#MovieReview #WilliamHolden

The Counterfeit Traitor was a 1962 spy movie set during WWII, starring William Holden, Hugh Griffith, and Lilli Palmer. Holden plays an American-born character who is a Swedish citizen working in he oil industry, who in the course of the film agrees to spy on the Nazis in World War II. And while I didn't completely follow everything that was happening, and this did feel like a confusing John le Carré novel at times, it was still enjoyable, and really picks up in the last half of the film. It reminded me of the Russia House with Sean Connery in that it was an intelligent film with a reluctant hero in situations of intrigue across European locations, with a little romance involved, etc.
William Holden is fantastic as usual, and as I've noted in other reviews he has this "every man" personality to him, that you believe in his character regardless of where he is or what is going on. In this case, he's in the oil industry and he meets with Allied intelligence agents, a group led by a British agent "Collins" (played by Hugh Griffith, and actor with some crazy cool facial features, particularly his snazzy eyebrows. I've seen him before in other films like How to Steal a Million, and he's a very charismatic English actor). So they bring him in to spy for the Allies. Doing so requires that he pose as a Nazi, which definitely causes some issues with his popularity, and also ruins his marriage. His reason for doing so is that, if he doesn't, the Allies will destroy his business, but he reluctantly continues and sees that it is the right thing to do. Part of this is guided by his meeting is German contact, Frau Marianne, played by Lilli Palmer, who sort of has an Ingrid Bergman-vibe to her. I won't say much more about where their relationship goes, because I don't drop spoilers, and likewise I can't reveal much more about the story, but it does build to an eventual man-on-the-run formula that was very entertaining, all the way up the very final scene of the film. William Holden is excellent in this film and the footage shot across different locations, across Europe and the Netherlands.

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