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Freedom Radio (1941)

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9 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Unexpectedly effective, 2 May 2006

Author: Igenlode Wordsmith from England

The title isn't promising, and certainly I could find nothing but disparagement for "Freedom Radio" when I looked it up before today's broadcast: 'tedious propaganda drama' (programme guide), 'outdated and unintentionally funny... accents totally unsuited to middle-European characters' (Radio Times). Maltin, meanwhile, doesn't even bother to give it a mention.

So I was very pleasantly surprised to find it an intelligent drama about Germans in the 1930s who gradually come to realise that their country is becoming more and more totalitarian, and are pushed into an attempt at redressing the balance with the only weapon they can think of: the conviction that if only, somehow, they can get the truth out there, things will change. For our part we know, of course, that it didn't work; even they know they won't be able to get away with it indefinitely (although having an ally on the inside can prove invaluable...) But in a world where friends and neighbours are swept up by national loyalty and propaganda or become informers for their own personal profit, in a Nazi Germany that is not yet at war -- even a gesture at resistance can give hope.

As a propaganda piece this is quite extraordinarily restrained: the entire cast are played (hence the 'accents' jibe -- might the reviewer have found comic Teutonic vowels less disturbing, perhaps?) as people 'like us', as ordinary Englishmen and women of the period, from the young workman to the nosy neighbour and the Society doctor. The young artist Otto, whose SS work gradually takes over his life, has the vocabulary of a thoughtless young public-school-boy; the Gestapo officer Rabenau who tracks the heroes down is an upright and keen-eyed Intelligence commander who could have stepped out of Fighter Command HQ, not a Prussian caricature. When you consider that the film was made in the darkest days of the Second World War, the decision not merely to show 'good Germans', but to show 'bad Germans' -- Nazi loyalists -- as human (and to eschew the use of heavy foreign accents to represent foreigners speaking in their own language) is impressive.

If this film had been made in Hollywood, it would doubtless have featured a young Allied agent or second-generation American (like Karl von Austreim in Mary Pickford's "The Little American" of 1917 -- another film unfortunately written off as 'propaganda') to inspire the locals to acts of heroism. But there is no such facile audience-identification figure: we are forced to place ourselves in the position of pre-war Germans, those same Germans against whom the British cinema in 1941 might have been expected to whip up mindless hate. Instead, they're sympathetic characters. Some of them become ardent Nazi supporters; that doesn't make them less human. It only produces ultimately agonising conflict...

Clive Brook, as ever, is superb as the thinking man's thinking man; Diana Wynyard brings conviction to the role of his wife, the actress whose talent brings favour from the Fuehrer himself. Raymond Huntley makes Rabenau a formidable yet admirable opponent who is never likely to be fooled for long, while the younger couple -- Derek Farr and Joyce Howard -- provide easy appeal to the eye as the young workman and his sweetheart.

The production values betray a wartime budget: the obvious impossibility of shooting on location in Continental Europe, the stock footage of Nazi parades, and the restricted sets and shortage of extras -- for example, we only ever see Irena's stage triumphs from behind the curtain, and the Gestapo never seem to be able to muster more than half a dozen members at once. There is also a telltale moment when the supposed passage of the Budapest express is marked by the unmistakable shriek of an English locomotive whistle! The script, on the other hand, benefits from a similar parsimony. Little is stated outright if the information can instead be implied: especially in the opening sequences. We know the chilling truth behind the 'rest home' for an inconveniently hysterical witness -- the characters don't. Exposition is neatly avoided, and by and large the film displays an admirable subtlety and restraint. The exception, naturally, is in the rival radio broadcasts -- state propaganda on the one side, claims of debunking on the other -- and there were moments at the end when I felt that the content of the impassioned speeches was too obviously aimed at wartime audiences rather than the 1930s populace it supposedly addressed. But under the circumstances, and given the inevitable ending, the attempt at some kind of upbeat content is understandable.

Frankly, the only reason I bothered to sit down to watch this in the first place was the presence of the names of Anthony Asquith and Clive Brook, both old friends from the silent era.... and I wasn't hoping for much. But I've seen some inferior films recently, and this, surprisingly, wasn't one of them: in fact, it reminded me rather of Leslie Howard's "Pimpernel Smith". Too 'British' for American viewers, perhaps: too 'outdated' for the modern generation. Personally, I found its depiction of a society of creeping totalitarianism both unsettling, and more than a little thought-provoking, even today.

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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Powerful stuff, 15 December 2000

Author: eagle63 from Canberra

This film has a lot to say about to what extent the allied powers knew about the horrors of the Nazi regime by 1940. The "cleared for general viewing" notice that appears just before this film starts adds a small something to this film now.

It tells its story of a decent doctor in Nazi Germany effectively. No explicit violence is used - yet its remarkable how powerful a bullet-riddled door or a Nazi thug approaching a young girl for "assistance" about her grandmother can be.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Stirring!, 4 June 2007

Author: James Owen (jamesowen@gmail.com) from Nottinghamshire, England

This is the sort of intelligent movie you simply won't meet with in modern cinema. Yes, it's blatant propaganda, and yet the film serves so much more as a clarion call for justice, civility, and yes, freedom too. What we have in the lead character, Dr. Roder has got to be one of the most real, most believable and admirable heroes in of cinema.

My advice is don't get bogged down with the occasional stuffiness of the production, enjoy this exultation on the bravery inside those who are able to stand up for what they believe in.

It's a shame Freedom Radio will only ever get seldom showings on obscure channels in the mid-afternoon. This is the sort of film we'd do well to show in history classes.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
The cost of truth under nazi Europe., 13 May 2007

Author: mail-671 from United Kingdom

An interesting fact about "Freedom Radio" is that Warners had beaten 2 Cities to it the previous year with the much grimmer & hard hitting "Underground" where the principal exponents were 2 brothers - one a defiant anti-nazi & the other a committed party member - one set against the other against a background of terror & mistrust under a merciless Gestapo regime. This is by far the superior treatment and establishes a suspenseful,dangerous atmosphere where serious infractions like listening to or indeed operating subversive radio transmissions intending to tell the truth about nazi policies invite the severest punishments. Basically,"Freedom Radio" narrates a similar situation from a British viewpoint and with a distinctly British cast of well known players in what was an early piece of propaganda from Asquith whose family politics were well set. It is a polished production under a wartime budget with cameos by several well known players of the day. Raymond Huntley/Clifford Evans & unbelievably Bernard Miles strut around resplendant in immaculate & bemedalled Gestapo suits with young Derek Farr and Joyce Howard caught up in the plot to aid wealthy dentist Clive Brook finally act in defiance of the regime that needs to strangle the truth. The Truth was not out there & Brook has a marital struggle to convince Diana Wynyard- a firm party sympathyser & keep his actions from reaching her nazi friends. Brook & Wynyard were no strangers to the stage and had the leads in Noel Coward's "Cavalcade"(1933). The former has also played Sherlock Holmes & prior to FR was a stiff upperlipped naval officer in Ealing's early WW2 naval epic "Convoy". Diana Wynyard made a name for herself in the lead of "Gaslight" on stage & on screen before MGM reprised it with Ingrid Bergman and tried to suppress the former. "Freedom Radio", again is studio-bound but this does not affect the story. Some dialogue is of the day and the edited newsreel inserts are obvious. A twist in the plot has one of the nazi leads a sympathyser & a nice,moment of suspense as Derek Farr,the radio technician infiltrates a huge Party gathering under the nose of a suspicious armed guard and cuts the connections relaying a speech by Hitler. There are several witty lines such as mentioned by earlier critics & direction is above average as should be expected from "Puffin" = Cottage On Dartmoor"/"Pygmalion"/"Way To The Stars" & "The Winslow Boy".

As an ex-RAF Wireless Op I appreciated the Gestpo method of searching out the illegal transmissions using the old 2-beam method of DF.In fact,this might just get a rough location of a strong signal but a third beam would be much more accurate as used some years later by the FBI in "White Heat" when hunting down Ma Cody in her bugged car. There's a touch of irony when the ending of FR parallels that of "Underground" in that the Truth will not be silenced by mere suppression.

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7 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Interesting for what it was doing on its release but otherwise the narrative is pretty dull and lacking in excitement, 29 October 2004
Author: bob the moo from Birmingham, UK

Dr Karl Roder is a German doctor who enjoys his practice and comfortable life in Germany in the late 1930's. However as the months pass he notices the Gestapo rising to power in the country, with many of his professional friends being 'disappeared' for the slightest of reasons. Eventually his student meeting of doctors is broken up as part of the new rules on gatherings. His first experience of the new regime firsthand is when he sees a minister decrying the ruling power only to be removed from the pulpit and later be reported dead in a twisted and deceitful report. Frustrated by what he sees happening, Roder turns to a radio building friend for help and soon he has made the first broadcast of Freedom Radio – but the Gestapo are soon trying to find him and shut him down.

When screened on television this film still bares the certificate from the BBFC that rates it as suitable for 'adult' audiences meaning that this is actually part of the film. At the time I'm not sure why they felt this was appropriate for that rating but they did, certainly watching it didn't really give me any idea as to what was so bad about the content here. The film is set within Germany and shows some elements of the community (albeit Germans with good clean English accents as opposed to the Gestapo who have a forced accent!) that were willing to stand up and decry the actions of the Government. Maybe this is why it was rated A for adults, because it is easier to see a whole country as the enemy during a war rather than accept that the people are essentially just people. Anyway, aside from this bombshell (!) there is nothing really to the film that justifies seeing it and explains why it is so rarely seen these days.

The plot goes down the roads of a standard type of thriller but it lacks any real thrills and the story is told without much in the way of excitement. The use of footage of Hitler himself makes the film slightly more interesting but the main narrative is lacking a real bite to keep me interesting. Looking abck now we all know the atrocities that were carried out in the name of Germany so the vague hinting about disappearing scientists etc is hardly shocking or informative, but maybe at the time it had audiences on the edge of their seat with revelations about concentration camps, but my god the realities of the places is much worse that what this film can depict. The cast are pretty solid but none of them really make any impression. Brook doesn't prove himself as leading man material in a performance that is fairly stilted and stiff. The support cast are pretty good with some emotional performances but I can't remember any of their names.

Overall an interesting film in terms of the 'different' (at the time) things it does in regards mentioning camps, showing a German resistance and showing Hitler but in terms of narrative it is pretty dull, lacking a real tension. The shock effect is also gone as we are much more aware of the true horror than we were in 1941, this leaves very little for the modern viewer – hence it being pretty unknown nowadays.

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The Resistance Within, 5 June 2008

Author: robertconnor from London, England

In the months leading up to Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia, Hitler's own doctor gradually realises the Nazi's oppressive regime is wrong and must be opposed. His resolve is strengthened as he witnesses his wife and brother-in-law blithely embrace National Socialism.

Rather nifty and extremely stylish little mid-war British propaganda piece, fascinatingly mixing cut-glass accents and 'stiff-upper-lip' acting styles with Nazi uniforms and thuggery. Though all scenes are studio-bound, this actually lends itself to the clinically oppressive atmosphere, as the viewer watches characters apparently walking late-night Berlin streets, or steering a motor launch along a canal, or watching a train pass, all the time knowing that they are confined under a sound stage roof.

Freedom Radio contains an array of delicious performances, particularly amongst the supporting players - Martita Hunt as a duplicitous alcoholic, eyes flashing as she takes revenge on an innocent neighbour; Raymond Huntley's oily senior Nazi officer determined to outfox and destroy any resistance; the beautiful John Penrose's captivating portrayal of Otto, a young man seduced and corrupted by the Nazi regime. We even see a brief, early appearance by Joan Hickson over 40 years before Miss Marple! Try and track this down if you can - a must for all fans of British pre- and inter-war film and long-gone British character actors alike.

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Overtly propagandist wartime movie, 21 February 2008

Author: lorenellroy from United Kingdom

The movie is set in Austria at the time of the Anschluss-its merger with Nazi Germany .The main character is a well respected and highly placed medical man ,Dr Karl Roder whose patients include the world's most famous ex- housepainter ,the testicularly challenged Herr Hitler himself .Roder detests the Nazi party but his actress wife Irena is less politically aware and is flattered to be appointed as a party functionary (Director of Pagenntry).

Roder sees his anti-Nazi friends disappear and one ,a priest ,is murdered before his eyes .(The theme of anti-Nazi German clerics was explored in the contemporaneous movie Pastor Hall which is worth watching as well).He resolves to strike back by opening a propagandist and wholly illegal radio station -Radio Freedom with the aid of a young engineer whose fiancé has been abused by the Nazis The movie is crisply directed by the ever dependable Anthony Asquith and it makes good use of authentic period footage of Nazi rallies and parades.The cast make no attempt whatsoever to speak in German or Austrain accents and the clipped tones of the West end stage of the time are heard from leading players such as Clive Brook and Diana Wyngarde as Roder and Irena .Raymond Huntley is an impressive villain and the cast includes such stalwart supporting players as Martita Hunt ,playing a snooping neighbour,Joan Hickson and the Hammer studios luminary to be .Clifford Evans ,and Bernard Miles The movie does conjure up the sense of suspicion ,fear and distrust of the era and serves as an effective counter to the pacifist nonsense of such trash as John Ford's celluloid garbage "The World Moves On" Well made and worthy but not top drawer

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