New York, during the Second World War. Officers Moe Finkelstein and his partner Salomon are assigned to guard German consul Karl Baumer, a man Finkelstein despises for being a Nazi. As he carries out a job he finds repugnant, the officer uncovers the tensions inside the consulate: money meant for a sabotage plot, mistrust toward his secretary, and Baumer's unhappy marriage to Sophia.

How it was made

The film adapts the Clare Boothe Luce stage play of the same name, which Otto Preminger had directed and starred in on Broadway before reprising the role on a 1940 tour. Lillie Hayward and Samuel Fuller wrote the screenplay. According to The New York Times, 20th Century Fox bought the screen rights for $25,000. In April 1942 the project was assigned to Ernst Lubitsch, but Preminger insisted on directing it himself, and he ended up doing so.

Reception and legacy

Critics were not kind. Theodore Strauss of The New York Times noted the story's near-total lack of suspense and called the script tedious and full of clichés. Alexander Larman of Channel 4 acknowledged Preminger's talent but described the film as a flimsy B movie. Over time it is remembered mainly as an early work by its director.