''The House on 92nd Street'' is a 1945

black-and-white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

American

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many James Bond films) ...

directed by

Henry Hathaway Henry Hathaway (March 13, 1898 – February 11, 1985) was an American film director and producer. He is best known as a director of Westerns, especially starring Randolph Scott and John Wayne. He directed Gary Cooper in seven films. Backgro ...

. The movie, shot mostly in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, was released shortly after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. ''The House on 92nd Street'' was made with the full cooperation of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

(FBI), whose director,

J. Edgar Hoover John Edgar Hoover (January 1, 1895 – May 2, 1972) was an American law enforcement administrator who served as the first Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He was appointed director of the Bureau of Investigation � ...

, appears during the introductory montage. The FBI agents shown in Washington, D.C. were played by actual agents. The film's

semidocumentary A semidocumentary is a form of book, film, or television program presenting a fictional story that incorporates many factual details or actual events, or which is presented in a manner similar to a documentary. Characteristics Stylistically, it ...

style inspired other films, including ''

The Naked City ''The Naked City'' (aka ''Naked City'') is a 1948 American film noir directed by Jules Dassin, starring Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart and Don Taylor. The film, shot almost entirely on location in New York City, depicts the poli ...

'' and ''

Boomerang A boomerang () is a thrown tool, typically constructed with aerofoil sections and designed to spin about an axis perpendicular to the direction of its flight. A returning boomerang is designed to return to the thrower, while a non-returning b ...

''.

Plot

In 1939, American standout university student, Bill Dietrich, is approached by Nazi recruiters because of his German heritage. He feigns interest, then notifies the FBI. Agent George Briggs encourages Dietrich to play along. Thus, Dietrich travels to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he undergoes six months of intensive training in espionage. The Germans then send him back to the United States to set up a radio station on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

to relay secret information on shipping arrivals, departures, destinations, and cargo. Dietrich is also to act as paymaster to the spies already there and who meet regularly at a house on East 92nd Street in New York City. He is told that only a certain "Mr. Christopher" has the authority to alter the details of his assignment. Dietrich passes along his microfilmed credentials as a Nazi agent to the FBI. Agents decide to alter his authorized status so that instead of being forbidden to contact most of the agents, he is authorized to meet all of them. The 92nd Street residence is actually a multi-storied building with a dress shop, serving as a front for German agents, on the first floor. His contact is dress designer Elsa Gebhardt. She reacts suspiciously to Dietrich's high degree of authority. She requests confirmation from Germany, but communication is slow. Thus, she has no choice but to allow Dietrich full access to her spy ring. When questioned, Dietrich's other legitimate contact, veteran espionage agent Colonel Hammersohn, denies knowing "Mr. Christopher's" identity. In a separate development, a German spy is killed in a traffic accident; the FBI finds a secret message among his possessions stating that a "Mr. Christopher" will concentrate on Process 97. Briggs is alarmed because he is aware that Process 97 is America's most closely guarded secret—the atomic bomb project. And when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor in December 1941, the United States enters the war. Most of the spies Dietrich has identified are immediately picked up, but the FBI purposely overlooks Gebhardt's ring and intend to do so until "Mr. Christopher's" identity is established. While Gebhardt instructs Dietrich to transmit a key portion of Process 97 immediately to Germany, he notices a cigarette butt in non-smoker Gebhardt's otherwise empty ashtray. He surreptitiously secures the butt and sends it to the FBI, where agents trace the clue to Luise Vadja, and from her to her supposed boyfriend, Charles Ogden Roper, a scientist working on Process 97. Roper is picked up and questioned. He breaks while under interrogation and confesses to have hidden the last part of Process 97 in a copy of Spencer's ''

First Principles In philosophy and science, a first principle is a basic proposition or assumption that cannot be deduced from any other proposition or assumption. First principles in philosophy are from First Cause attitudes and taught by Aristotelians, and nuan ...

'' at a bookstore from where a person believed to be "Mr. Christopher" had been filmed by agents. Briggs then orders the immediate arrest of Gebhardt's ring. In the meantime, Gebhardt finally receives a reply from Germany, confirming her suspicions of not only Dietrich's limited authority but of his true loyalties. She injects him with

scopolamine Scopolamine, also known as hyoscine, or Devil's Breath, is a natural or synthetically produced tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic drug that is formally used as a medication for treating motion sickness and postoperative nausea and vomiting ...

in an attempt to obtain information, but her building is surrounded by government agents. Gebhardt orders her underlings to hold them off while she disguises as a man—the elusive "Mr. Christopher"—and tries to sneak out with the final vital papers on Process 97 that she has just retrieved from the bookstore. Unable to climb down the fire escape, she returns, only to be accidentally shot by one of her own men. The rest are captured, and Dietrich is rescued.

Cast

William Eythe William John Eythe (April 7, 1918 – January 26, 1957) was an American actor of film, radio, television and stage. Early life Born in Mars, Pennsylvania, a small town located about 25 miles from Pittsburgh, he was interested in acting from a ...

as Bill Dietrich (based on FBI double-agent William G. Sebold) *

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 ...

as Agent George A. Briggs *

Signe Hasso Signe Eleonora Cecilia Hasso (''née'' Larsson; 15 August 1915 – 7 June 2002) was a Swedish actress, writer, and composer. Biography Hasso was born in the Kungsholmen parish of Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. Her father and grandfather died when sh ...

as Elsa Gebhardt (based on the spy Lilly Stein) *

Gene Lockhart Edwin Eugene Lockhart (July 18, 1891 – March 31, 1957)"Gene Lockhart"
''The ...

as Charles Ogden Roper (based on the spy Herman Lang who delivered the top secret

Norden bombsight The Norden Mk. XV, known as the Norden M series in U.S. Army service, is a bombsight that was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) and the United States Navy during World War II, and the United States Air Force in the Korean and t ...

to Germany) *

Leo G. Carroll Leo Gratten Carroll (25 October 1886 – 16 October 1972) was an English actor. In a career of more than forty years, he appeared in six Hitchcock films including ''Spellbound'', '' Strangers on a Train'' and ''North by Northwest'' and in thre ...

as Col. Hammersohn (inspired by the spy ring leader Captain

Fritz Joubert Duquesne Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne (; 21 September 187724 May 1956; sometimes Du Quesne) was a South African Boer and German soldier, big-game hunter, journalist, and spy. Many of the claims Duquesne made about himself are in dispute; over his l ...

) * Lydia St. Clair as Johanna Schmidt, part of Gebhardt's ring *

William Post Jr. William Post Jr. (February 19, 1901 – September 26, 1989) was an American actor and drama instructor. He was sometimes billed without the use of "Jr." following his surname. Early life Post was born February 19, 1901, in Montclair, New Jers ...

as Walker (as William Post) *

Harry Bellaver Harry Bellaver (born Enricho Bellaver; February 12, 1905 – August 8, 1993) was an American stage, film and television actor who appeared in many roles from the 1930s through the 1980s. Early years Bellaver was born in Hillsboro, Illinois, the ...

as Max Cobura, one of Gebhardt's spies * Bruno Wick as Adolf Lange, owner of the bookstore * Harro Meller as Conrad Arnulf, another of Gebhardt's agents * Charles Wagenheim as Gustav Hausmann * Alfred Linder as Adolf Klein * Renee Carson as Luise Vadja *

E.G. Marshall E. G. Marshall (born Everett Eugene Grunz;Everett Eugene Grunz in Minnesota, U.S., Birth Index, 1900-1934, Ancestry.comEverett Eugene Grunz in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007, accessed via Ancestry.com June 18, ...

as Attendant at Morgue *

Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel Elisabeth Neumann-Viertel (5 April 1900 – 24 December 1994) was an Austrian actress who started her career in Germany during the 1920s. Under the Nazi regime she emigrated to the United States, where she appeared on the Broadway and in a few H ...

as Freda Kassel *

Sheila Bromley Sheila Bromley (born Sheila LeGay; October 31, 1911 – July 23, 2003), (The reference work ''Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2003'' gave her birth date as October 31, 1907). sometimes billed as Sheila LeGay, Sheila Manners, Sheila Manno ...

as Beauty Parlor Customer

Production and background

''The House on 92nd Street'' is the first film produced by Louis De Rochemont, credited as a pioneer of the semi-documentary style police thriller. TCM's host,

Robert Osborne Robert Jolin Osborne (; May 3, 1932 – March 6, 2017) was an American film historian, television presenter, author, actor and the primary host for more than 20 years of the cable channel Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Prior to hosting at TCM, Os ...

, said that the film is based on the real life case of William G. Sebold. He also said that they used real FBI agents and with real footage taken by the FBI. Sebold was involved in bringing down the

Duquesne Spy Ring The Duquesne Spy Ring is the largest espionage case in the United States history that ended in convictions. A total of 33 members of a Nazi German espionage network headed by Frederick "Fritz" Joubert Duquesne were convicted after a lengthy inve ...

in 1941, the largest convicted espionage case in the history of the United States. On January 2, 1942, 33 Nazi spies, including the ring leader

(also known as "The man who killed Kitchener"), were sentenced to more than 300 years in prison. One German spymaster later commented that the ring’s roundup delivered ‘the death blow’ to their espionage efforts in the United States.

called his concerted FBI swoop on Duquesne's ring the greatest spy roundup in U.S. history. Lloyd Nolan would reprise his role as Inspector Briggs in the sequel, ''

The Street with No Name ''The Street with No Name'' is a 1948 film noir directed by William Keighley. A follow-up to ''The House on 92nd Street'' (1945), it tells the story of an undercover FBI agent, Gene Cordell ( Mark Stevens), who infiltrates a deadly crime gang. Cor ...

'' (1948). In that film, Briggs and the FBI agents would take on organized crime. The actual house used in the filming of the movie stood at 53 E 93rd street. It is no longer there - it is now a pathway leading to premises behind the original house.

Reception

Critical response

Thomas M. Pryor, film critic for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, "''The House on Ninety-second Street'' barely skims the surface of our counterespionage operations, but it reveals sufficient of the FBI's modus operandi to be intriguing on that score alone." Although praised when released in 1945, the film, when released on DVD in 2005, received mostly mixed reviews. Christopher Null, writing for Filmcritic.com, writes, "Today, it comes across as a bit goody-goody, pandering to the FBI, pedantic, and not noirish at all."

Accolades

Wins *

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

: Original Motion Picture Story — Charles G. Booth; 1946. *

Edgar Award The Edgar Allan Poe Awards, popularly called the Edgars, are presented every year by the Mystery Writers of America, based in New York City. Named after American writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809–1849), a pioneer in the genre, the awards honor the bes ...

: from the

Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is an organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the Edgar Award ...

for Best Motion Picture Screenplay - Charles G. Booth, Barre Lyndon, John Monks, Jr; 1945.

Radio adaptation

''The House on 92nd Street'' was presented on '' Stars in the Air'' May 3, 1952. The 30-minute adaptation starred

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...

and

Keefe Brasselle Keefe Brasselle (born Henry Keefe Brasselle February 7, 1923 – July 7, 1981) was an American film actor, television actor/producer and author. He is best remembered for the starring role in ''The Eddie Cantor Story'' (1953). Early years an ...

References

;Bibliography *

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:House On 92nd Street 1945 films 1940s spy thriller films 20th Century Fox films American spy thriller films American black-and-white films American docudrama films Edgar Award-winning works Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation Film noir Films directed by Henry Hathaway Films scored by David Buttolph Films set in 1939 Films set in 1941 Films set in Hamburg Films set in New York (state) Films set on the home front during World War II Films shot in New York City Films that won the Academy Award for Best Story World War II spy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films