Freedom Radio

Freedom Radio (a.k.a. A Voice in the Night[1]) is a 1941 British propaganda film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Clive Brook, Diana Wynyard, Raymond Huntley and Derek Farr. It is set in Nazi Germany during the Second World War and concerns an underground German resistance group who run a radio station broadcasting against the totalitarian Third Reich.

Freedom Radio
DVD cover
Directed byAnthony Asquith
Produced byTheo Lageard
Mario Zampi
Written byAnatole de Grunwald
Jeffrey Dell
Basil Woon
Story byRoland Pertwee
Bridget Boland
Based onstory by Louis Golding
Gordon Wellesley
StarringClive Brook
Diana Wynyard
Raymond Huntley
Derek Farr
Music byNicholas Brodszky
CinematographyBernard Knowles
Edited byReginald Beck
Production
company
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
1 February 1941 (UK)
4 February 1941 (USA)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

It was shot at Shepperton Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Paul Sheriff.

Plot

An eminent Viennese doctor in Germany becomes increasingly disillusioned with the oppressive brutality of the Nazis. His wife, however, is flattered by the attentions of the Führer, and accepts a political post in Berlin. At first the doctor does nothing as his friends "disappear", but eventually, with the aid of an engineer, he creates a secret radio station from which he broadcasts condemnations of Hitler and prays for a "better" Germany to arise from the ashes of his ruined country. The birth of "Freedom Radio" sees the creation of an underground group of anti-Nazis who regard Karl as their leader.[2][3]

Cast

Critical reception

The New York Times critic wrote that "this is a frankly propagandistic drama...The admirable emotional restraint which went into the making of several of the better British war films seen here in the past year is sadly lacking"[1]

Sky Movies called the film, "gripping, strongly cast and more subtle than most propaganda thrillers of its time...And film buffs may spot Katie Johnson, later to win fame in The Ladykillers but here, 13 years earlier, already in granny roles!"[4]

References

  1. T.M.P. (23 May 1941). "Movie Review - A Voice in the Night - At the Globe". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. "Freedom Radio | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 13 July 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. "A Voice in the Night (1941) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. "Freedom Radio - Sky Movies HD". Skymovies.sky.com. 22 September 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
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