Directed by André De Toth • 1944 • United States
Starring Alexander Knox, Marsha Hunt, Henry Travers
The first Hollywood film to confront the atrocities of the Holocaust, this chilling exploration of the psychology of fascism was made during World War II, but actually anticipates the Nuremberg trials. During the trial of Nazi war criminal Wilhelm Grimm (Alexander Knox), we flash back in time to witness his disturbing transformation from a mild-mannered schoolteacher, embittered by Germany’s defeat in World War I, to a brutal, fanatical operative of the Third Reich, who ultimately betrays everyone around him.
Up Next in Noir and the Blacklist
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Brute Force
Directed by Jules Dassin • 1947 • United States
Starring Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles BickfordAs hard-hitting as its title, BRUTE FORCE was the first of Jules Dassin’s forays into the crime genre, a prison melodrama that takes a critical look at American society as well. Burt Lancaster ...
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Crossfire
Directed by Edward Dmytryk • 1947 • United States
Starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert RyanThis gritty film noir made history as the first Hollywood film to confront antisemitism. Three of the era’s most celebrated Roberts—Young, Mitchum, and Ryan—star in the hard-hitting tale of a pol...
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Intruder in the Dust
Directed by Clarence Brown • 1949 • United States
Starring David Brian, Juano Hernández, Claude Jarman Jr.One of the first major Hollywood films to deal seriously and sensitively with the subject of racial injustice, this landmark adaptation of the novel by William Faulkner features a towering ...
