"Rosen aus dem Süden, Op. 388 (Roses from the South)"
(uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauß
Played on the violin at Maxels Cafe

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.

This movie was made before the US entry into WWII. But, the story line clearly indicates the concerns we had with the Nazi party in Germany and their blatant disregard for the well being of their citizenry. There are no war scenes and only a couple of short action sequences but, despite this, the story moves at a very comfortable pace. Very good acting all around with Philip Dorn excelling as the leader of an underground group striving to keep the citizens informed as to the real aims of their Nazi leaders. He does this via a clandestine illegal radio operation which, of necessity, must continually move to various locales to transmit. Jeffrey Lynn plays Dorn's brother, a German soldier who, minus most of his left arm, returns home but is still a loyal German who is unaware of his brother's underground activities. This story is a good one and avoids most of the cliches that permeated many similar WWII movies. Martin Kosleck plays his usual role, that of an officious German officer but, even he, tones down his role and does not appear as menacing as he later became in other similar films. I enjoyed this 95 minute story and definitely recommend it to all fans of the suspense melodrama genre.

Quite honestly, I never had heard of this film before. And, having just watched it, much to my regret. It was made before U. S. entry into World War II. Yet, Hollywood was quite aware of the evils being perpetrated by the Third Reich. Coincidentally, the case is dominated by actors born in Europe. The story is not that new. Two brothers are on different sides of the spectrum in Berlin: one is a leader of the resistance movement, the other is a wounded German who maintains strong loyalty to the Reich. The film centers on how their worlds and visions collide, with a backdrop of the Nazis' trying to find and silence the resistance's radio broadcasts. The acting is first-rate all around. I suspect this would have been a 'bigger' film if Warner Brothers had used the 'A' team. All in all, a very good little movie.

Vincent Sherman was on his way up as a film director at Warner Bros. when he was assigned to 'Underground', a low-budget feature without stars to bolster its box-office appeal. Nevertheless, he managed to weave an interesting, fast-paced tale of intrigue and suspense with the Nazi menace hanging like a heavy shadow over the whole film. Basically, it's the story of two brothers torn apart by their beliefs--one (Philip Dorn) is involved in an underground movement, an announcer for a resistance radio program. The other (Jeffrey Lynn) is a loyal German soldier who eventually joins his brother's cause when he realizes what Hitler is doing. This did fairly well at the box-office despite not having big names and deserves to be seen as the forceful war melodrama that it is.

Martin Kosleck does his usual turn as a vicious Nazi officer and Mona Maris is convincing as a woman not exactly loyal to the German cause. May not be an "A" feature but it certainly is worth viewing.

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Because so many World War 2 dramas have dated badly and lost power in the light of today's extremely realistic films, I wasn't expecting much of this film.

But I was in for a major surprise. This powerful, well-conceived film delivers a strong impact even today.

At the core is an instantly interesting narrative situation: Eric Franken (Dorn) works with the German Underground to broadcast anti-Nazi information to the German people. His brother Kurt (Lynn), a loyal Nazi solider, returns home, having lost an arm in battle. How will this conflict between the loyal Nazi brother and the anti-Nazi brother work itself out? Adding to the plot complication is Kurt's interest in Sylvia Helmuth (Kaaren Verne), an Underground member who plays a violin at a café that is a meeting place for the Underground. Thinking Eric is courting Sylvia, Kurt is happy when she tells him she hardly knows Eric, though, of course, that is not the case. Kurt's romantic pursuit of Sylvia constantly complicates the work of the Underground. But after the Gestapo arrests Sylvia following a tip and she is tortured by Col. Heller (Kosleck), Kurt is faced with a quandary: Col. Heller orders Kurt to romance Sylvia--but this time, Kurt must report to Col. Heller any scrap of information he gleans from Sylvia. When Kurt finally has proof that Sylvia is a member of the Underground, he is put in a moral dilemma: Which is more important: the girl he loves or the Nazi party? In the film's climax, when Kurt discloses to Col. Heller three Underground members about to make an illegal broadcast, Kurt doesn't know his brother Eric is one of the three men. When Underground member Fraulein Gessner (Maris) tells him of Eric's arrest and shows him Eric's torture at the hands of the Gestapo, Kurt is at last convinced that the Nazis are not what he thought them to be. Family triumphs over loyalty to the state, but then that has been happening at least since "Antigone." The film has strong scenes. The best is the confrontation between Fraulein Gessner and Kurt, with Gessner convincing Kurt that he must tell Col. Heller he knew Eric was one of the three men he reported. This will put Kurt above suspicion with the Gestapo and allow him to work well with the Underground. Mona Maris and Jeffrey Lynn are superb in the scene! In fact, I've never seen Jeffrey Lynn do a better acting job, but Mona Maris drives the scene.

In another scene unusual for a 1941 film, Kurt and Hugo Baumer confront Walter Hoffman, whom the Gestapo has taken out of a concentration camp on the condition that Hoffman, formerly an Underground member, rejoin the group to discover the source of the Underground broadcasts. Kurt and Hugo make it clear to Hoffman that, paradoxically, he can only prove his loyalty to the Underground by committing suicide! What a striking moment when Hugo lays the gun down on the table, and he and Kurt walk out, leaving Hoffman to his decision.

There isn't a happy ending here, but there is a rousing patriotic finish. In the conclusion, we're shown Eric, Hugo, and another Underground member led into a prison yard to be guillotined (face up to see the ax descending upon them). An execution setting this detailed was unusual for 1941 And then, Eric hears his brother Kurt delivering an Underground broadcast, Kurt identifying himself by reciting a few lines of poetry that had been on a sampler on the wall of the Franken family's home. Implausible? Yes. But it works fine theatrically to provide a satisfactory capper to a gripping film.

In addition to the excellent performances of Jeffrey Lynn and Mona Maris, Philip Dorn has never been better. Martin Kosleck as Col. Heller doesn't "go over the top" as did so many actor of the time who portrayed Nazis. Wolfgang Zilzer is exceptional in his scenes, particularly the one leading up to the moment when Hoffman realizes he must commit suicide.

The entire cast does a solid job in an engrossing, entertaining, first-rate film that shouldn't be missed. Why doesn't everyone know of this excellent film?

Underground is a good propaganda movie that came out of Warner Brothers in 1941. It's lacking major stars, but the story is certainly A list. Philip Dorn and Jeffrey Lynn star as German brothers on opposite sides. Dorn is a member of the underground, which uses a traveling illegal radio to broadcast to the people, while Lynn is a returning soldier who has lost his arm. He becomes interested in an attractive violinist, Sylvia (Kaaren Verne) who performs in a tavern, unaware that his brother knows her from the underground and that they are both members. This leads to problems as the Nazis close in.

Vincent Sherman does an excellent job of directing. The rest of the cast includes Martin Kosleck plays a nasty Nazi, and Mona Maris as his assistant, also an underground member. The Dutch Dorn gives a very good performance, as does Lynn. The ending of the film is quite touching.

As someone on this site pointed out, the Germans let the Nazis come into power and didn't do much in the way of resistance. There was a strong French resistance, as well as the Yugoslav Partisans, the Polish Home Army, the Soviet partisans, the Italian CLN, the Norwegian Resistance, the Greek Resistance and the Dutch Resistance. One doesn't hear much about German resistance. Warner Brothers probably just assumed it was active.

A good movie.

Watching Underground makes me wish that TCM would do an anthology of great B-movies. Limited budgets imposed constraints on production values -- sound stages and back lots instead of locations, black & white instead of color, character actors in leading roles. What budgets didn't constrain was acting, directing and writing. And what's cool is that there were lots of them, especially from the studio system, where great talent was on staff.

I don't think I've seen a wartime propaganda flick that pulls out all the stops quite like this one. Vile Nazis in their spiffy Nazi uniforms, sadism, torture, whips, dungeons, betrayal, sabotage, righteous rants by old professors...all here! Tight production and right casting make this a delicious grand guignol. Despite the grim theme, there are some pretty funny Hogan's Heroes moments. Example: a thuggish Gestapo underling is bragging to his secretary about a ghastly new torture method he's invented and complaining about Himmler's taking the credit. The secretary, who's in the underground, replies, barely containing her sarcasm, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a promotion."

And then, there's the ending, when one must face an excruciating dilemma -- to do something horrible and cruel for the greater good. It's something I don't know if I'd have the courage to do. Would you?

This top rate production from Warners Bros., tells the story of the anti-Nazi underground and its attempts to sway the German people to reject the Nazi regime and put an end to its war machine. This film is far better than many other later anti-Nazi films cranked out by Hollywood during WW2. The cast all give top rate performances. Martin Koslec is effectively slimey as the Nazi secret police leader who is out to crush the underground. After seeing him here, no wonder he made a career portraying evil Nazi leaders. Perhaps the most memorable performance is by Wolfgang Zilzer as the sad, pathetic former underground leader who becomes a traitor in exchange for release from the hellish torture he is undergoing in a Nazi concentration camp. The scene where he is confronted by underground leaders and forced to commit suicide has real power. The lighting and the music are perfect. Seen today, this film might seem a bit optimistically naive. It gives the viewer the impression the Nazi regime would soon fall from power. None the less the film effectively portrays the terror inflicted on the German people to assure obedience to its corrupt and evil regime.

Note; One odd idea thrown in, is a suggestion about why Rudolph Hess fled Germany and flew into London. During one of the underground broadcasts, Philip Dorn states that Hess fled to escape the gestapo and tell the world the truth. This sounds a bit naive, since everything suggests in real life Hess was always a staunch supporter of the Nazi regime. Of course the whole Hess affair is still to this day shrouded in mystery, and we may never know the real reason why Hess flew into London. That, however is a matter of discussion for another forum.

When I saw this as a kid I found it a grim.vivid & gripping introduction to the wartime "underground" movement in an occupied territory courtesy Warner Bros as did Martin Kosleck's ruthless Gestapo officer and the silent struggle of one German brother to stick to his convictions in direct opposition to the other,an enemy where discovery meant certain torture & death. It has never been shown on UK TV - certainly not by TCM. I distinctly still recall the relief when this feature in the cinema was quickly followed by the next week's trailer in contrasting brilliant technicolour for Greer Garson in "Blossoms In The Dust"! Only a few years ago I finally tracked down the video which I believed never existed in the States & did not hesitate to have it sent over. It is in pretty good condition & brought back those memories. Barely a year later,(1941), 2 Cities Films in Britain released its blander & lighter version, "Freedom Radio" which starred two of Britain's then leading stage stars, Clive Brook ("Cavalcade") and Diana Wynyard which has had TV showings. In this version the ethical differences & attitudes in defying the gestapo were between husband & wife and various Nazis played(as was then usually the case)by other well known British faces with English accents.