WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Neive Bellamy Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

hasosch Should declared as well as intended B-movies be taken for serious or not? Of course, only the affirmation of this question legitimates any possible criticism.Vincent Sherman was one of the classical B-movie directors. If the reason why he directed "Underground" (1941) was of political nature or simply because he needed money - or irresponsibility toward the subject of the movie -, we don't know. However, everybody can find out very easily that the "good guys" in the film - most of all the characters of Kurt and Eric (correctly: Erich) Franken are played by non-Germans (an American and a Dutchman), and that the main "bad guy"-character Colonel Heller was played by the German Martin Kosleck. Besides the only exception of Fräulein Gessner, who was played by the American Mona Maris, one realizes soon that, although all characters are German, the real actors who play the good guys are almost exclusively Americans and the real actors who play the bad guys are almost exclusively Germans.By chance? Let me tell you that no European director would come to the insane idea to let the role of an American character be played by a Non-American. However, especially German characters in American movies are regularly played by American actors imitating American accents as Marlon Brando did in "Morituri". How convincing is a movie in which a French actors plays an American character, revealing after two words his actual origin? However, in "Underground", the things are dramatically different: Issued in 1941 and although a B-movie, this movie was obviously intended to call for Americans to enter World War II and to legitimate beforehand an American meddling in Germany (which still continues by the American presence in nowadays Germany, as every child knows). So, the good characters in this movie are recognizable by the audience via correct American speech of the American actors, while the bad characters are also easily recognizable by the German accents of the German actors.Concluding, let me admit that for once, I have been inconsistent: I enjoyed seeing actors like Kosleck, Ilka Grüning or Ludwig Stössel and I therefore rated this movie with 6 points. However, had I been honest, I would have given a 1, because this movie is nothing else than intellectual filth, a war-chaser and propaganda movie on the lowest possible level.

jacksflicks Watching Underground makes me wish that TCM would do an anthology of great B-movies. Limited budgets imposed constraints on production values -- sound stages and back lots instead of locations, black & white instead of color, character actors in leading roles. What budgets didn't constrain was acting, directing and writing. And what's cool is that there were lots of them, especially from the studio system, where great talent was on staff.I don't think I've seen a wartime propaganda flick that pulls out all the stops quite like this one. Vile Nazis in their spiffy Nazi uniforms, sadism, torture, whips, dungeons, betrayal, sabotage, righteous rants by old professors...all here! Tight production and right casting make this a delicious grand guignol. Despite the grim theme, there are some pretty funny Hogan's Heroes moments. Example: a thuggish Gestapo underling is bragging to his secretary about a ghastly new torture method he's invented and complaining about Himmler's taking the credit. The secretary, who's in the underground, replies, barely containing her sarcasm, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get a promotion."And then, there's the ending, when one must face an excruciating dilemma -- to do something horrible and cruel for the greater good. It's something I don't know if I'd have the courage to do. Would you?

ny1mwd26 Quite honestly, I never had heard of this film before. And, having just watched it, much to my regret. It was made before U. S. entry into World War II. Yet, Hollywood was quite aware of the evils being perpetrated by the Third Reich. Coincidentally, the case is dominated by actors born in Europe. The story is not that new. Two brothers are on different sides of the spectrum in Berlin: one is a leader of the resistance movement, the other is a wounded German who maintains strong loyalty to the Reich. The film centers on how their worlds and visions collide, with a backdrop of the Nazis' trying to find and silence the resistance's radio broadcasts. The acting is first-rate all around. I suspect this would have been a 'bigger' film if Warner Brothers had used the 'A' team. All in all, a very good little movie.

jim riecken (youroldpaljim) This top rate production from Warners Bros., tells the story of the anti-Nazi underground and its attempts to sway the German people to reject the Nazi regime and put an end to its war machine. This film is far better than many other later anti-Nazi films cranked out by Hollywood during WW2. The cast all give top rate performances. Martin Koslec is effectively slimey as the Nazi secret police leader who is out to crush the underground. After seeing him here, no wonder he made a career portraying evil Nazi leaders. Perhaps the most memorable performance is by Wolfgang Zilzer as the sad, pathetic former underground leader who becomes a traitor in exchange for release from the hellish torture he is undergoing in a Nazi concentration camp. The scene where he is confronted by underground leaders and forced to commit suicide has real power. The lighting and the music are perfect. Seen today, this film might seem a bit optimistically naive. It gives the viewer the impression the Nazi regime would soon fall from power. None the less the film effectively portrays the terror inflicted on the German people to assure obedience to its corrupt and evil regime. Note; One odd idea thrown in, is a suggestion about why Rudolph Hess fled Germany and flew into London. During one of the underground broadcasts, Philip Dorn states that Hess fled to escape the gestapo and tell the world the truth. This sounds a bit naive, since everything suggests in real life Hess was always a staunch supporter of the Nazi regime. Of course the whole Hess affair is still to this day shrouded in mystery, and we may never know the real reason why Hess flew into London. That, however is a matter of discussion for another forum.