Berlin Correspondent (1942)

70 mins | Drama | 11 September 1942

Director:

Eugene Forde

Producer:

Bryan Foy

Cinematographer:

Virgil Miller

Editor:

Fred Allen

Production Designers:

Richard Day, Lewis Creber

Production Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
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HISTORY

The working titles of this film were War Story and Everything Is Thunder. Although a HR news item includes Trudy Marshall in the cast, her appearance in the completed picture has not been confirmed. HR also noted that technical advisor Dr. E. O. F. Golm was formerly a judge in Berlin. ...

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The working titles of this film were War Story and Everything Is Thunder. Although a HR news item includes Trudy Marshall in the cast, her appearance in the completed picture has not been confirmed. HR also noted that technical advisor Dr. E. O. F. Golm was formerly a judge in Berlin.

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SOURCE CITATIONS
SOURCE
DATE
PAGE
Box Office
15 Aug 1942
---
Daily Variety
13 Aug 1942
p. 3
Film Daily
17 Aug 1942
p. 6
Hollywood Reporter
18 Feb 1942
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
1 May 1942
p. 3
Hollywood Reporter
13 May 1942
p. 4
Hollywood Reporter
22 May 1942
p. 9
Hollywood Reporter
5 Jun 1942
p. 11
Hollywood Reporter
22 Jun 1942
p. 13
Hollywood Reporter
13 Aug 1942
p. 3
Motion Picture Daily
12 Aug 1942
---
Motion Picture Herald
26 Sep 1942
---
Motion Picture Herald Product Digest
15 Aug 1942
p. 838
New York Times
4 Sep 1942
p. 19
Variety
12 Aug 1942
p. 20
CAST
PRODUCTION CREDITS
NAME
PARENT COMPANY
DISTRIBUTION COMPANY
NAME
CREDITED AS
CREDIT
DIRECTORS
Asst dir
PRODUCERS
Exec prod
Prod
WRITERS
Orig scr, Orig scr
Orig scr, Orig scr
PHOTOGRAPHY
Virgil Miller
Dir of photog
ART DIRECTORS
Art dir
Lewis Creber
Art dir
FILM EDITOR
Film ed
SET DECORATOR
Set dec
COSTUMES
Cost
MUSIC
Mus dir
SOUND
Joseph E. Aiken
Sd
PRODUCTION MISC
Dr. E. O. F. Golm
Tech adv
DETAILS
Alternate Titles:
Everything Is Thunder
War Story
Release Date:
11 September 1942
Production Date:
early May--early Jun 1942; added scenes on 21 Jun 1942
Copyright Info
Claimant
Date
Copyright Number
Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.
11 September 1942
LP11673
Physical Properties:
Sound
Western Electric Recording
Black and White
Duration(in mins):
70
Length(in feet):
6,380
Length(in reels):
7
Country:
United States
PCA No:
8424
SYNOPSIS

In November 1941, American radio correspondent Bill Roberts sends out valuable espionage information during his broadcasts from Berlin despite the vigilance of Nazi censors. Realizing that someone must be giving Bill the information, Gestapo colonel Carl von Rau details various agents to follow the American, but Bill eludes them all. Von Rau then assigns his fiancée, Karen Hauen, to investigate Bill, even though she has never done spy work before and is reluctant to do it. Karen succeeds in getting Bill to ask her to his apartment for dinner and there discovers that the information he receives is written in invisible ink on the stamps he buys from a local shop. Karen reports her findings to von Rau the next day, but when she returns to her apartment, her father Rudolf confesses to her that he is the one who has been helping Bill. He further states that she has been inadvertantly supplying the information he has passed on to Bill. Hauen explains that he did it because he hates the Nazis, and then, in order to protect Karen, he turns himself in to von Rau, claiming that she arrested him. Although Von Rau promises Karen that no undue harm will come to the old man, Hauen is tortured. Bill is not arrested, for von Rau believes that he no longer poses a threat, and when Karen learns that her father is being sent to the notorious Grundorf insane asylum, from which no one returns, she turns to Bill for help. Bill castigates Karen for working for the Nazis, but agrees to help for Hauen's sake. By posing as a psychiatrist on ...

More Less

In November 1941, American radio correspondent Bill Roberts sends out valuable espionage information during his broadcasts from Berlin despite the vigilance of Nazi censors. Realizing that someone must be giving Bill the information, Gestapo colonel Carl von Rau details various agents to follow the American, but Bill eludes them all. Von Rau then assigns his fiancée, Karen Hauen, to investigate Bill, even though she has never done spy work before and is reluctant to do it. Karen succeeds in getting Bill to ask her to his apartment for dinner and there discovers that the information he receives is written in invisible ink on the stamps he buys from a local shop. Karen reports her findings to von Rau the next day, but when she returns to her apartment, her father Rudolf confesses to her that he is the one who has been helping Bill. He further states that she has been inadvertantly supplying the information he has passed on to Bill. Hauen explains that he did it because he hates the Nazis, and then, in order to protect Karen, he turns himself in to von Rau, claiming that she arrested him. Although Von Rau promises Karen that no undue harm will come to the old man, Hauen is tortured. Bill is not arrested, for von Rau believes that he no longer poses a threat, and when Karen learns that her father is being sent to the notorious Grundorf insane asylum, from which no one returns, she turns to Bill for help. Bill castigates Karen for working for the Nazis, but agrees to help for Hauen's sake. By posing as a psychiatrist on Hitler's personal staff, Bill infiltrates the asylum. Bill helps Hauen escape, then gives him his own altered passport. Hauen reaches safety in Switzerland, and when von Rau discovers the subterfuge, Bill naïvely believes that nothing can be done to him because he is an American citizen. Von Rau arrests Bill, however, and on 7 Dec 1941, replaces him on his broadcast with a German impersonator, who asserts that the United States is to blame for Pearl Harbor. Bill is then sent to a concentration camp, much to the horror of Karen, who has fallen in love with him. When Karen pleads with von Rau to free Bill, he agrees to do so if she will marry him immediately. Von Rau pretends to arrange Bill's escape, but instead orders a guard to kill him. Carla Hoening, von Rau's secretary who is in love with him, tells Karen about his treachery so that Karen will try to escape with Bill. While Carla has von Rau detained, Bill escapes from the camp with Karen's aid, and they hijack von Rau's private plane. As they are flying toward Switzerland, the pilot reveals that he is glad to help them, for he also wants to leave Germany, and the relieved couple embrace.

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Legend
Viewed by AFI
Partially Viewed
Offscreen Credit
Name Occurs Before Title
AFI Life Achievement Award

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