They Came to Blow Up America
| They Came to Blow Up America | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Edward Ludwig |
| Produced by | Lee S. Marcus |
| Written by | Aubrey Wisberg |
| Based on | story by Michael Jacoby (as Michel Jacoby) |
| Starring |
George Sanders Anna Sten |
| Music by |
Hugo Friedhofer Leigh Harline Arthur Lange |
| Cinematography | Lucien Andriot |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
73 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
They Came to Blow Up America is a 1943 American war spy film based on the World War II Operation Pastorius, directed by Edward Ludwig. It stars George Sanders and Anna Sten. It is also known as School for Sabotage and School for Saboteurs.
When only six of eight would-be German saboteurs are sentenced to death by an American court during World War II, an FBI agent complains to his boss, Craig (Ward Bond), 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. His father (Ludwig Stössel), 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.
...
Wikipedia