled action films released through Pine Thomas at Paramount around the same time.
I don't make deals with rats!
sol-kay5 January 2010
Warning: Spoilers
**SPOILERS** With the Nazis having stolen this advanced radio transmitter from American electronic expert Johann Bergstrom they now have the upper hand in transmitting information to theirs allies the Japs in when and where US oil tankers will be in the South Pacific. With that important information the Japs can get their subs to track the oil tankers down and sink them before they reach and resupply, with their precious cargo, the US Navy on the battlefront. This has a lone Japanese submarine being able to pick off the oil tankers almost as soon as they leave port with the US Military, during all the confusion, not being able to come to their rescue while the sub is able make its escape.
Looking ahead the FBI realizes that the transmitter sooner or later would need repairing and, with the cooperation of the electronic industry, has all the top electronic engineers on the West Coast fired from their jobs. In the FBI knowing that one of them will end up being hired by the Nazis, without his knowing it, to do the repair job for them. This has Lee Deerhold without a job and desperate for cash in paying his bills as well as for a brain operation on his step-daughter Tina, whom he rescued from Nazi Germany after the Nazis murdered her parents, end up working for them. Unknown to Lee he's being secretly tracked by the FBI in the person of Agent Ann Patterson who used the occasion, that was planned in advance, of her purse being snatched to get introduced to him. It isn't long when Lee realizes that he'd been set up by Ann and that makes things worse not just for him but the FBI who now are in danger of their scheme, in planting Lee inside the Nazi spy network, coming apart at the seams!
The usual Hollywood made war film during WWII with a slight twist to it. In that it shows that even non-American citizens who Lee Deerfield is one of them are just as patriotic and willing to fight and die for their country as any red blooded American. This, being a non American citizen, is in fact the reason that Lee felt that he was canned from his electronic job as the company's top radio repairman. And it was that very reason that Lee's Nazi employers who were running, as a cover, the phony Old Mill Hot Spring Spa tried to recruit the disillusioned Lee into their spy-ring.
***SPOILERS*** With him knowing that the security of the United States is on the line Lee does his best to alert the FBI in what the Nazis, and their Japanese cohorts, are up to! This has Lee get stymied by the head Nazi Dr. Honeker by him doing his impersonation act in him impersonating someone that's, whom Honeker had murdered, already dead! Locked inside a steam room at the Old Mill Spa together with FBI Agent Patterson Lee's only chance of surviving in being, together with Ann, steamed to death is both his own electronic expertise and teenage radio ham operator Johnny. It's that combination of good old Amerian ingenuity and inventiveness that brought the Nazi spy-ring to a sudden end before it could do any more damage. It also has Lee not only become, by and act of Congress, an instant American citizen and, lucky for him, get drafted into the US Army but get Tina that brain operation, free of charge, that ended up saving her life.
Looking ahead the FBI realizes that the transmitter sooner or later would need repairing and, with the cooperation of the electronic industry, has all the top electronic engineers on the West Coast fired from their jobs. In the FBI knowing that one of them will end up being hired by the Nazis, without his knowing it, to do the repair job for them. This has Lee Deerhold without a job and desperate for cash in paying his bills as well as for a brain operation on his step-daughter Tina, whom he rescued from Nazi Germany after the Nazis murdered her parents, end up working for them. Unknown to Lee he's being secretly tracked by the FBI in the person of Agent Ann Patterson who used the occasion, that was planned in advance, of her purse being snatched to get introduced to him. It isn't long when Lee realizes that he'd been set up by Ann and that makes things worse not just for him but the FBI who now are in danger of their scheme, in planting Lee inside the Nazi spy network, coming apart at the seams!
The usual Hollywood made war film during WWII with a slight twist to it. In that it shows that even non-American citizens who Lee Deerfield is one of them are just as patriotic and willing to fight and die for their country as any red blooded American. This, being a non American citizen, is in fact the reason that Lee felt that he was canned from his electronic job as the company's top radio repairman. And it was that very reason that Lee's Nazi employers who were running, as a cover, the phony Old Mill Hot Spring Spa tried to recruit the disillusioned Lee into their spy-ring.
***SPOILERS*** With him knowing that the security of the United States is on the line Lee does his best to alert the FBI in what the Nazis, and their Japanese cohorts, are up to! This has Lee get stymied by the head Nazi Dr. Honeker by him doing his impersonation act in him impersonating someone that's, whom Honeker had murdered, already dead! Locked inside a steam room at the Old Mill Spa together with FBI Agent Patterson Lee's only chance of surviving in being, together with Ann, steamed to death is both his own electronic expertise and teenage radio ham operator Johnny. It's that combination of good old Amerian ingenuity and inventiveness that brought the Nazi spy-ring to a sudden end before it could do any more damage. It also has Lee not only become, by and act of Congress, an instant American citizen and, lucky for him, get drafted into the US Army but get Tina that brain operation, free of charge, that ended up saving her life.
Nazis, Japanese and FBI...make for a dangerous mix.
michaelRokeefe31 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Director Frank McDonald takes Maxwell Shane's screenplay and uses World War Two-era paranoia to make a nice, swift crime drama. Well experienced radio engineer Lee Deerhold(Richard Arlen)is fired from his job at a time when people are pinching pennies and looking for any kind of job. He is all part of an FBI scheme to unwittingly infiltrate a gang of Nazi saboteurs, who have stolen a recently developed small radio transmitter. Deerhold is to gain the confidence of the Nazis as he "fine tunes" the stolen transmitter that is to be used to send top secret shipping schedules to an offshore Japanese submarine nest. Deerhold realizes that he is caught in a trap, when he is told of his own involvement with the government and begins running from the Nazis with their newly calibrated "code sender". The story moves rather quickly, because it only runs 67 minutes. Filmed completely in Los Angeles. Other players: Wendy Barrie, Nils Asther, John Miljan, Patsy Nash, Roger Pryor and Dwight Frye.
The slowest acting poison gas in history
bkoganbing27 May 2014
Warning: Spoilers
This Pine-Thomas film from Paramount's B picture unit has not stood the test of time all that well. It's a World War II flag waver that casts Richard Arlen as a resident alien who gets tempted by the Nazis to work for them. They need his special skills as a radio man to help operate a prototype short wave system that is signaling a Japanese submarine the whereabouts of cargo ships to sink.
For dramatic purposes the film doesn't have Arlen working all along undercover. Instead he and other radio people are summarily fired at the direction of the FBI with the hope that the Nazis would contact him as he was both available and disillusioned with America. Female agent Wendy Barrie keeps Arlen under surveillance at all times and of course the inevitable romance ensues.
In a gimmick more suitable to one of Sam Katzman's Monogram extravaganzas, both Arlen and Barrie are captured by the Nazis and locked in a room that fills with poison gas. The slowest acting poison gas in the history of film. Arlen comes up with an idea and sends a signal with radio equipment that some junior G-Man kid picks up and the spies are rounded up and Arlen and Barrie are saved.
It was eerily prescient about poison gas and the Nazis. But if this was the stuff they used at Auschwitz, a couple million people would have survived. Also Nazis and Japanese work a lot more coordinated than they ever did in the real war.
I'm sure the cast must have looked back with a shudder at Submarine Alert.
For dramatic purposes the film doesn't have Arlen working all along undercover. Instead he and other radio people are summarily fired at the direction of the FBI with the hope that the Nazis would contact him as he was both available and disillusioned with America. Female agent Wendy Barrie keeps Arlen under surveillance at all times and of course the inevitable romance ensues.
In a gimmick more suitable to one of Sam Katzman's Monogram extravaganzas, both Arlen and Barrie are captured by the Nazis and locked in a room that fills with poison gas. The slowest acting poison gas in the history of film. Arlen comes up with an idea and sends a signal with radio equipment that some junior G-Man kid picks up and the spies are rounded up and Arlen and Barrie are saved.
It was eerily prescient about poison gas and the Nazis. But if this was the stuff they used at Auschwitz, a couple million people would have survived. Also Nazis and Japanese work a lot more coordinated than they ever did in the real war.
I'm sure the cast must have looked back with a shudder at Submarine Alert.
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