robert-temple-1 This really is a very superior film of its kind. The director and screenwriter was George Seaton, a highly talented man whose greatest cinematic achievement was to direct and write the screenplay for THE COUNTRY GIRL (1954). In Britain it is only possible to get the DVD of this film in a Spanish edition, where you turn off the Spanish subtitles. Part of the beginning of the film and the end credits are cut from that DVD issue, inexplicably, though that is only a minor irritation. William Holden is well chosen for the lead, for his droll gravitas perfectly fits the need for a first person narration and the role of an unwilling spy into which he is drawn. Lilli Palmer is also perfect for the soul-searching German idealist who wishes to oppose Hitler to the last ounce of her strength but cannot come to terms with the accidental deaths of children in an Allied bombing raid for which she gave the coordinates, in her role as spy. The film is based on a non-fiction book published in 1958 by Alexander Klein (1918-2002), a Hungarian Jew who lived in America from the age of 5. Klein's book recorded the real wartime adventures of a Swedish oil executive, Eric Erickson, who became a crucial spy against the Nazis while posing as a Nazi-sympathiser, and who is played in the film by Holden. The story is thus a true story, and that may explain the film's deeply compelling qualities. There is a great deal of difference between a film based on real events and one based on someone's imaginings. The grisly events portrayed in this film are more convincing than is normal in espionage films because they really happened. Indeed, no one who had not lived through them could have imagined such things, an example being the Jew attempting to flee to Sweden from Denmark who permits himself to choke to death on a handkerchief rather than betray his hiding place to the Gestapo and cost his companion his life. And then there is the bizarre detail that if you are being pursued by border guards with dogs, you can save your life by sprinkling dried blood mixed with cocaine powder on the trail. The dogs stop to sniff it and become immobilized and have fits. (We may have to keep this in mind as we move towards an increasingly totalitarian world. And it is the first sensible use of cocaine that I have ever heard of, that's for sure.) This is a big budget film, as it was shot on location in Sweden, Denmark, and Germany, at huge cost. The film runs for 2 hours and 20 minutes and is gripping for the entire time. An excellent performance as an oily British spy controller is given by Hugh Griffith, who for once kept his eyebrows partially under control and did not have a 'Groucho moment'. He must have had great fun being a creep for a change, for no actor likes to be laughed at all the time, especially one of ability. This excellent movie is more than just an entertaining film, it is a document and a record, and it is so well done that it does justice to the seriousness of its subject matter.

Terrell-4 Think of The Counterfeit Traitor as a sprawling but engrossing three-part espionage novel with a daunting number of pages to get through. If you're like me, you'll have a good time. In fact, I think The Counterfeit Traitor, even with all its subsections and all of its 240 minutes, is one of the best of the WWII sagas. The hero is an adult, and director-writer George Seaton treats the audience as adults, too. It's the story of Eric Erickson (William Holden), a Swede who is a successful oil trader. Sweden is neutral and Erickson makes money trading with the allies as well as with Germany. In a bit of ruthless manipulation, a British intelligence agent named Collins (High Griffin) begins to ruin Erickson's reputation, then offers to clear him if Erickson, who is able to easily travel between Stockholm and Germany, gathers information on Germany's war effort and delivers it back to him. Erickson has little choice. Even so, to be effective he has to fool the Gestapo into believing he's genuine. Soon, in Sweden, he's convincing friends that he believes in Nazi Germany. In Germany, he uses blackmail to gather inside information from his German business friends. He has few allusions. He resents being forced into this double game. He loses a lot of self-esteem as he disappoints his Swedish friends and manipulates his German friends. Not only is he at risk every time he steps foot in Germany, he is putting in the shadow of the hangman's noose the Germans he has been working with. The only thing that changes his mind is an act of random brutality he witnesses at a German factory that uses Polish laborers. A man picked at random from a crowd is strung up on a hoist and strangles to death while his co-workers watch. Says a colleague of Erickson's, "You can read about a hundred atrocities, hear about a thousand, but you only have to see one." Erickson's contact in Berlin is Marianne Mollendorf (Lilli Palmer), a well-connected wife of an Army colonel. The game they play gets riskier with every visit Erickson makes. She knows the worth of what she is doing. When Erikson realizes the importance, too, it's not long before love follows. The movie is too long and could easily lose 30 minutes here and there. A lot of those minutes involve the inner angst of Erickson and Mollendorf. Their growing love is believable; their dialogue often has 'Hollywood' written all over it. There's some preaching, but not too much, and since most of it is delivered by Palmer it's at least bearable. She was not only a beautiful woman, she was a fine actress whose intelligence was much of her attractiveness. To my knowledge, she never played a dumb woman in a long career. On the other hand, watching an 11-year-old boy try to destroy Holden as Erickson is unnerving. Watching Holden try to destroy an 11-year-old boy is satisfying. The strength of the movie, from my point of view, is in its portrayal of blackmail, the application of leverage and the corruption by both sides to achieve their goals. This isn't a case of moral equivalency, just the way wars work, There are no armed battles, shoot 'em ups or breakouts, just a lot of slowly building tension, the accumulation of small mistakes and emotional exhaustion, and a terrible moment of betrayed faith and the consequences that arise from it. That leaves us with the last half of the movie and one exciting moment after another. Erickson goes back to Germany one last time to retrieve a critical document. This time he finds himself picked up by the Gestapo. His escape isn't pretty or easy, but it's a great ride...not for the derring do but for the tension and the intricacies of his escape, made possible by the many people who help him. If you never thought you'd become emotional about bicycles, you might surprise yourself. So we have Erickson's recruitment and first missions, Erickson and Mollendorf's work, their relationship and the consequences, and Erickson's complicated escape. The Counterfeit Traitor sprawls, but it's held together by William Holden's performance. He's a reluctant hero, then a committed one, but without bravado. The movie is an intelligent espionage thriller that owes a lot to Holden's contained, intelligent portrayal.

irarubenstein2000 Wanted to set the record straight on 1 of the reviewer's retelling of one of the most important scenes. I call this scene the epiphanny scene, because William Holden's entire perspective changes after hearing Lilli Palmer's reasons why she has become a spy (Palmer)"He (Hitler) is the anti-Christ and I am a Christian". (Holden): But your religion also tells you to love your enemy!" (Palmer): I said I was a Christian, not a saint!. .... (Palmer again)"You businessmen are all alike, thinking this war is one grand chess match. Try to think of it as one small truck going off to a concentration camp and those who are shivering inside." (Holden) "I feel for those people" (Palmer)"Yes, but not WITH them, that's the difference. But someday you might. You'll see a man, a complete stranger being bullied and beaten and in that instant, he'll become your brother" (Holden)" I don't know if you are wise or just foolish, but your husband, (who cheated on her) must be an idiot"

Peter Guzzo This excellent movie makes you really feel like the characters are in your living room. It shows both the true horror and the rush to love as fast as possible during wartime. The more I watch it the more I pick up things I missed the last time. There is a lot of things to be learned by this movie. Both the Horrors and feelings of war and how people act under severe stress.