mother night

Director: keith gordon

Actor: nick nolte,sheryl lee,anthony j. robinow,michael mcgill

Data Published: Fri Nov 01 1996

Genres: Drama,Romance,War

Key Words: watching tv,reference to franklin d. roosevelt,american,spy,germany

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117093/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Night_(film)

Description: Mother Night is a movie starring Nick Nolte, Sheryl Lee, and Anthony J. Robinow. An American spy behind the lines during WWII serves as a Nazi propagandist, a role he cannot escape in his future life as he can never reveal his real...

Plot: Confined in an Israeli jail, Howard W. Campbell, Jr. writes a memoir about his career in Nazi Germany. During the buildup to World War II, Campbell, an American playwright of German language stage productions, is approached by War Department operative Frank Wirtanen. Wirtanen asks Campbell to work as a spy for the U.S. in the approaching war, though he promises no reward or recognition. Campbell rejects the offer, but Wirtanen adds that he wants Campbell to take some time to consider, telling him that Campbell's answer will come in the form of how he acts and what positions he assumes once the war begins. In the initial stages of the war, Campbell works his way up through Joseph Goebbels' propaganda organization, eventually becoming the "voice" of English language broadcasts propagating Nazism and anti-Semitism at U.S. citizens. Unknown to the Nazis, all of the idiosyncrasies of his speech – deliberate pauses, coughing, etc. – form a secret code that covertly transmits information to Allied forces. Late in the war, after his wife, Helga, is reported killed on the Eastern Front, Campbell visits her family in early 1945 outside Berlin, just before the Red Army arrives. Helga's younger sister, Resi, confesses that she is in love with him. Eventually, Campbell is captured when a U.S. infantryman recognizes his voice. Before he can be executed, Wirtanen arranges for Campbell's discreet release and helps his relocation to New York City. Campbell is shocked to learn that the Americans will not reveal Campbell's true role in the war, because that would also reveal the spycraft techniques that America will continue to need for the next war. Although that means that Campbell is doomed to be a pariah, Wirtanen is unsympathetic, reasoning that Campbell would not have wanted the truth had Germany won the war. In New York City, Campbell lives a lonely existence for fifteen years, sustained only by memories of Helga and an indifferent curiosity about his eventual fate. Mrs. Epstein, a Holocaust survivor living in Campbell's building, is the only person who suspects his true identity; he seems to avoid her suspicions by feigning ignorance of German. Campbell's only friend is George Kraft, an elderly painter who, through an extraordinary coincidence, happens to be a Soviet intelligence agent. Over many games of chess, Campbell reveals his secret past to Kraft, who tries to use this information to improve his standing with his handlers by forcing Campbell into a position where he must flee to Moscow. He leaks information about Campbell's whereabouts, which gets the attention of a neo-Nazi organization. Representatives of this group meet Campbell and present him with who seems to be Helga. However, it is not long before Campbell discovers that Helga is actually Resi, who had taken Helga's identity to escape East Germany. The neo-Nazis shelter Campbell, along with Kraft and Resi, in their Manhattan hideout. Wirtanen reappears, warning Campbell of Kraft's true identity and explaining that Kraft and Resi have put Campbell in an awkward position with the neo-Nazis to ensure his transfer to Moscow. Campbell returns to the hideout to confront the pair; in light of her exposure, Resi commits suicide. Moments later, the FBI raids the hideout but, again, Wirtanen uses his influence to ensure Campbell walks free. Campbell returns to his wrecked apartment and decides to turn himself in to the Israelis to stand trial. Campbell is taken to Haifa, where he is incarcerated in the cell below an unrepentant Adolf Eichmann. The film ends with the arrival of a letter from Wirtanen providing the corroborating evidence that Campbell was indeed a U.S. spy during the war. Moments later, Campbell hangs himself — not, he says, for crimes against humanity, but rather for "crimes against myself."