''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' is a 1944

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

training film A training film is a form of educational film – a short subject documentary movie, that provides an introduction to a topic. Both narrative documentary and dramatisation styles may be used, sometimes both in the same production. While most ...

, directed by

Robert B. Sinclair Robert Bruce Sinclair (May 24, 1905 – January 3, 1970) was an American director who worked in film, theater and television. Early years Robert Bruce Sinclair was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of an insurance agent. He attended the University ...

and written by Harold Medford and Owen Crump. The cast includes

Arthur Kennedy John Arthur Kennedy (February 17, 1914January 5, 1990) was an American stage and film actor known for his versatility in supporting film roles and his ability to create "an exceptional honesty and naturalness on stage", especially in the origi ...

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

Lloyd Nolan Lloyd Benedict Nolan (August 11, 1902 – September 27, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Among his many roles, Nolan is remembered for originating the role of private investigator Michael Shayne in a series of 1940s B movies. Bi ...

, Craig Stevens and Peter Van Eyck. ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' was intended to train

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

(USAAF) crews to resist interrogation by the Germans. ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' received an Academy Award nomination in 1944 for best feature-length documentary.

Plot

In 1944, German intelligence strives to find the target of an upcoming raid by the reputed "B-99 bomber". To achieve this end, they interrogate a recently shot-down

aircrew Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose. Commercial aviation Flight deck positions ...

from a B-99 reconnaissance mission that was shot down over Italy. The aircrew is sent to Dulag Luft POW camp. The German officers, commanded by Major von Behn (

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

) use various methods to discover this information, some of them quite subtle. While interviewing Lieutenant Frank L. Williams, Jr. (

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on ''Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the wi ...

) and Captain James Spencer (

James Seay James Seay (September 9, 1914 – October 10, 1992) was an American character actor who often played minor supporting roles as government officials. Early years Seay demonstrated an interest in acting at an early age, as he and his mothe ...

), the two airmen at first resist any probing for information. Other members of the crew include Sergeant Alfred Mason (

). Though no physical brutality is used, the Germans at one point stage a mock execution to scare a prisoner. Another prisoner is subjected to isolation to heighten his fear.

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

officers and a nurse (

Poldi Dur Poldi Dur (1917–1996) was an Austrian dancer and stage actress.Hischak p.164 She also appeared in several films. She was born in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_ty ...

) use their positions to extract information from the prisoners. Each airman eventually provides useful information because of their arrogance, fear or

naivety Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

. Some of what they say, which the enemy finds useful, seems innocuous but is used by the Germans as pieces to solve the larger puzzle. In the end, the Germans are able to determine the target of the raid and the B-99 bombing mission is intercepted. The intended target is spared heavy damage with 21 B-99s shot down and the loss of 105 aircrew. The U.S. intelligence officer (

), in his briefing to the surviving members of the raid, stresses not talking under any circumstances because of the danger of talking too much; even innocuous conversation can help the enemy. He also says not to let down one's guard, that everything in a prison camp is suspect, and not to try to outwit the enemy.

Cast

In alphabetical order *

Louis Adlon Louis Adlon (7 October 1907 – 31 March 1947), also known as Duke Adlon, was a German-born film actor. Biography Adlon was the grandson of Lorenz Adlon, founder of the famous Adlon Hotel in Berlin, where he spent much of his childhood. Adlo ...

as Major Franz Kohmer (uncredited) *

Rand Brooks Arlington Rand Brooks Jr. (September 21, 1918 – September 1, 2003) was an American film and television actor. Early life Brooks was born in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of Arlington Rand Brooks, a farmer. His mother and he moved ...

as Pilot (uncredited) * Frederic Brunn as German Yard Guard (uncredited) *

George Dolenz George Dolenz (born Jure Dolenc; akas: Giorgio Dolenz and George Dolentz; January 5, 1908 February 8, 1963) was an American film actor born in Trieste (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Italy), in the city's Slovene community. Biography Un ...

as Captain Volbricht (uncredited) *

as Nazi Nurse (uncredited) *

as Major von Behn - Nazi Commandant (uncredited) *

Steven Geray Steven Geray (born István Gyergyai, 10 November 190426 December 1973) was a Hungarian-born American film actor who appeared in over 100 films and dozens of television programs. Geray appeared in numerous famed A-pictures, including Alfred H ...

as Dr. Victor Münz - Camp Doctor (uncredited) *

as Sergeant Alfred Mason (uncredited) *

Sam Locke Samuel or Sam Locke may refer to: * Samuel Locke (educator) * Samuel Locke (politician) * Sam Locke (screenwriter) * Sam Locke (golfer) Sam Locke (born 11 August 1998) is a Scottish professional golfer. He came to prominence by winning the Silv ...

as Nazi (uncredited) *

as USAAF Debriefing Officer / Narrator (uncredited) *

George O'Hanlon George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action ''Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voice of Georg ...

as American Pilot at Headquarters (uncredited) *

as Lieutenant Frank L. Williams, Jr. - American Co-pilot (uncredited) * Otto Reichow as German Prison Guard (uncredited) * Henry Rowland as German Sergeant Renser (uncredited) *

Hans Schumm Hans Josef Schumm ''(né'' Johann Josef Eugen Schumm; 2 April 1896 Stuttgart – 2 February 1990 Los Angeles) was a German-born-turned- American actor, notably, a prolific and critically acclaimed Hollywood screen character actor who appeared ...

as German Guard (uncredited) *

as Captain James N. Spencer (uncredited) *

Kent Smith Frank Kent Smith (March 19, 1907 – April 23, 1985) was an American actor who had a lengthy career in film, theatre and television. Early years Smith was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James E. Smith. He was born in New York City and was educated ...

as Captain Reining - American Working for the Nazis (uncredited) * Craig Stevens as B-26 Pilot (uncredited) *

Charles Tannen Charles David Tannen (October 22, 1915 – December 28, 1980) was an American actor and screenwriter. Career A general purpose actor who worked primarily at 20th Century Fox, Tannen had mostly bit and/or supporting parts in movies, appea ...

as Sergeant Freulich - German Prison Plant (uncredited) *

as Ralph Cole (uncredited) * Peter van Eyck as Captain Granach - Young Nazi Officer (uncredited) *

Hans Heinrich von Twardowski Hans Heinrich von Twardowski (5 May 1898 – 19 November 1958) was a German film actor. Career in Germany Twardowski was born in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland). He made his first film appearance in the 1920 Robert Wiene-directed horr ...

as Herr Mahler - German Red Cross Representative (uncredited) *

Max Wilk Max Wilk (July 3, 1920 – February 19, 2011) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author of fiction and nonfiction books. In all, Wilk was the author of 19 books, four films, three produced plays as well as many TV shows and magazine ar ...

as Nazi (uncredited)

Production

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

for ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' took place at the Hal Roach Studios. Aside from brief voice-over narration at the beginning and a speech by Lloyd Nolan at the end, the film is presented in dramatic form. According to screenwriter Owen Crump from the First Motion Picture Unit, the secluded Bavarian chateau that appears in the film at the beginning was a process shot based on a picture post card. After the war, Crump said two aviators visited

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

studios. During the war, they were taken to the same chateau for interrogation. Recognizing it from ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'', the two fliers were so amused that they kept breaking into laughter, completely baffling their captors. Stock footage of

Douglas A-20 Havoc The Douglas A-20 Havoc (company designation DB-7) is an American medium bomber, attack aircraft, Intruder (air combat), night intruder, night fighter, and reconnaissance aircraft of World War II. Designed to meet an Army Air Corps requirement f ...

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

Martin B-26 Marauder The Martin B-26 Marauder is an American twin-engined medium bomber that saw extensive service during World War II. The B-26 was built at two locations: Baltimore, Maryland, and Omaha, Nebraska, by the Glenn L. Martin Company. First used in t ...

and

North American B-25 Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in e ...

bombers were featured in the aerial combat sequence. The German aircraft were a combination of stock footage and models of the

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

fighters that made the interception.

Reception

''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' was typical of the propaganda films of the period produced under the auspices of the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. The film was distributed and exhibited by the USAAF primarily to air force personnel but was released as a theatrical feature in New York in August 1944.

Remake

In 1950, the film story of ''Resisting Enemy Interrogation'' was purchased from Harold Medford to be made into a Universal-International motion picture with a working title of "Prisoner of War.""Hollywood Dossier." ''The New York Times'', April 30, 1950. The film, entitled ''

Target Unknown ''Target Unknown'' (also known as ''Prisoner of War'') is a 1951 American war film directed by George Sherman and starring Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol and Robert Douglas. An American bomber crew are forced to bail out over Occupied France in 1944 a ...

'', was released by Universal in 1951 with a screenplay by Medford. It was directed by

George Sherman George Sherman (July 14, 1908 – March 15, 1991) was an American film director and producer of low-budget Western films. One obituary said his "credits rival in number those of anyone in the entertainment industry." Biography George Sherma ...

with a cast led by Mark Stevens. The climax of the film is changed to an escape of the prisoners.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Koppes, Clayton R. and Gregory D. Black. ''Hollywood Goes to War: How Politics, Profits and Propaganda Shaped World War II Movies''. New York, The Free Press, 1987. .

External links

* *
'Resisting Enemy Interrogation' at the ''Library of Congress''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Resisting Enemy Interrogation Films about the United States Army Air Forces 1944 films American documentary films 1940s war drama films 1940s English-language films 1940s German-language films American black-and-white films First Motion Picture Unit films Articles containing video clips 1944 documentary films American war drama films 1944 drama films 1940s multilingual films American multilingual films Films directed by Robert B. Sinclair 1940s American films