In class we learned that this was one of the first films to combine documentary footage with dramatic action. Largely feeling like a propaganda piece about the strength of as-of-yet unknown FBI and the follies of the Third Reich, it is noticeably devoid of relationships. Everyone has a job that they are 100% devoted to. While there is betrayal and loyalty, there is no romance.
I found the use of technology interesting in this film because it almost serves as its own character, tying all pieces together. Between the microfilm, the hidden cameras, and the radio tower, technology is the one thing that either makes or breaks every single person in this film, and it is also what brings them all together.
If anything, this is a time capsule of commentary about the geographic and cultural tensions of the era rather than the power of the FBI and it's stymieing of the Nazi attack.
1 comment:
You bring up a good point, nobody in the film did seem to have any relationships, romantic or otherwise in the film, except for the Germans. I think the film falls so heavily into propganda that giving the American characters any sort of emotional depth would have detracted from their "perfection"and moral higher-ground. Their lack of even casually emotional or off-topic interactions was conspicious, now that you point it out - yet the Germans definitely had relationships (the german embassy secretaries, for example) and I even thought I noticed a hint of sexual tension between the two German spies. Patriotic Americans don't have time for such drivel as emotions.
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