Confessions of a Nazi Spy
Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a 1939 American spy political thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak for Warner Bros. It was the first explicitly anti-Nazi film to be produced by a major Hollywood studio, being released in May 1939, four months before the beginning of World War II and two and a half years before the United States' entry into the war.
| Confessions of a Nazi Spy | |
|---|---|
1939 Theatrical Poster | |
| Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
| Written by | Milton Krims John Wexley |
| Based on | Articles by Leon G. Turrou |
| Produced by | Hal B. Wallis Jack L. Warner Robert Lord |
| Starring | Edward G. Robinson Francis Lederer George Sanders Paul Lukas |
| Cinematography | Sol Polito Ernest Haller (uncredited) |
| Edited by | Owen Marks |
| Music by | Max Steiner (uncredited) |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.5 Million |
The film stars Edward G. Robinson, Francis Lederer, George Sanders, Paul Lukas, and a large cast of German actors, including some who had emigrated from their country after the rise of Adolf Hitler. Many of the German actors who appeared in the film changed their names for fear of reprisals against relatives still living in Germany. Harry, Albert, and Jack Warner, who then owned Warner Bros, were Jewish.
The film's story is based on a series of articles by FBI officer Leon G. Turrou, recounting his investigation of Nazi spy rings in the United States. Parts of the film are drawn from the Rumrich Nazi spy case, the first major international espionage case in American history.