Let's get the niggles out of the way first.We (I am a 64 year old Londoner) were fully occupied in early 1941 fighting WWII and most of our native born film actors were contributing to the war effort. Nevertheless, there were other ex pat. British born talented actors in Hollywood who could have taken the role, (played by Walter Pidgeon), and spoken with an authentic British accent.This actor similarly grated on my British sensibilities when he played "Mr Miniver" a British architect in the 1942 film with Greer Garson.It is not enough to speak the same language, one has to have the right accent for the part.Second gripe, the person responsible for designing the set of The London Underground, got the design wrong of the tube trains and how the doors closed.Worst of all the track clearly only showed three rails, when in fact there are four (two providing electric feed and two for the wheels).Also very unauthentic cars of the time and too many other studio interior shots.Any German fifth columnist like the character played by John Carradine would have stood out like a sore thumb to us Londoners in 1941, yet due to the almost total absence of authentic London actor extras, (could have been played by US personnel), there seemed to be more German agents than locals, and this in one of the most populous capital cities in the world!!Most film companies , like 20th Century Fox, hold stock footage of capital cities like London which could have been run in back projection to provide a more authentic backdrop to scenes, especially in war time.
Now for the good marks.I was amazed to hear George Sanders speaking German in the right places, presumably German refugee Fritz Lang had given him some lessons.Whenever I see Joan Bennett in 1940s films, physically I see a cross between Hedy Lamarr and Vivien Leigh.I have two other films of her in my collection "Secreto Tras la Puerta" with Michael Redgrave and "The Girl in the Window" with Edward G. Robinson. Now Viv would have been good in the role but probably had other film commitments e.g. "Waterloo Bridge" with Robert Taylor.However, Joan Bennett gave a passable attempt at a cockney accent and in mannerisms in the style of "Eliza Doolittle".The original magazine from which the screenplay was lifted had her part as a prostitute but of course "The Code" meant she had to be shown to do something else.However I was gratified to see an obvious clue to her real profession in the scene on the bridge when a London policeman asks Joan not to bother Walter with propositions.I appreciated the authentic close up shots of the sniper rifle, made by "Holland & Holland" London and the binoculars bought from "Harrods" store in Knightsbridge.The extras on the DVD I bought about Fritz Lang were illuminating about how he was asked to become chief propaganda film maker for the Third Reich under Josef Goebbels and how he left all his money and property and fled from Germany to France and thence to Hollywood.The Neutrality Act precluded the U.S.A from showing overt favouritism to warring countries yet Fritz Lang and his producer created a piece of film propaganda with "Man Hunt" to convince America that political neutrality was no longer an option.
Now for the good marks.I was amazed to hear George Sanders speaking German in the right places, presumably German refugee Fritz Lang had given him some lessons.Whenever I see Joan Bennett in 1940s films, physically I see a cross between Hedy Lamarr and Vivien Leigh.I have two other films of her in my collection "Secreto Tras la Puerta" with Michael Redgrave and "The Girl in the Window" with Edward G. Robinson. Now Viv would have been good in the role but probably had other film commitments e.g. "Waterloo Bridge" with Robert Taylor.However, Joan Bennett gave a passable attempt at a cockney accent and in mannerisms in the style of "Eliza Doolittle".The original magazine from which the screenplay was lifted had her part as a prostitute but of course "The Code" meant she had to be shown to do something else.However I was gratified to see an obvious clue to her real profession in the scene on the bridge when a London policeman asks Joan not to bother Walter with propositions.I appreciated the authentic close up shots of the sniper rifle, made by "Holland & Holland" London and the binoculars bought from "Harrods" store in Knightsbridge.The extras on the DVD I bought about Fritz Lang were illuminating about how he was asked to become chief propaganda film maker for the Third Reich under Josef Goebbels and how he left all his money and property and fled from Germany to France and thence to Hollywood.The Neutrality Act precluded the U.S.A from showing overt favouritism to warring countries yet Fritz Lang and his producer created a piece of film propaganda with "Man Hunt" to convince America that political neutrality was no longer an option.