Choosing Loyalties In Wartime


Menzies Makes Much Of Address Unknown (1944)

Paul Lukas is tempted into a Nazi net while pre-war vacationing in Deutschland. Lukas was the Hungarian import that made Hollywood grade as opposed to countryman Bela Lugosi, who struggled. Was it Lukas' greater proficiency with the language, or was he the better actor? If nothing else, Lucas rang warning bells re Axis menace, what with this Columbia"B," plus higher-profile Watch On The Rhine and Uncertain Glory for Warners. Address Unknown was directed by design maestro William Cameron Menzies, who wrings visual elegance from a very limited budget, this a Menzies signature that would persist into the 50's and Invaders From Mars. More money might have increased scrutiny of script content; as it stands, this is bolder with regard SS persecution of undesirables than even mainstream propaganda engaged. Much of termite art was practiced by B's for their ability to glide under radars. Address Unknown shows up occasionally on TCM, product of their ongoing run of Columbiapics.

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