One of the lesser known movies George Raft turned down but still a stupid decision - like most of his casting selections appeared to be - because this is a bright, fun World War Two comedy thriller, with the then-novelty of having Nazi villains in New York.
Humphrey Bogart is a sports promoter who gets involved in some fifth columnists operating around Broadway. It's the sort of part that normally is played by Bob Hope but Bogie pulls it off, entering into it with lively good nature; he plays a mamma's boy, seemingly far more concerned with looking after his Ma (Jane Darwell, playing a nice person, which always creeps me out) than the love interest (the uninspiring Kaaren Verne in a part that cries out for an Ann Sheridan).
The true delight of this is the support cast - Warner Bros had a stock company to die for in the 1940s and this has Peter Lorre, Conrad Vedit, Phil Silvers, Jackie Gleason. Frank McHugh, Judith Anderson, Wiliam Demarest, etc. It spanks along at a great pace - I really went with it for the first third but found it gradually harder going; needed more Lorre less Verne, or something.
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