The Secret Command made it into Oscar contention with a nomination for Best Special Effects. Still this World War II flag waver has not worn well over the years.Pat O'Brien who was a former war correspondent and now secret government agent takes a job at a shipyard where his brother Chester Morris is now the hiring boss. O'Brien seems changed to both Morris and Ruth Warrick a girl both of them courted back in the day. Biggest change of all is that O'Brien is married to Carole Landis and has two kids. That does not sound like the rollicking hell raising brother Morris knew back in the day.It's suspected that the Nazis have planted saboteurs at the shipyard and O'Brien's mission is to find out who they are and most important who the ringleader is. He's also getting used to home life with Carole Landis and who wouldn't have a hard time keeping his mind on the mission.A few familiar faces are in the cast in roles suitably comfortable for them. I do confess that the ringleader does turn out to be a surprise.Still the subject of sabotage was covered far better in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Saboteur. It holds up where this one does not.

Lightweight Propaganda that is Family Friendly Fodder and Heavy on the Irish-are-Americans Theme, as well as the Need to Include those Cute Kids as a Reminder of what We are Fighting for. Speaking of Fighting, those Irish will Fight at Any Opportunity. They will Fight and Argue with Family Members, Friends, Co-Workers and even the Nazis.In the Middle of the Movie it Stops Dead to Include a Scene where the Shipbuilders Remove their Welder's Helmets so the Audience can See Everyone is Doing their Part...Negroes...Women...and an Oriental (had to be Chinese because the Japanese were in Internment Camps).Pat O'Brien is Miscast Again Playing a Hunk that Every Woman on Screen Pines. Ridiculous. The Frumpy, Overweight, Hardly Handsome "Star", should have Traded Places with Chester Morris and it would have Worked a Whole Lot Better.Carol Landis is a Sleek Beauty and some of the Cinematography is Above Average. Overall it is a Watchable Piece of Propaganda Fluff that is Neither that Suspenseful or Intriguing. In the Prolog it is Mentioned that America is Building Sturdy Ships, Honest Ships. What Exactly is an Honest Ship?

These things generally are more interesting for their social history than the cinematic experience. But that history is hot and heavy here.Its a strange thing to witness, how Hollywood toes the line on perceived social needs, sometimes taking the lead from Washington.The US entered the war with a strategy not based on valor, or military prowess. It was simply based on outproducing the bad guys. We could make stuff faster than they could blow it up. So industrial sabotage was a real worry. We weren't worried about the Japanese because we simply locked up anyone who looked Japanese.It was the Germans who "looked like us," that were the worry.So Hollywod ginned up some stories to fit, and this is probably the best of the bunch. The interesting thing here is how far the Irish had come as the prototype American. Only a few decades before, Irish (with Jews) were considered slime. They were quite literally the "other," the non-American. Its anyone's guess why they rose so quickly. The common theories don't hold much water because we see other groups who behaved much the same way and never achieved the exalted status of the Irish as movie icons. But here we have it in spades: brawling is an honorable, friendly thing. Booze is never mentioned. All the hard working, patriotic, tough souls here are Irish. They win the war with pluck and expect no reward or recognition.Now, that's a story. Incidentally, though the story, sets and action are pure hokum, that acting here is pretty modern and realistic. I think that's related to the Irish story.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

"Secret Command" wastes what must have been a fairly large budget and high-power cast on a predictable story with little suspense or drama.Pat O'Brien is miscast in the leading man role, failing to convey the quiet masculine strength and sexuality called for here.The home-life scenes, with the European orphans, designed to tug at our heart strings, don't quite work either, and detract from the drama of the hunt for Nazis in the shipyard. And our hero is never really put in any danger.I have a fondness for the World War II propaganda flicks, but even I didn't warm to this one. What I generally like about the propaganda films is that they have some edge to them, since they are dealing with life and death stuff. "Secret Command" seems to go light on these elements.A posted comment questioned "Secret Command" winning a special effects Oscar, and I found myself wondering about that as well. I concluded that the underwater shots, and the (apparent) location shots on the crane were considered "special" effects in the 1940s. (Today we assume special effects relates to only fabricated shots or images.)