Oddly the Most Reeking Propaganda in this Movie Pertains to the Catholic Religion as a Combatant Against Hitler and the Nazis. In Fact, the Pope and the Church in Rome Never Spoke Out Against the Nazis and in Some Respects Supported Their Anti-Jewish Sentiment, or at the Very Least Looked the Other Way and did Virtually Nothing to Condemn or Stop Them.
But that Third-Act Flaw Aside, this is a Dramatic and at Times Powerful Look at Germany and its Evil Practices. There are Many Scenes of Highlight. The Torch Lit Rallies, the Operating Room Surgeries (must have been unsettling for audiences at the time), the Bound and Gagged Little Boy Tortured to Learn a Lesson, the Flogging of a Young Woman, and a Few Others.
So Overall this is Hollywood Anti-Nazi Propaganda at its Best. A Huge Money Maker for RKO and a Movie that is Disturbing Even Today. It is a B-Movie but the Low-Budget, Second Tier Actors, and Limited Production Values do Nothing to Make this Anything Less than a Stinging Indictment of the Nazis and is Actually, for a Change, Highly Historically Accurate, Except for the Aforementioned Religiosity.
But that Third-Act Flaw Aside, this is a Dramatic and at Times Powerful Look at Germany and its Evil Practices. There are Many Scenes of Highlight. The Torch Lit Rallies, the Operating Room Surgeries (must have been unsettling for audiences at the time), the Bound and Gagged Little Boy Tortured to Learn a Lesson, the Flogging of a Young Woman, and a Few Others.
So Overall this is Hollywood Anti-Nazi Propaganda at its Best. A Huge Money Maker for RKO and a Movie that is Disturbing Even Today. It is a B-Movie but the Low-Budget, Second Tier Actors, and Limited Production Values do Nothing to Make this Anything Less than a Stinging Indictment of the Nazis and is Actually, for a Change, Highly Historically Accurate, Except for the Aforementioned Religiosity.