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I say this movie is good but a bit late because this tale of the progression of Nazism in Germany is very good but the timing awfully late. When the first film debuted, WWII was practically over--whereas films with similar themes, such as "Mortal Storm" came out before the US entered the war--and did a lot to turn public opinion against Nazi Germany. Heck, in 1944 saying the Nazis were bad and repressive wasn't exactly controversial in the United States--as we'd been fighting them for three years!

The film begins in the 1930s. Paul Lukas and his wife and kids (minus the oldest one) are leaving the US and moving back to Germany. They also decide to take their god-daughter (who is Jewish). Once there, Lukas slowly turns from a nice family man to a Nazi-lover. In the process, all sense of right and wrong seems to disappear from him. And, when his beloved god-daughter is in trouble, he refuses to help. At this point, there is a neat twist in the film involving coded messages and revenge. I won't say more, as it would spoil the film. Suffice to say that this twist gives the film a nice and fitting ending.

The acting, mood and story are all quite good and the film worth seeing. While not a great film it is clever and well-written--and a very good propaganda film to galvanize the folks at home in the war effort.

This movie was made from a tiny, now classic 1938 book by Kressmann Taylor (her full name was Kathrine Kressmann Taylor) that was written in the form of letters only between the two lead characters.

As such it is not only a brilliantly conceived horror story of how an evil idea poisons a society but how it continues on to destroy life.

The small book was re-issued in 2001 by Washington Square Press and at this writing currently available. No matter how you reacted to the movie this is a must read. It can be read in a single, short sitting but it packs an incredible wallop. The little story is compared to the best writing of O. Henry for its sly plot twists and lauded by Kurt Vonnegut who compares it to WWII as what Uncle Tom's Cabin was to the Civil War.

You can then return to the movie and enjoy it at a far deeper and more profound level. Beyond all of that…if Paul Lukas is in a film, any film, you can trust that it is worth watching if only for his performance.

This is a must see with all the drama coming from tiny choices that add up and how you can be seduced by evil for nominal reasons. Well worth tracking down.

I very much dislike reviews which recount the plot of a film and reveal spoilers so all I will say is that this is a film worth actually watching rather than having it on while you are messing about with your phone or tablet. There are many cleverly shot scenes which mirror the action of the story and hint at shadows to come.

I feel that the opening scenes are very good and authentically display the friendship between Max and Martin and their families and this of course makes the story all the more powerful.

I have read the short story/book on which the film is based - it is available to borrow from the Internet Archive on line free library - and in my opinion this one if the rare occasions when the film is better than the book, largely due to the devastating end twist in the film.

Paul Lukas gives probably a career-best performance as a businessman who becomes seduced by Nazi ideology when his return to Germany coincides with the rise of Hitler. Director William Cameron Menzies piles on the tension in the final third of the film without gloating over his antagonist's increasingly precarious situation, and by doing so he strengthens the film's power and message immeasurably.