Address Unknown
US (1944): Drama
This is a "little" film - very tightly acted and directed with a relatively small central cast. Paul Lukas plays Martin Schulz, an American-German art dealer who moves his family back to Germany to deal directly in European art and is soon swept into the Nazi way of life. Their recognition of him inflates his ego - he is soon turning his back on his Jewish American partner (Morris Charnovsky). When that partner's daughter (K. T. Stevens), an aspiring actress, is revealed as being Jewish she is hunted down and shot on Schulz's doorstep as he bars her entry. Then he starts to receive ominous letters in code from his American partner which the Nazi censoring bureau believe to reveal espionage on Schulz's behalf. His slow degradation and then realization that after all have abandoned him, he is left alone and imprisoned in his own home are harrowingly portrayed. There is a twist surprise ending that is the final nail in the coffin. Rudolph Maté's cinematography deserved an Oscar nom - it is one of the finest examples of black and white composition in film history - one superbly framed and lit shot after another. Produced and directed for Columbia by William Cameron Menzies with a cast that includes Carl Esmond, Peter van Eyck, Mady Christians, Mary Young and Frank Faylen. (Arne Andersen, IMDb)
2 nominations
· Interior Decoration (Black and White) 1944: Lionel Banks & Walter Holscher - Art Direction, Joseph Kish - Set Decoration
· Music Scoring Awards (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture) 1944: Morris Stoloff, Ernst Toch