Beginning his Hollywood career as a screenwriter for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1933, former actor and playwright George Seaton worked his way to becoming a writer-director by the end of the 1940’s. By the start of the 1960’s, he had won two Oscars for his screenplays (Miracle on 34th Street in 1947 and The Country Girl in 1954) and was part of a successful production team with producer William Perlberg for Paramount Pictures. The Counterfeit Traitor – based on real life events during WWII – signaled the end of Seaton and Perlberg’s association with the studio. Previously released on DVD by Paramount and on Region Free Blu-ray by Imprint (the latter having been released earlier this year), Kino has licensed the movie for its US Blu-ray debut.
The Production: 4.5/5
In 1942, American born Swedish oil man Eric Erickson (William Holden) finds himself on the blacklist by the American government for trading with Nazi Germany, despite Sweden’s neutral status. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Erickson is given a lifeline – more like a quid pro quo – by British intelligence agent Collins (Hugh Griffith): help the Allies spy on Germany by posing as a Nazi sympathizer and learning about their plans in exchange for getting off the blacklist. Erickson reluctantly agrees, but during his many journeys into enemy territory, his cynicism is eroded by one of his contacts, Frau Marianne Möllendorf (Lilli Palmer), who not only gives him not only guidance and information, but also a reason to believe in the fight against the Nazis as well as love. But as the Gestapo starts to learn the truth about Erickson’s deception, Eric must find a way to stay a step ahead of his pursuers and make it back to Sweden alive!
Loosely based off of Erickson’s exploits during the war – which became the source for the bestselling novel by Alexander Klein – The Counterfeit Traitor is an intriguing look at one of the hidden heroes of the conflict. Adapted and directed by George Seaton, the movie revisits the actual locations where Erickson had to feign loyalty to one combatant while aiding the other; the camerawork by Jean Bourgoin – who won an Academy Award for The Longest Day the same year this movie was released – captures the sites in Germany, Denmark and Sweden in their beauty as well as capturing the sense of foreboding that hangs over the characters. The film – much like the novel – takes some liberties with the facts of Erickson’s time as a spy but does so for great dramatic effect; take, for instance, the death of a Gestapo agent as well as the tense climactic boat ride from occupied Denmark to neutral Sweden as prime examples of this. While the movie does take its time, it does effectively deploy some moments of action and tension to prevent it from becoming stale; likewise, the predominantly dialogue driven scenes are refreshingly free of pretension and clunkiness that would’ve otherwise weighed down the proceedings. A deft mix of drama and action, The Counterfeit Traitor is one of the hidden gems of WWII movies that proves that you don’t need to be completely action driven to create a compelling film.
In one of his best – and rather underrated – performances, William Holden brought his world-weary cynical quality to the part of Eric Erickson; having already won an Oscar for Stalag 17 (1953), he would later earn a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Network (1976). Relatively fresh off of a Golden Globe nomination for her performance in But Not for Me (1959), Lilli Palmer is a perfect counterpoint as the devoted Marianne, who softens Erickson’s hardened edges during their contacts; Palmer was no stranger to WWII espionage movies, appearing in Fritz Lang’s Cloak and Dagger (1946) prior to this movie and later appearing in Michael Anderson’s Operation Crossbow (1965) after this movie. As the British agent who “convinces” Erickson to spy for the Allies, Hugh Griffith steals every scene he’s in; having already won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Ben-Hur (1959), Griffith would be up for the award the next year after being nominated for portraying Squire Western in Tony Richardson’s adaptation of Tom Jones. Filling out the ensemble cast are Ernst Schröder as the Baron (one of Erickson’s contacts in Germany), Wolfgang Preiss as the Gestapo colonel on Erickson’s tail, Carl Raddatz as Otto Holtz (another Erickson contact), Erica Beer as Otto’s wife Klara, Helo Gutschwager as Otto’s son Hans, Ulf Palme as Erickson’s friend Max Gumpel, Eva Dahlbeck as Erickson’s wife Ingrid, Stefan Schnabel as the Gestapo agent at Otto’s funeral, Charles Régnier as Wilhelm Kortner and Klaus Kinski as the Jewish refugee Kindler, who’s also aboard the climatic boat ride from Denmark to Sweden.
Video: 4/5
3D Rating: NA
The film is presented in its original aspect ratio, taken from a brand new HD transfer taken from a 4K scan of the 35mm camera negative by Paramount. Film grain, color palette and fine details appear to be faithfully presented with only minor cases of scratches, tears, dirt and nicks present; curiously, the opening Paramount seal is missing on this release, while it’s intact on the 2005 Paramount DVD. Quibble about the missing opening logo aside, this release is likely the best the movie will ever look on home video, surpassing all previous home video editions.
Audio: 5/5
There are two audio options on this release: a 2.0 (representing the original mono soundtrack) and a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Both tracks exhibit strength and clarity with dialogue, sound mix and Alfred Newman’s music score; there’s minimal cases of distortion, flutter, crackling, popping or hissing present on both tracks. Overall, this release is likely the best the movie will ever sound on home video and is another improvement over previous releases.
Special Features: 3/5
Commentary by film historian and writer Julie Kirgo – Recorded for this release, Kirgo goes into detail about the film’s production and cast and crew while also analyzing scenes and commenting on a couple of favorite actors who turn up in the movie, particularly Hugh Griffith.
Theatrical Trailer (3:23)
Bonus KLSC Trailers – The Turning Point, The Horse Soldiers, The 7th Dawn, The Devil’s Brigade, 21 Hours at Munich, The Secret Ways, The Ipcress File, Arabesque & The Eiger Sanction
Not carried over from Imprint’s Blu-ray release is a commentary track with Lee Pfeffer and Paul Scrabo and the 1989 documentary William Holden: The Golden Boy.
Overall: 4/5
Garnering some positive notices from critics upon first release, The Counterfeit Traitor is a first-rate espionage drama chronicling one of the unsung heroes of WWII. Kino has done a solid job here with a decent HD transfer and an informative commentary track as a special feature. Highly recommended and worth upgrading from the Paramount DVD (but hold on to the Imprint Blu-ray – if you have it in your collection – for the special features not carried over on this release).
The Counterfeit Traitor
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Mychal has been on the Home Theater Forum’s reviewing staff since 2018, with reviews numbering close to 300. During this time, he has also been working as an assistant manager at The Cotton Patch – his family’s fabric and quilting supplies business in Keizer, Oregon. When not working at reviewing movies or working at the family business, he enjoys exploring the Oregon Coast, playing video games and watching baseball in addition to his expansive collection of movies on DVD, Blu-ray and UHD, totalling over 3,000 movies.
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