''They Came to Blow Up America'', also known as ''School for Sabotage'' and ''School for Saboteurs'', is a 1943 American war spy film directed by Edward Ludwig and starring George Sanders and

Anna Sten Anna Sten ( ua, А́нна Стен; born Anna Petrivna Fesak, December 3, 1908November 12, 1993) was a Ukrainian-born American actress. She began her career in stage plays and films in the Soviet Union before traveling to Germany, where she st ...

. It is based on the World War II

Operation Pastorius Operation Pastorius was a failed Nazi Germany, German Espionage, intelligence plan for sabotage inside the United States during World War II. The operation was staged in June, 1942 and was to be directed against strategic American economic tar ...

Plot

When only six of eight would-be German saboteurs are sentenced to death by an American court during

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 ...

, an

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

agent complains to his boss, Craig (

Ward Bond Wardell Edwin Bond (April 9, 1903 – November 5, 1960) was an American film character actor who appeared in more than 200 films and starred in the NBC television series ''Wagon Train'' from 1957 to 1960. Among his best-remembered roles are Ber ...

), about the other two. Craig tells him about one of the men sentenced to prison. A flashback ensues. American attorney Carl Steelman (Sanders) stuns his German-born parents by telling them that he is a member of the

German American Bund The German American Bund, or the German American Federation (german: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American Nazi organization which was established in 1936 as a successor to the Friends of New Germany (FoN ...

. His father (

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography St ...

), a loyal American, is particularly incensed. When Carl attends a Bund meeting, his colleague Ernst Reiter divulges that he has been called back to Germany to be trained as a saboteur. The police break up the meeting; fleeing, Reiter draws a gun and is shot dead. Later, Carl meets with Craig; Carl is actually an FBI undercover agent. Craig informs him that he is to impersonate Reiter and infiltrate the school. In Hamburg, Carl becomes friendly with a woman named Helga Lorenz. Later, Colonel Taeger ( Dennis Hoey) informs him that Helga is suspected of being in the German Underground, and orders him to continue seeing her to find incriminating evidence. After Carl accidentally finds some anti-Nazi leaflets, he warns Helga, but a spy with a telescope has witnessed this, so Carl has no choice but to denounce her himself. When she refuses to talk, Taeger orders her sent to a concentration camp. Carl manages to intercept the car taking her away and rescue her. Then Reiter's wife shows up at his hotel. To prevent her from betraying him, he tells her that Reiter was captured in America, then asks her for a day to explain himself. He then tells Colonel Taeger that his "wife" has lost her mind. After questioning the woman himself, the colonel agrees and has her sent to an asylum. When Carl's father becomes seriously ill, Craig tells him about his son's real mission, but stresses he can divulge the information to no one, not even his wife. Julius is too overjoyed to obey. He tells his close friend, Dr. Herman Holger ( Sig Ruman). Because of his excellent performance at the sabotage school, Carl is put in charge of the first group of saboteurs to be sent to America after the United States enters the war. He and three others board a

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...

. When Colonel Taeger is notified that a Carl Steelman is an American agent, he goes to see Frau Reiter; she confirms that Steelman was her husband's associate in America. Taeger has her shot to cover up his mistake, then sends an urgent message to the U-boat captain. The submarine is attacked by American bombers, but escapes unharmed, and the saboteurs depart in a life raft before Taeger's message is received. Then the bomb Carl left aboard blows up, sending the submerged U-boat to the bottom. Ashore, the four men are spotted on the beach and arrested. Craig makes Carl maintain his cover and turn state's evidence against the others, as well as four saboteurs sent to Florida. Then Carl goes home to see his parents and Dr. Holger. He informs Holger that he has a list of German agents in America, and that the doctor is on it at number eight. He takes Holger away.

Cast

* George Sanders as Carl Steelman / "Ernst Reiter" *

as Frau Reiter *

as FBI Chief Craig * Dennis Hoey as Colonel Taeger * Sig Ruman as Dr. Herman Holger *

as Julius Steelman, Carl's father * Robert Barrat as Captain Kranz, head of the sabotage school * Liesl Handl as Helga Lorenz * Ralph Byrd as Burkhardt, second saboteur with Steelman *

Elsa Janssen Elsa may refer to: ELSA (acronym) *ELSA Technology, a manufacturer of computer hardware *English Language Skills Assessment *English Longitudinal Study of Ageing *Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects research *European Law Students' Association * Eur ...

as Henrietta Steelman (as Else Janssen), Carl's mother *

Wolfgang Zilzer Wolfgang Zilzer (January 20, 1901 – June 26, 1991) was a German-American stage and film actor, often under the stage name Paul Andor. Biography Zilzer was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to German-Jewish emigrant Max Zilzer, who was employed at the ...

as Schlegel

References

External links

* * * {{Edward Ludwig 1943 films 1940s spy films 1940s war films American black-and-white films Films about the Federal Bureau of Investigation American films based on actual events 20th Century Fox films World War II films made in wartime World War II spy films Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films scored by Leigh Harline American war films Films scored by Arthur Lange Films with screenplays by Aubrey Wisberg