John Mylong Movies
A distinguished stage and screen actor from Austria (born Johan Mylong-Münz), John Mylong was one in a score of European actors cast as Middle European types in Hollywood wartime melodramas. In the U.S. from 1941, when he starred in the New York Theatre Guild's production of Somewhere in France, Mylong later played Colonel Duval in For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), the duplicitous General Halder in The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler (1943), Von Bülow in Hotel Berlin (1945), and Kaiser Wilhelm in Annie Get Your Gun (1950). Equally busy on television, Mylong played the casino manager in the "Lucy Goes to Monte Carlo" episode of I Love Lucy and also appeared on Black Saddle and The Dick Van Dyke Show. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide- 1944
The genesis of The Story of Dr. Wassell is said to have been a story told by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to director Cecil B. DeMille. Gary Cooper stars as Corydon M. Wassell, a real-life country doctor from Arkansas who worked as a medical missionary in China in the years prior to WWII. When America enters the war, Dr. Wassell joins the Navy and is shipped to Java. As the Japanese overtake the island, Wassell is placed in charge of the wounded evacuated marines. Ordered to leave the area immediately, the doctor disobeys his commands, staying behind to care for ten seriously wounded men from the USS Marblehead, even as Japanese bombs rain down upon his staff. With the help of other stranded allied troops, Wassell and his wounded make it to Australia, where despite his insubordination he is lauded as a hero. Not as much of a spectacular as earlier DeMille films, The Story of Dr. Wassell concentrates on personalities, with mixed results. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Gary Cooper, Laraine Day, (more)
- 1943
In this provocative WW II drama, an American agent sneaks into a Nazi spy ring to learn the identities of certain double-agents. The hero works for the FBI, but was born in Germany and speaks the language like a native. First he assumes a dead spy's identity and in that guise, contacts the Nazi superiors. He is then placed aboard a U-boat and sent to the US. Things go well until his cover is blown. Fortunately, he manages to escape. He then is forced to appear in a lengthy court case to help convict the treacherous spies. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Anna Sten, (more)
- 1943
In this downbeat drama based on a novel by John Steinbeck (which was also adapted for the stage), German troops invade Norway during WWII, and Nazi forces occupy a small town. Col. Lanser (Cedric Hardwicke), the officer in charge of the occupation, believes that reason and the illusion of cooperation will achieve more than open hostility against the townspeople, and he tries to persuade the city fathers to work with him. However, an anti-Nazi resistance force soon springs into action, and they begin sabotaging German installations and materiel and assassinating Axis officers. Mayor Orden (Henry Travers) gently but stubbornly refuses to assist Lanser in any way, as he tacitly aids the resistance movement. Eventually, Lanser is forced to respond to the continuing anti-Nazi actions with a series of arrests and executions, but the Norwegians bravely remain steadfast against the enemies to the end. One of the children in the village is played by Natalie Wood, who was a mere five years old at the time (it was her second film, following a small role in Happy Land). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Cedric Hardwicke, Henry Travers, (more)
- 1943
This curious bit of wartime wish-fulfillment stars Ludwig Donath as Franz Huber, a famed Austrian actor known for his impersonations of celebrities. Captured by the Gestapo, Huber is ordered to undergo plastic surgery. When he emerges from the gauze, Huber is the living image of Adolf Hitler! It's all part of a Gestapo plot to assassinate the troublesome Fuehrer and put the ostensibly more pliable Huber in his place. The anti-Nazi Huber is able to foil the Gestapo and strike a blow for Democracy, but he meets his Waterloo at the hands of his own wife (Gale Sondergaard), who has no way of knowing that he isn't Hitler. The labyrinthine screenplay was cowritten by Fritz Kortner, who also plays one of the villains. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ludwig Donath, George Dolenz, (more)
- 1943
Luise Rainer's last Hollywood film was the economically produced wartime drama Hostages. Adapted from the novel by Stefan Heym, the story is set in a Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakian village. Rainer plays Milada, the daughter of collaborationist Lev Preissinger (Oscar Homolka). Totally apolitical herself, Milada is won over to the anti-Nazi cause by resistance leader Paul Breda (Arturo de Cordova). The drama intensifies when a Nazi officer commits suicide; the Gestapo, hoping to justify future outrages, claim that the officer was murdered, arresting 26 villagers as hostages. The ending could classify as tragic, but in 1943 it was considered inspirational. With so much plot and so many characters, poor Luise Rainer has very little to do; if the film has any real star, it is William Bendix, who is superb as a deceptively slow-witted resistance fighter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arturo de Cordova, Luise Rainer, (more)
- 1942
An innocent man is put on trial, but is he really as innocent as he claims? Diplomat David Talbot (William Powell) and his bride Lucienne (Hedy Lamarr) are enjoying a honeymoon in Paris when David is confronted by extortionists who demand money in exchange for not turning him in to the police. David has no idea what the men are talking about and ignores their threats, but the men prove good to their word, and David finds himself on trial for a series of thefts. At the trial, David's name is cleared when Henri Sarrow (Basil Rathbone) testifies that he knew the man who committed the crimes, a friend of his who recently died. However, after the trial, David meets Sarrow, who informs David that he lied under oath; according to Sarrow, David did indeed commit the robberies while suffering from amnesia after a severe blow to the head, and if he wants to keep the facts quiet, he'll do whatever Sarrow says. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Powell, Hedy Lamarr, (more)
- 1940
One of the last Yiddish-language films produced in the United States (and the first American film of German director Max Nosseck) Overture to Glory stars the great musical performer Moishe Oysher. A humble cantor, Oysher yearns to be an opera singer. He deserts his tiny village to pursue his dream, but when his voice breaks he sheepishly returns, resigned to attending but not singing at the Yom Kippur services. Upon his return, Oysher is informed that his son has died. Out of grief is wrought a miracle: Oysher's voice returns, more powerful than ever. After performing the Day of Atonement services, Oysher suddenly collapses, peacefully joining his son in death. If you wish to see the touching Overture to Glory, by all means seek out a decent print; many extant copies are so washed out that, not only are the English subtitles unreadable, but it's extremely difficult to tell one actor from another. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Moishe Oysher, Florence Weiss, (more)
