As Nazi Agent came out of MGM you might get fooled as even their B pictures such as this look like A films. The lack of any stars would give it away, but this is a great example about how MGM could make any of its product look like quality.
Of course it helps here that Conrad Veidt gives a pair of performances, come to think of it three of them in this film. First as American professor and naturalized refugee from Nazi Germany, second as the new German Consul twin brother and fanatical Nazi and third as the American brother impersonating the Nazi.
It all starts when Nazi Veidt decides to force American Veidt to help with the cause making his place a drop for espionage messages. But the good Veidt kills the bad Veidt and then takes his place at the German consulate and does his own little job of sabotaging the operations.
Because of Conrad Veidt this World War II era propaganda flick holds up well still today. In essentially three roles the professor has to tread very carefully to find out who can be trusted.
Besides Veidt performances to watch are Marc Lawrence as an Italian gangster working for them and all around rat, Ann Ayars as a French dress designer and Vichy sympathizer who has a change of heart, Martin Kosleck who was always cast as Joseph Goebbels but here is Veidt's ferret faced aide at the consulate and Dorothy Tree as a Nazi agent planted with Professor Veidt. Tree had blacklist problems and never returned to Hollywood, in fact left acting altogether.
But this film is really a salute to Conrad Veidt's versatility. The plot is taken somewhat from the Ronald Colman classic The Masquerader, but the ending is straight out of that other Colman film A Tale Of Two Cities.
Catch this one when it's on and be prepared to see how well it holds up.
