The Counterfeit Traitor | |
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Cover of the DVD
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Directed by | George Seaton |
Produced by | George Seaton William Perlberg |
Written by |
Charles Grenzbach George Seaton |
Based on |
The Counterfeit Traitor by Alexander Klein |
Starring |
William Holden Lilli Palmer Hugh Griffith Carl Raddatz |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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140 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Counterfeit Traitor is a 1962 war film starring William Holden, Hugh Griffith, and Lilli Palmer. Holden plays an American-born Swedish citizen who agrees to spy on the Nazis in World War II. It was based on a nonfiction book of the same name by Alexander Klein. The film was directed by George Seaton.
Erickson (Holden) is an American-born Swedish oil man who is pressured by Allied intelligence agents, led by a British agent (Griffith), to spy for the Allies. Erickson begins his job reluctantly, as it causes marital discord and forces him to pose as a Nazi. He agrees because otherwise his business would be destroyed by the Allies, but over time, realizes it is the right thing to do.
He is influenced in making this moral decision by one of his contacts in Germany, a religious woman (Lilli Palmer) who gives him guidance on the meaning of life and right and wrong. Erickson has a number of close calls, but eventually escapes to Sweden in a harrowing sea voyage.