Simply A Masterpiece

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

As Nazi Agent came out of MGM you might get fooled as even their B pictures such as this look like A films. The lack of any stars would give it away, but this is a great example about how MGM could make any of its product look like quality.Of course it helps here that Conrad Veidt gives a pair of performances, come to think of it three of them in this film. First as American professor and naturalized refugee from Nazi Germany, second as the new German Consul twin brother and fanatical Nazi and third as the American brother impersonating the Nazi.It all starts when Nazi Veidt decides to force American Veidt to help with the cause making his place a drop for espionage messages. But the good Veidt kills the bad Veidt and then takes his place at the German consulate and does his own little job of sabotaging the operations.Because of Conrad Veidt this World War II era propaganda flick holds up well still today. In essentially three roles the professor has to tread very carefully to find out who can be trusted. Besides Veidt performances to watch are Marc Lawrence as an Italian gangster working for them and all around rat, Ann Ayars as a French dress designer and Vichy sympathizer who has a change of heart, Martin Kosleck who was always cast as Joseph Goebbels but here is Veidt's ferret faced aide at the consulate and Dorothy Tree as a Nazi agent planted with Professor Veidt. Tree had blacklist problems and never returned to Hollywood, in fact left acting altogether.But this film is really a salute to Conrad Veidt's versatility. The plot is taken somewhat from the Ronald Colman classic The Masquerader, but the ending is straight out of that other Colman film A Tale Of Two Cities.Catch this one when it's on and be prepared to see how well it holds up.

Summary: Patriotic But not Soapy *** This review may contain spoilers ***This is the story of twins who may have looked identical and grown up in the same household in pre-WWII Germany, but who are worlds apart, well, in just about everything. One immigrated to America while the other remained in Germany to serve the Nazis. While Otto was kind and caring, loving his adopted country, Hugo was more than eager to carry out Nazi plans to sabotage American interests. It must have been amazingly difficult to produce a movie which shows true patriotism without making the moviegoer roll his eyes. Somehow, most of us seem to have been programmed against such films. But this film was patriotic without being soapy. SPOILER ALERT: The last scene tore at my heart. Okay, the music in the scene was a little too much, but if you'll mute your TV and watch the look on Veidt's face when on the way to his death he sees the Statue of Liberty, well, it made me remember that America really is worth fighting for. I needed to see that movie. Perhaps you need to as well. And how ironic. Conrad Veidt had few opportunities to play anything other than an evil Nazi (this film being one of them). And yet all the while, most of his paychecks were spent to support the allies against the forces of his own native land, Germany! As I read a little about Veidt after watching the movie, I wondered if perhaps this film was the only real opportunity the man ever had as an actor to display his incredibly strong love of freedom.

Remember the 1964 Bette Davis thriller-Dead Ringer? In that one, Bette killed her identical twin sister who was quite bad and assumed her identity and by the end went on trial for killing the evil sister's husband as everyone thought she was the lady. I see almost the same premise in this 1942 film with the exception that the horrible Nazis are involved.Conrad Veidt did not look well in this film and in fact, the following year, he succumbed to a coronary at age 50. In this film, he shoots his Nazi brother and assumes his identity in order to destroy the spy ring. Ironically, in the end, he is returned to Germany for whom he is really is. The reason why this occurs shall remain a secret to you until you view this film.The story is definitely one that is intriguing. It will hold your interest in the never ending saga of good triumphing over evil. The end was just too ironic. We had a real American hero here.

Nazi Agent presents a rare opportunity to see the great Conrad Veidt play a lead role (as twin brothers with opposite personalities and values, no less) in a well-preserved sound film with a solid, serious theme and lasting value. Although this is obviously a "B"-level production made on a low budget, the brisk direction by Jules Dassin, the tight and literate script and some very good supporting players, make it as satisfying as many an "A" effort. Otto is a gentle expatriate German bookseller whose quiet life in America is disrupted when his Nazi twin, Baron Hugo von Detner, threatens to reveal his illegal immigrant status to the US authorities unless he allows the Nazi spy network to use his bookstore as a message center. Otto desolately goes along for a while but when he finally resists, Hugo comes to shoot him. They struggle. Otto shoots Hugo instead, then assumes his identity and proceeds to sabotage the saboteurs, who include the memorable Martin Kosleck, whose presence in many films from this time screamed "Nazi." With his marionette-like features, lacquered hair and fey efficiency, he was a top scene stealer. Another excellent performance comes from the prolific Frank Reicher as Fritz, Hugo's aging valet who quickly realizes that his master isn't really his master. But it's really Veidt's movie, playing warm and cold, frightened and bold, kind and cruel – all with shading, subtlety and expertise. The movies suffered an irreparable loss in April 1943 when this man died on a California golf course at the age of 50.This quietly powerful film is an adventure of ideas and ideals. The ending, though not as well shot as it might have been, is both stirring and heartbreaking.