''Address Unknown'' is a 1944 American

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

film directed by

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American film production designer (a job title he invented) and art director as well as a film director and producer during a career spanning five decades. He began his career ...

based on Kressmann Taylor's novel '' Address Unknown'' (1938). The film tells the story of two families caught up in the rise of Nazism in Germany before the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Cinematographer

Rudolph Maté Rudolph Maté (born Rudolf Mayer; 21 January 1898 – 27 October 1964) was a Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, film director and film producer who worked as cameraman and cinematographer in Hungary, Austria, Germany, France and the Unite ...

employed shadows, shapes and camera angles to create the imagery. One notable scene shows Martin Schulz (

Paul Lukas Paul Lukas (born Pál Lukács; 26 May 1894 – 15 August 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor, and the first Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his performance in the film '' Wat ...

) descending a staircase awaiting his arrest by the Gestapo, with the shadow of a web-like criss-cross of window panes behind him.

Plot

Martin Schulz and Max Eisenstein (

Morris Carnovsky Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films un ...

) are good friends, German expatriate art dealers living in the United States. Martin's son Heinrich ( Peter van Eyck) and Max's daughter Griselle ( K.T. Stevens) are in love. When Martin and his wife return to Germany to find artwork, Griselle accompanies them to seek acting opportunities. Martin meets Baron von Freische (

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

), joins the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

and becomes an important government official. Martin eventually insists that Max stop writing to him as Max is a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

. When Max sends him a hand-delivered letter to confirm he is not acting under duress, Martin makes it clear they are no longer friends. Griselle has been acting in Vienna under the stage name Stone when she lands the leading role in a play in Berlin. Before the premiere, the censor (

Charles Halton Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...

) insists certain lines be cut (such as "Blessed are the peacemakers ...") as contrary to Nazi doctrine. On opening night, however, Griselle speaks the lines anyway. When the incensed censor makes her reveal her real name, it causes the antisemitic crowd to riot. The play's director hurries a still-defiant Griselle out of the theatre for her own safety. Finally realising her danger, she seeks help from Martin at his country estate, but he shuts the front door in her face. Several gunshots are heard. Martin's wife, Elsa (

Mady Christians Marguerita Maria "Mady" Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951) was an Austrian actress who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted during the McCarthy period. Biography She ...

), is appalled by her husband's heartlessness. Max and Heinrich learn of Griselle's death in a short letter in which Martin states only that she is dead. Martin receives a telegram informing him that Max will resume writing to him and that Martin will understand his messages. Martin finds Max's first letter incomprehensible, as it seems to be in code. Martin is warned that receiving coded messages is illegal. When letters continue to arrive, Martin is forced to resign his party position. Elsa decides to take their children to Switzerland. Martin sends with her a letter appealing to Max to stop writing to him. The border guards see the letter, so Elsa destroys it before they can read it, raising suspicions further. Von Freische demands that Martin name his associates. When Martin persists in proclaiming his innocence, von Freische tells him that the

Gestapo The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organi ...

will question him. Martin is terrified. He considers suicide, but that night, he leaves his mansion by the front door. Immediately, he is illuminated by a flashlight. Back in San Francisco, a letter addressed to Martin is returned stamped "Address Unknown". A puzzled Max tells Heinrich that he had not resumed writing to his father. The reaction on Heinrich's face indicates that it was he who sent the letters.

Cast

as Martin Schulz *

as Baron von Freische * Peter van Eyck as Heinrich Schulz (as Peter Van Eyck) *

as Elsa Schultz *

as Max Eisenstein * K.T. Stevens as Griselle Eisenstein aka Griselle Stone *

Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...

as Postman * Mary Young as Mrs. Delaney *

Frank Faylen Frank Faylen (born Charles Francis Ruf, December 8, 1905 – August 2, 1985) was an American film and television actor. Largely a bit player and character actor, he occasionally played more fleshed-out supporting roles during his forty-two ...

as Jimmie Blake *

as Censorial Pipsqueak * Erwin Kalser as Stage Director *

Frank Reicher Frank Reicher (born Franz Reicher; December 2, 1875 – January 19, 1965) was a German-born American actor, director and producer. He is best known for playing Captain Englehorn in the 1933 film ''King Kong''. Early life Reicher was born in Mu ...

as Professor Schmidt * Dale Cornell as Carl Schulz * Peter Newmeyer as Wilhelm Schulz * Larry Olsen as Schulz Boy (as Larry Joe Olsen) * Gary Gray as Hugo Schulz

Academy Award nominations

Morris Stoloff Morris W. Stoloff (August 1, 1898 – April 16, 1980) was a musical composer. Stoloff worked with Sammy Davis Jr., Dinah Shore, Al Jolson and Frank Sinatra. Life and career Stoloff worked as music director at Columbia Pictures from 1936 to 1962. ...

and

Ernst Toch Ernst Toch (; 7 December 1887 – 1 October 1964) was an Austrian composer of classical music and film scores. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music. Biography Toch was born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family ...

were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Score The Academy Award for Best Original Score is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to the best substantial body of music in the form of dramatic underscoring written specifically for the film by t ...

, and

Lionel Banks With over 200 films to his credit, Lionel Banks (June 22, 1901 in Salt Lake City, Utah – March 20, 1950 in Los Angeles, California) was a hard-working art director from 1935 to 1949. In that time he worked on such films as Leo McCarey Th ...

Walter Holscher Walter Holscher (January 23, 1901 – August 7, 1973) was a German-born American art director. He was nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Selected filmography * ''Louisiana Hayride'' (1944) * ''Rough, Tough ...

and

Joseph Kish Joseph Kish (June 14, 1899 – March 14, 1969) was an American set decorator. He won an Academy Award and was nominated for four more in the category Best Art Direction. He worked on 130 films between 1942 and 1966. Selected filmography Ki ...

were nominated for Best Art Direction.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Address Unknown (1944 Film) 1944 films 1944 drama films American black-and-white films American drama films Columbia Pictures films 1940s English-language films Films about Nazi Germany Films based on American novels Films directed by William Cameron Menzies Films scored by Ernst Toch Films scored by Morris Stoloff Films set in Germany Films set in the 1930s 1940s American films