Appointment in Berlin (1943)

Waste of time

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Upon learning that Prime Minister Chamberlain has made peace with Nazi Germany, a British officer by the name of "Wing Commander Keith Wilson" (George Sanders) becomes quite angry and voices his concern that Hitler will not keep his word. Unfortunately, he then proceeds to get exceedingly drunk and commits some indiscretions while in uniform for which he is subsequently court-martialed for behavior unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman. Ironically, his predicament draws the attention of the British Secret Service who not only believe like he does but also realize that he may be quite useful to them as a spy against the Germans in the near future. But first they have to make him appear to be valuable to the Germans and to do that they will have to destroy his reputation in the process. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this movie was made during World War 2 and includes the usual nationalistic sentiment one would expect from a film produced during this particular time. It goes with the territory. Even so, it was still entertaining in its own right and because of that I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

George Sanders stars with Marguerite Chapman in "Appointment in Berlin," a 1943 film directed by Alfred E. Green.Sanders plays Keith Wilson, who is disgusted by his fellow Brits believing that Hitler will abide by any non-aggression treaty and speaks out against their passivity. Because he is an RAF officer, he is dismissed from the service. A friend (Alan Napier) in the secret service recruits him to pose as a traitor/Nazi sympathizer and spy for England.Wilson is given the job of doing radio broadcasts, and by embedding a code in his speeches, he is able to give valuable information to Britain. Meanwhile, he falls for his Nazi boss' sister Ilse (Chapman), who seems unsupportive of her brother's actions.Though this is kind of a downer - it's about war, after all - it's a good movie. Sanders gives his usual smooth, charming performance, though I think he was capable of much more. He had a wonderful voice and screen presence and livened up many a film.I also liked Gail Sondergaard as a member of the underground. I actually didn't find Marguerite Chapman was all that good, though very pretty. Many years ago, before the Internet, I used to get a magazine for memorabilia collectors, and she had an ad in the classifieds to sell her personal memorabilia. I actually wasn't familiar with her at that time.Worth seeing.

***SPOILERS*** Disgusted and feeling humiliated in his country the UK selling out Czechoslovakia to Hitler's Nazi Germany RAF fly-boy Keith Wilson, Georger Sanders, starts to shoot off his mouth against his country. This has the very disgruntled Wilson end up being recruited by UK MI5 big wig Col. Patterson, Alan Napier, to do some undercover work for King and Country in Berlin. Getting to know and work for top propaganda chief Rudolph Von Parssing,Onslow Stevens, Keith is in the perfect position to tell the free world, by them Germany was at war with the UK, what's really going on in his coded radio messages on Radio Berlin's top rated show "The Voice of Truth".Sanders or Keith is also given a love interest in the movie non other then his boss' pretty and refined sister Ilse, Marquerite Chapman, who's just crazy about the guy. So crazy that she switches sides in mid flight and joins him when he finally reveals who he is and who he works for; the U.K! It's then that things really start to heat up in the movie with Ilse now willing to put her life on the line to save both Keith and his country from a German land sea and air invasion! Which by the time the film is over she in fact does!***SPOILERS*** Keith himself in getting through to the UK information about the impending German invasion throws caution to the wind and in a kamikaze style suicide attack, in a hijacked German plane, ignites a number of giant oil tankers lighting up the skies to direct the RAF to their target. The German armada docked on the Holland coast waiting to do a D-Day in reverse against Great Britain! A bit strained in Sanders or RAF pilot Keith Wilson getting away all throughout the movie masquerading around as a Nazi who seemed to have trouble being one! You can easily see that Keith's heart wasn't in it. If I could spot that it's a wonder his on the ball Nazi controllers couldn't.

I enjoyed this movie. Love these movies from the forties. This is one of four war dramas that George Sanders made in 1943. Sanders was handsome and charming as usual and watching him play a counterspy and a hero was fun. He gave an excellent performance. You can count on Sanders to make a movie worth watching. He played the role of RAF officer Keith Wilson, who is dismissed from the RAF in disgrace after bitingly criticizing the British peace pact with Hitler in 1938. He is recruited by the British secret service and ends up in Berlin as an apparent traitor giving propaganda broadcasts for the Germans, but his talks contain secret codes which help the British. The other actors played their parts well also. Of course there was a love interest. I always enjoy it when Sanders gets the girl. The only bad part of the movie was Sanders' death in the end.