San Francisco opens its golden gates to many foreign born citizens from other countries all hoping for their chance at freedom, and every once in a while, some bad apples sneak in, determined to cause damage. However, true freedom fighters, whether born here or not, will not let the evils of foreign lands (or those born here) ruin what the basis of what America was founded on. That includes, dramatically described here, the Jap's, the Kraut's and the Italians under the thumbs of evil tyrants and bullies. Freedom fighters know that the people being ruled by them are either slaves to their fascism or just as bad, so taking them down isn't just for democracies. It's for the safety of the world at large.
This B propaganda expose on spies infiltrating San Francisco is just one of hundreds of films made between 1939 and 1945, from the fall of Paris to the bomb drops and Hitler's suicide. It's nothing that hasn't been done before and after, and better, but there's also been worse. There's some cleverness to this one, with alleged Nazi spy Don Terry undermining a sabotage plot while being suspected of being a spy. Irene Hervey is a canteen hostess with her own secret identity, with comical Andy Devine doing his best to tone it down for once in playing a jolly character who takes his job seriously and is far from a clown. Leo Carrillo (as Hervey's shady father in cahoots with the Nazi's) and Turhan Bey provide fine support in a film that strives to rise above ordinary and in spite of leading to the same conclusions as normal ends up being pretty decent entertainment that provides insight to what we need to do to retain freedoms in an ironically more dangerous era.
This B propaganda expose on spies infiltrating San Francisco is just one of hundreds of films made between 1939 and 1945, from the fall of Paris to the bomb drops and Hitler's suicide. It's nothing that hasn't been done before and after, and better, but there's also been worse. There's some cleverness to this one, with alleged Nazi spy Don Terry undermining a sabotage plot while being suspected of being a spy. Irene Hervey is a canteen hostess with her own secret identity, with comical Andy Devine doing his best to tone it down for once in playing a jolly character who takes his job seriously and is far from a clown. Leo Carrillo (as Hervey's shady father in cahoots with the Nazi's) and Turhan Bey provide fine support in a film that strives to rise above ordinary and in spite of leading to the same conclusions as normal ends up being pretty decent entertainment that provides insight to what we need to do to retain freedoms in an ironically more dangerous era.