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The House on 92nd Street has solid claims to a place in film history, and not just as an engrossing true-life counter-espionage movie. Its working title was "Now It Can Be Told," and its story--about the F.B.I. smashing a Nazi spy ring in New York--involved the stealing of atomic secrets. That surely upped the topical ante for 1945 audiences (who, we may assume, had a lot less ambivalent feelings about the F.B.I. than latterday viewers).
Of more lasting significance, the movie pioneered a salutary postwar trend in American filmmaking: forsaking the Hollywood soundstages and back lot to tap the freshness and palpable authenticity of real-world locations. Shot mostly in New York City, House was a collaboration between 20th Century–Fox and Louis de Rochement, the documentary producer renowned for his "March of Time" newsreels. The working formula of House and its successors was to fully incorporate documentary techniques into the storytelling, and to "film where it actually happened." That included using some nonprofessional performers, sometimes people who had been involved in the case. Fox went on to embrace this aesthetic in not only the de Rochement–produced 13 Rue Madeleine and Boomerang! but also the gangster movie Kiss of Death, the journalistic detective story Call Northside 777, and another F.B.I. case history, Street With No Name. Even the storybook fantasy of the studio's 1947 Miracle on 34th Street was charmingly validated by setting Kris Kringle down amid real New Yorkers and real Gotham grittiness.
Noiristes should stand advised that House on 92nd Street, a key influence on film noir, is not quite a true noir itself (whereas Anthony Mann's T-Men is noir to the max). Even as a German-American double agent, hero William Eythe is unburdened by neurosis or doubt, and the stylistic keynote is documentary gray, not black--though a murder in a railroad yard and the final showdown are memorably stark and dark. --Richard T. Jameson
Description
A stentorian narrator tells us that the USA was flooded with Nazi spies in 1939-41. One such tries to recruit college grad Bill Dietrich, who becomes a double agent for the FBI. While Bill trains in Hamburg, a street-accident victim proves to have been spying on atom-bomb secrets; conveniently, Dietrich is assigned to the New York spy ring stealing these secrets. Can he track down the mysterious "Christopher" before his ruthless associates unmask and kill him?
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine WWII suspense/espionage/thriller,
By A Customer
This review is from: House on 92nd Street (VHS Tape)
The treacherous villainous woman in this thriller is really excellent around which the film twists. She will surprise you guaranteed and for the gents, she's quite a looker too.Great supporting cast, high suspense espionage and just what your looking for. Based on documentary intelligence records and really excellent first of the realism photoed movies shot on actual locations. First of the post WWII noir-based genres. Good curling-up entertainment with Lloyd Nolan also who is good.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Saving Atom Bomb Secrets,
This review is from: House on 92nd Street (VHS Tape)
This 1945 film showed how the FBI prevented the secret of the atomic bomb from falling into enemy hands. Aside from the main characters, all of the background persons were members of the FBI. The opening scenes show J.Edgar Hoover and an associate. The "house on 92nd Street" in Manhattan was the local safe house for the Nazi spy ring and Gestapo. It tells how a double agent was able to infiltrate their ranks and gather details on all the spies. (It did not explain how they knew who would be recruited.) This was done by forging a typewritten microfilmed document. About 20 minutes from the start Lloyd Nolan asks that this document be changed to require contact with all the spies; it is done quickly. A few years later in the Hiss Trial they claimed it was impossible to forge typewritten documents! Yet it was known and done circa 1936 by British Intelligence in South America. Read "The Quiet Canadian" for more details on this, and other activities in the US. I wonder what can be done nowadays with ink jet and laser printers?
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Cold War Begins Here,
By
This review is from: House on 92nd Street (VHS Tape)
The House on 92nd Street was one of the first Hollywood films to incorporate a semi-documentary edge to the noir/crime genre. The film's technical accuracy is authenticated by actual FBI archive footage of Nazi subversives and location shooting at FBI headquaters in Washington. For the first time ever, J. Edgar Hoover's dictatorial organization is depicted as an organized, structured, and efficient government institution whose existence and purpose is to preserve and protect national security. Hoover allowed director Henry Hathaway unprecendented access to film FBI secret equipment such as: two-way mirrors, video surveillance cameras, wire tapping lines, and a demonstration of the immense fingerprinting tracking system. Hoover gave his stamp of approval since the film justified the Bureau's stand and actions against possible covert foreign operations infiltrating America's military, political, economic, and educational systems. The film was released in 1945, weeks after the atomic bombing of Japan and the plot revolves around Nazi spies and their quest for information about ultra-secret plans dubbed Project 97. Project 97 obviously refered to the Manhattan Project which was the actual government code name given for the construction of the atomic bomb. Dark European mannerisms flood the film, as evidenced by Hathaway's judicious choice in casting. Swedish actress Signe Hasso is nefariously convincing as the Nazi spy ring's mastermind. With the exception of Leo G. Carroll, the remaining subversives are undertaken by unknown players. Their anonymity to the average American film buff heightens their deviousness and subterfuge. Lydia St. Clair is absolutely chilling in her small but malevolent role as a Nazi loyalist. The cast is rounded out by newcomer William Eythe and the dependable Lloyd Nolan who is perfectly cast once again as the paternal figure for American justice. The disappointment is Eythe whose lines are delivered blandly. The film's cinematography is true noir. Shadows seem to move between every contrast of black and white. This is a must see for all classic noir lovers.
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