GManfred We now have all the answers, but this picture was released before WWII became a world war. It is likely there were rumors and inklings about underground movements but this may have been the first picture about a German resistance movement brought to the attention of the movie-going public. Imagine the surprise and amazement of American audiences trying to fathom the concept that Germany was not a monolith."Underground" is the tense and suspenseful story of two brothers on opposite sides of the war. Jeffrey Lynn is a Nazi officer discharged and returning home after losing an arm in combat and Philip Dorn is his older brother who is a member of the underground. We learn of the consequences to a resistance member if caught and of the attendant paranoia prevalent among members. Secrecy is necessary and required, under penalty of death.The storyline is absorbing and the direction is spot-on throughout. The two stars are at their best, and this may be one of Jeffrey Lynn's best roles. The supporting roles are filled with competent German character actors who may be unfamiliar to many of us. "Underground" is a memorable rendering of a theme which has become very familiar to us over the years since the war. Well worth the time, which is only 95 fast-moving minutes.

LeonLouisRicci Early Hollywood Nazi Movie set in Germany Following a Pirate "Underground" Radio Station and the Nationalist but Anti-Nazi Germans that Risked Their Lives trying to bring Truth to the Population. Oppressive and Gestapo Tactics were being "Jack Booted" on the People with Restrictions on Everything from the Media to Free Speech. This Group of Resistance Fighters and Their Tribulations are Presented in a High Suspense Social Picture that WB did so Well.It has a basically No-Name Cast but all Deliver Riveting, Believable Performances and the Film was Gripping and Obviously Topical, at the Time, and Deserves to be Rediscovered as one of the Best, Unseen and Forgotten Films that is Preachy Without being Overbearing and Thought Provoking Without Doubt.Concentration Camps and the Devastating Effect the Torture had on "Enemies of the State", Brutal Beatings of Suspects (including Women and old folks), Nazi Iconography Dominating Scenes, and a Family Literally Torn Apart by the Hitler Regime are all Included here and No Restraint.The Ending is Wicked and Heart Wrenching but Turns to an Upbeat Note in the "Nick of Time" (but at such cost). This is a Powerful Film and Holds Up much more than many of its Type made Throughout the War. A Must See.

sol ***Some Spoilers*** Pre-Pearl Harbor Hollywood war propaganda flick involving a group of anti-Nazi Germans trying to get the message through to the German people just how rotten the Nazi regime is. Using a shortwave radio the anti-Hitler Germans use it to bring out that the war news is not as bright as their controlled media tells them that it is. There's the sinking of the German super battleship Bismark with all 2,800 sailors, aboard as well as the mysterious flight of Nazi Deputy Fuhrer Rudolph Hess to England whom were told by the Free German radio announcer Eric Franken, Phillip Dorn, just had about enough of Hitler's Germany and escaped to freedom to the British isles! In fact Hess was later tried as a Nazi war criminal at Nuremberg and given a life sentence and then committing suicide, or suspected being murdered, in his Spandou Prison jail cell in 1987 after spending almost 50 years behind bars!It's when Eric's brother Kurt, Jeffery Lynn, shows up with his left arm blown off in Norway that Eric and his members of the anti-Nazi underground run into trouble in that unlike Eric Kurt is a die-in-the-wool Nazi who'll turn him as well as anyone else, even his parents, in if he suspected them of being traitors to their country! It's when Kurt meets Eric's girlfriend and fellow anti-Nazi German violinist Sylvia Helmuth, Kaaren Verne, that his unyielding love for the Fatherland takes a backseat!At first not believing that Sylvia is working for the German underground Kurt is given the job by his superior Col.Heller, Martin Kosleck, to spy on her after she got caught receiving radio equipment through the mail that was banned by the German Government. What Col.Heller doesn't realize is that he has a spy in his own office in the person of his private secretary Fraulein Gessner, Mona Maris, who relays everything going there on to the underground keeping them one step ahead of his henchmen who are out to arrest and execute them. ***SPOILERS*** It's Kurt's lame attempt to prove his worthiness to the Nazi cause as well as save Sylvia from a gestapo firing squad that in the end backfires in him exposing the entire underground movement, as well as his brother Eric, to Col Heller storm troopers. With Eric and his fellow anti-Nazi freedom fighter now about to get the ax, or guillotine, Kurt finally sees the light and joins to good fight by becoming the star announcer of new the Free German Movement after those of the old one have been arrested and slated to be executed by the gestapo!Heart wrenching final with Eric & Co. about to get it in the neck as all of a sudden we and the Nazi gestapo about to do Eric in hear Kurth's voice come out load and clear as it's broadcast all over Berlin denouncing the Nazi Regime and rallying the German people to overthrow it! That's before the Nazis ends up doing to the German people what their about to do to Eric & co, which they ended up doing anyway in the spring of 1945, if the German masses don't rise up and overthrow them before it's too late!

fordraff 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?