Review of The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) by James C — 21 Mar 2009

This was a Netflix "if you liked ________, you'll like _______" recommendation. Growing up, I somehow missed this 1962 film, so I ordered it. Man, they sure beat around the bush back in those days -- rather than directly confront uncomfortable topics like the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany or the homosexuality of Lilli Palmer's husband, the movie merely alluded to them.

Some of the directing -- sudden closeups of William Holden's bug-eyed face when he was surprised by one plot turn or another -- was quite hammy. Although a true story, parts of it are overtold in the same hammy manner -- in one scene, when William Holden is caught by Nazis on a busy street in Copenhagen, hoards of everyday Danes abandon what they're doing to form a human shield and help him escape.

To moviegoers of 2009, knowing what we now know about the true behavior of the great majority of people in Nazi-occupied nations, this pandering to the Danish national ego comes across as ludicrous and comical.

One scene later the movie makes up for it, as we bite our nails watching William Holden make his way back to neutral Sweden via the routes and methods actually used by resistance movements. With all its ups and downs, it's still a thought-provoking movie, well worth watching.