Confessions of a Nazi Spy

1939

1h 42m

Mystery & Thriller

List

100%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

60%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

FBI agent Ed Renard (Edward G. Robinson) goes on the hunt for a Nazi spy ring bent on subverting the citizenry of America. Beginning with Nazi rabble-rouser Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer), Renard uses his well-honed instincts to find his way to the ring leader of the espionage campaign, Dr. Karl Kassell (Paul Lukas). With the Nazi secret police rounding up any security leaks and passing them back to Germany, Renard races to extract the information that will bring down the conspiracy.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A propaganda pic par excellence.

Rated: 3.5/4

Mar 26, 2023

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

It continues to be a telling historical marker and evidence of a Hollywood studio taking a moral and political stance when it was unpopular to do so.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 14, 2023

Full Review

Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a film that shows a studio with a conscience and one that uses their platform for the greater good.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 31, 2020

Full Review

John Kinloch

California Eagle

As motion picture entertainment removed from the sphere of political objections, this courageous Warner Bros. film will stand high when the outstanding pictures of 1939 are heralded. Confessions is pretty nearly tops in screen melodrama.

Oct 22, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Historically significant, Litvak's sensationalistic political melodrama is considered to be the first Hollywood anti-Nazi film made by a major studio

Rated: B

Jun 12, 2011

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Daring for its day.

Rated: B

Jul 28, 2008

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David K

The Warner Bros style on display. Tough, no nonsense style shot with the feel of a documentary. This was really the first studio-produced film that dealt with the threat of Nazi Germany and resulted in a lot of blowback for the Brothers Warner. If you need any context on the environment this film came out in, you must watch Ken Burns' documentary "The US and the Holocaust". Although my dad, a Jewish man, who was 27 at the time the war started, said some things about this period in time, it was a brief and insufficient overview. Burns paints a far more detailed picture of Nazi sympathies in the US, including in the Roosevelt Administration. What Confessions does is give a contemporary account that appeared 2.5 years before the US entered the war. And, they did a very good job at it. Not the 100 Tomatometer rating from critics, but definitely worth your time.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/23/23

Full Review

j f

Great picture. Especially for the time. But, it does seem that Warner Bros went out of their way to not mention or insinuate anything that could be construed as referring to a Mr. Heinrich Ford.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Under-rated. The first Hollywood film to tackle the subject of Nazism aggressively in a riveting manner.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/05/23

Full Review

paul d

Anatole Litvak's Confessions of a Nazi Spy is a very good movie and an outstanding work of propaganda. It is much more direct and straightforward, and less artistic, than some other famous propaganda films such as Foreign Correspondent, Casablanca and Saboteur. However, those came later than Litvak's and they owe a lot to him and to Warner Brothers for this early and bold attempt to warn America about the Nazi threat. Litvak was highly, personally motivated to make this film, and he knew a lot about the threat, because by 1939 he had already fled Russia because of the Bolsheviks, and Germany and France because of the Nazis.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Jonathan P

Good old school anti Nazi filck

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/05/19

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderful snapshot of cinematic & world history combined. Made BEFORE the US entered WW2 it shows American propaganda at its best. The valid fears of Americans (if somewhat sensationalized) that even translates to TODAYS politics. Robinsin is his usual tough good guy smart self. Paul Lucas is actually believable as the German-American nazi super fanatic. Add a little George Sanders, Henry O'Neill, Sig Ruman & Francis Lederer & it's well worth watching every minute.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

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Anatole Litvak

Director

Edward G. Robinson

Edward "Ed" Renard

Francis Lederer

Kurt Schneider

George Sanders

Franz Schlager

Paul Lukas

Dr. Karl F. Kassel

Henry O'Neill

U.S. Atty. Kellogg

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Synopsis

FBI agent Ed Renard (Edward G. Robinson) goes on the hunt for a Nazi spy ring bent on subverting the citizenry of America. Beginning with Nazi rabble-rouser Kurt Schneider (Francis Lederer), Renard uses his well-honed instincts to find his way to the ring leader of the espionage campaign, Dr. Karl Kassell (Paul Lukas). With the Nazi secret police rounding up any security leaks and passing them back to Germany, Renard races to extract the information that will bring down the conspiracy.

Director: Anatole Litvak
Production Co: Warner Brothers/Seven Arts
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 31, 2009
Runtime: 1h 42m

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