The House on 92nd Street (1945)

[moira finnie]

Call me a goof, but I love Louis de Rochemont's docu-noirs, especially when director Henry Hathaway is behind the lens. Since TCM ran The March of Time episodes that Louis de Rochemont helped to create several months ago, I've been looking forward to this "ripped from the files of the FBI" story about the fifth columnists who tried to infiltrate American society prior to and during WWII. The House on 92nd Street (1945) with Reede Hadley's "voice of God" narration, young William Eythe, Lloyd Nolan, and that very dangerous dame, Signe Hasso, is one of the most enjoyable of these newsworthy movies. Even Leo G. Carroll gets in on the act.

Of course, the movie is entertaining as well as a 90 minute advertisement for J. Edgar Hoover and his minions as they warmed up for the McCarthy era, but some of it was fact-based and it is quite enjoyable just to see scenes filmed on the real New York streets where events occurred. A precursor to The Naked City (1947), the story centers around inklings that something called "Process 97" and a certain "Mr. Christopher" might have been of interest to those trying to learn more about the Atomic bomb, which became public knowledge only a month before this movie was released in Sept. 1945.

Does anyone else like this one?

[moira finnie]

Moira, the print shown on TCM back in February completely changed my mind about this film because it is breathtakingly beautiful. The lighting is gorgeous.

I've never seen a poor print of this film. Norbert Brodine brought that same beautiful compositional eye and textural feel to the black and white beauty of other films shot on location as well in 13 Rue Madeleine, Kiss of Death, Boomerang! and Thieves Highway. I love the montages and the blending of real scenes filmed clandestinely with fictitious sequences in 92nd Street.

[Rita Hayworth]

Dear Members: I wanted to see this film and forgot to set my DVR for this movie. I read some of the previous reviews from Kingrat & Moira and I really feel not seeing it :!:

[moira finnie]

Kingme, I'm sorry that you missed it, but it is readily available. The House on 92nd Street (1945) is on DVD (you might want to check your local library, who might have a copy), is listed as available on Netflix, and it has played on the Fox Movie Channel quite often in the recent past. Now that it has been aired on TCM, perhaps it will be again. Best of luck tracking it down. It's a corker.

[feaito]

Moira I watched this picture back in August 2009 and I loved it and rated it 9/10 at imdb. Here's what I wrote on a thread at the Oasis when I watched it:

“The House on 92nd Street” (1945) is a very involving documentary type of film, set before and after WWII was declared by the US, which deals with German spies on the work in NY City. If you like stories of spies, counter-espionage, mystery and suspense, this one’s definitely for you; very realistically done, with filming on location and actual personnel of the FBI featured in the film. William Eythe stars as an American of German descent who works for Lloyd Nolan (head of the FBI) and beautiful Swedish actress Signe Hasso, plays a scheming Nazi spy. Very good Noir!

[moira finnie]

I am sorry I didn't come across your older thread, Fernando. Thanks for sharing your take on this one. I must say that some of the spies--other than Harry Bellaver, who was just too nice (and maybe too dumb) to be a bad guy--were pretty scary. Especially creepy were Lydia St. Clair, Harro Meller, and Bruno Wick, the most vicious ones that William Eythe had to contend with in the bar scene. They all looked as though they would have been part of the crowd scenes in Fritz Lang's M (1931) or G.W. Pabst's The 3 Penny Opera (1931) just as easily as they could give atmosphere to The House on 92nd Street (1945).

How ironic that actors who probably fled Germany to get away from the Nazis should have been typecast by history playing these people in order to make a living?

[feaito]

I agree with you it is quite odd and it happened repeteadly in Hollywood during those days. I bet that they were happy to impersonate Nazis as viciously as possible (their deserved pleasure and revenge).

And don't be sorry Moira, because I did not create a thread specially for the film I just posted this mini-opinion on the "What Films Have you Seen..." thread.