Freedom Radio

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For similarly named things, see Radio Freedom (disambiguation).

Freedom Radio
"Freedom Radio" (1941).jpg
DVD cover
Directed byAnthony Asquith
Written byAnatole de Grunwald
Jeffrey Dell
Basil Woon
Story byRoland Pertwee
Bridget Boland
Based onstory by Louis Golding
Gordon Wellesley
Produced byTheo Lageard
Mario Zampi
StarringClive Brook
Diana Wynyard
Raymond Huntley
Derek Farr
CinematographyBernard Knowles
Edited byReginald Beck
Music byNicholas Brodszky
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
1 February 1941 (UK)
4 February 1941 (USA)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Freedom Radio (a.k.a. A Voice in the Night[1]) is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War and concerns an underground German resistance group who run a radio station broadcasting against the totalitarian Third Reich.

It was shot at Shepperton Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Sheriff.

Plot[]

An eminent Viennese doctor in Germany becomes increasingly disillusioned with the oppressive brutality of the Nazis. His wife, however, is flattered by the attentions of the Führer, and accepts a political post in Berlin. At first the doctor does nothing as his friends "disappear", but eventually, with the aid of an engineer, he creates a secret radio station from which he broadcasts condemnations of Hitler and prays for a "better" Germany to arise from the ashes of his ruined country. The birth of "Freedom Radio" sees the creation of an underground group of anti-Nazis who regard Karl as their leader.[2][3]

Cast[]

Critical reception[]

The New York Times critic wrote that "this is a frankly propagandistic drama...The admirable emotional restraint which went into the making of several of the better British war films seen here in the past year is sadly lacking"[1]

Sky Movies called the film, "gripping, strongly cast and more subtle than most propaganda thrillers of its time...And film buffs may spot Katie Johnson, later to win fame in The Ladykillers but here, 13 years earlier, already in granny roles!"[4]

Wolfgang Gans zu Putlitz, German diplomat operating for British intelligence, recalls in his autobiography working on the film as a consultant at Shepperton in the winter of 1939/40.[5]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b T.M.P. (23 May 1941). "Movie Review - A Voice in the Night - At the Globe". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ^ "Freedom Radio | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ^ "A Voice in the Night (1941) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Freedom Radio - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  5. ^ Unterwegs nach Deutschland, Berlin 1956, p. 284-285 (English translation: The Putlitz Dossier, London 1957).
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