The first of Lang’s anti-Nazi wartime films, this taut thriller flaunted Hollywood’s then neutrality regarding the Third Reich and also allowed Lang to get back to both his German expressionist roots and the spy genre, which he all but invented in the 1920s. The film’s dark, urban claustrophobia recalls M, and if it never approaches that film’s greatness, it is not for lack of suspense, but rather because of tonal unevenness and a flaccid middle section. Nevertheless, it has an impressive visual style and a scope that makes it almost impossible to believe that it was shot entirely on soundstages and on the Fox backlot. (DVD)