Nazi soldier Jeffrey Lynn (Kurt) returns home on the night that his brother Philip Dorn (Eric) is due to make an illegal Resistance radio broadcast. The brothers are at odds in their beliefs but Lynn is unaware of how his brother feels and his role with the Resistance. One of Dorn's allies is Kaaren Verne (Sylvia) who plays violin at a club. She becomes the focus of Lynn's romantic interests but he remains unaware of her involvement in the Resistance. Will the Nazi brother suss out what is going on? And will he inform on his brother and the woman he loves to Gestapo chief Martin Kosleck (Heller)? This film is better than expected and there are several tense scenes, eg, when Verne is sent to collect some radio equipment and must change her routine in the last seconds as Gestapo officers wait to arrest her. There is also a good scene between Gestapo secretary Mona Maris (Gessner) and Lynn as she points out a few home truths to him. I liked Philip Dorn and felt that it was his film and he should have been given the headline credit. He has a powerful scene when he goes to confront his Nazi brother about what course of action with regards the reporting of Verne that he will take. Dorn cannot afford the wrong decision to be taken and is prepared for what he may have to do. Another good scene involves Dorn and fellow Underground member Peter Whitney (Alex) as they confront Resistance traitor Wolfgang Zilzer (Hoffman). The only poor acting comes from a couple of Resistance figures as they try to leave a club un-noticed. They stand out a mile in terms of suspicious behaviour. I'm afraid they get what they deserve for being so crap. Otherwise, the acting is very good all round. It's a pity that they bring some complicated poem into the proceedings - no way would anyone remember that clunky thing.Overall, a good film. The Gestapo team reminded me of the French Resistance UK comedy of the 1980s "Allo Allo". Kosleck and Maris have that similar fetishized imagery working for them as was exploited by Gestapo officer "Herr Otto Flick" and his secretary "Helga". There is definitely some kind of repressed kinkiness going on. The scene with the boots and the whip and Kaaren Verne draped over a seat. Definitely. The only detail missing is revealing that Kosleck is wearing ladies lingerie throughout the whole film.

Believe it or not, up until the entry of the US in WWII, it was technically illegal for Hollywood to take a stand concerning the Nazi invasions of most of Europe. A little-known law was passed by Congress that forced the studios to remain neutral on the war--but by 1940 and 41, several bigger studios basically ignored the law. Warner Brothers was the first with "Confessions of a Nazi Spy" but soon MGM came out with "Mortal Storm"--both very, very critical of the German government. As for "Underground", it actually debuted before the attack on Pearl Harbor, so it was also in violation of this probably unconstitutional law. Because of this, you really have to admire the studio for taking such a strong stand against the evils of the Nazi regime.This fictional film finds two brothers, Eric (Philip Dorn) and Kurt (Jeffery Lynn) on opposite sides. Kurt is a wounded war veteran and 100% loyal to his party. Eric, on the other hand, is a leader in the German underground--and Kurt has no idea of this. Eventually, however, Eric is slowly pushed to accept that his Nazi overlords are NOT as wonderful as he once thought--and by the end of the film he is in a complete moral quandary. I could say a lot more about the film, but frankly it would spoil the surprise.About the only thing negative about he film is that the two brothers didn't sound like brothers. Dorn was Dutch by birth and to us Americans, he sounded rather German. But Lynn sounded very American--and this contrast was odd. But, despite this, the script is excellent--exciting, tough and very convincing. It is, in essence, very effective anti-Nazi propaganda--and must have done a lot to galvanize the public against the menace of Nazi Germany. Also, being from Warner Brothers, it had great direction and polish. It compares well with other similar films of the era and is much more subtle than many of the anti-Nazi films that debuted just after the US entered the war. Well worth seeing.

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.

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.