A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic training film.A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic training film.A downed American bomber crew quickly falls prey to the clever interrogation techniques of the Germans in this dramatic training film.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total
Louis Adlon
- Maj. Franz Kohmer
- (uncredited)
Rand Brooks
- Pilot
- (uncredited)
Frederic Brunn
- German Yard Guard
- (uncredited)
George Dolenz
- Capt. Volbricht
- (uncredited)
Carl Esmond
- Maj. von Behn - Nazi Commandant
- (uncredited)
Steven Geray
- Dr. Victor Münz - Camp Doctor
- (uncredited)
Liesl Handl
- Nazi Nurse
- (uncredited)
Arthur Kennedy
- Sgt. Alfred Mason
- (uncredited)
Lloyd Nolan
- USAF Debriefing Officer
- (uncredited)
- …
George O'Hanlon
- American Pilot at Headquarters
- (uncredited)
Otto Reichow
- German Prison Guard
- (uncredited)
Henry Rowland
- German Sgt. Renser
- (uncredited)
Hans Schumm
- German Guard
- (uncredited)
James Seay
- Capt. James N. Spencer
- (uncredited)
Craig Stevens
- B-26 Pilot
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Bernard Vorhaus(uncredited)
- Writer
- Harold Medford(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe AMC documentary "Hollywood Commandos" reveals the contribution made by this Oscar nominated docudrama. Repatriated Air Force POWs later reported that "Resisting Enemy Interrogation" had accurately depicted German interrogation trickery. The American air crew members were well prepared for Nazi techniques.
- Quotes
Major von Behn - Nazi Commandant: Just as there is no such thing as an innocent question, there is no such thing as a valueless statement.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The First Motion Picture Unit: When Hollywood Went to War (2014)
Featured review
We have (other) ways of making you talk
Low-budget army training films seldom get nominated for an Oscar. But that is what happened with this longer-than-usual 1944 effort by the Army Air Force, instructing American aircrews in how to resist interrogation when captured.
It starts with quite a good joke. While being driven to the prison camp, the crew are chatting in the back of the van, when the German sergeant turns round and barks at them "You will not talk!" Their leader answers quietly and significantly "No, we will not talk." That is, of course, their brief - just to give their name, rank and number, as decreed under the Geneva Convention. Anything more, however trivial, could be added to the enemy's intelligence jigsaw, perhaps revealingly.
The main theme is that the interrogators will probably be trying methods more subtle than whips or knuckle-dusters. Such as innocent small-talk to relieve the boredom of camp life. What could be wrong with that? And for the officers, perhaps a little drink in the mess? Hmm...
Bit by bit, through careless revelations (even the trees have ears), their mission is revealed, almost in its entirety, though the enemy are still having to guess at the key question - which big city is the bombers' target? How they figure this out is a triumph of ingenuity, which we cannot reveal here.
In black-& white, the uniforms all look the same colour, so we aren't always able to distinguish between captives and captors. (I had always assumed that prisoners could not wear headgear, but it seems they did.) Also it sounded at first as though there was a musical code to indicate penalty-points for an indiscreet statement, but this turned out to be an illusion, rather disappointingly. Meanwhile we are left wondering how the Americans would have known so much about enemy interrogation techniques, unless they were simply replicating their own. And noting that Oscar nomination, this must have played to a large civilian audience, for whom it would have been doubling as a propaganda film. As such, it doesn't leave you hating the enemy as much as it should. But even after 77 years of vast changes in warfare, the message remains just as valid as ever: silence is golden.
It starts with quite a good joke. While being driven to the prison camp, the crew are chatting in the back of the van, when the German sergeant turns round and barks at them "You will not talk!" Their leader answers quietly and significantly "No, we will not talk." That is, of course, their brief - just to give their name, rank and number, as decreed under the Geneva Convention. Anything more, however trivial, could be added to the enemy's intelligence jigsaw, perhaps revealingly.
The main theme is that the interrogators will probably be trying methods more subtle than whips or knuckle-dusters. Such as innocent small-talk to relieve the boredom of camp life. What could be wrong with that? And for the officers, perhaps a little drink in the mess? Hmm...
Bit by bit, through careless revelations (even the trees have ears), their mission is revealed, almost in its entirety, though the enemy are still having to guess at the key question - which big city is the bombers' target? How they figure this out is a triumph of ingenuity, which we cannot reveal here.
In black-& white, the uniforms all look the same colour, so we aren't always able to distinguish between captives and captors. (I had always assumed that prisoners could not wear headgear, but it seems they did.) Also it sounded at first as though there was a musical code to indicate penalty-points for an indiscreet statement, but this turned out to be an illusion, rather disappointingly. Meanwhile we are left wondering how the Americans would have known so much about enemy interrogation techniques, unless they were simply replicating their own. And noting that Oscar nomination, this must have played to a large civilian audience, for whom it would have been doubling as a propaganda film. As such, it doesn't leave you hating the enemy as much as it should. But even after 77 years of vast changes in warfare, the message remains just as valid as ever: silence is golden.
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- Goingbegging
- Apr 5, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Nazi Interrogation
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 6 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was Resisting Enemy Interrogation (1944) officially released in Canada in English?
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