An American scientist goes undercover in WWII Europe to prevent the Nazis from developing an atomic bomb.
During the Second World War, American physicist Alva Jesper (Gary Cooper) is recruited by the Office of Strategic Services for a perilous mission. He must travel to Switzerland and then into Italy to make contact with a fellow scientist who has been kidnapped by the Nazis and is being forced to work on their atomic bomb project. As he undertakes his spy duties, Professor Jesper finds an ally and romantic partner in Gina (Lilli Palmer), a courageous member of the Italian resistance. Together they must navigate a landscape of constant danger to stop the Germans and rescue the captive scientist.
Director Fritz Lang’s wartime thriller places an academic at the center of international espionage, a plot that capitalized on the post-war fascination with secret missions and atomic science. The film served as the American debut for German-born actress Lilli Palmer, who was already an established performer in British cinema with more than fifteen films to her credit, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Secret Agent. As a result, she was no newcomer to the spy genre. Lang, himself an émigré from Nazi Germany, directs the action with a taut focus on the conversion of an ordinary man into a reluctant, but necessary, hero.
Production Co: Warner Bros. / 106 minutes / 1946
Director: Fritz Lang
Screenplay: Albert Maltz, Ring Lardner, Jr.
Main Cast: Gary Cooper (Prof. Alvah Jesper), Lilli Palmer (Gina), Robert Alda (Pinkie), Vladimir Sokoloff (Polda), Dan Seymour (Marsoli), J. Edward Bromberg (Trenk), Marc Lawrence (Luigi)
