The Counterfeit Traitor, starring William Holden, Lilli Palmer
In The Counterfeit Traitor, a British intelligence officer pressures a Swedish oilman to spy on his Nazi customers.
The Counterfeit Traitor (1962) starring William Holden, Lilli Palmer, Hugh Griffith
Erickson: “How does one get to be so cold-blooded?”
Collins: “Watching German planes bomb London helps enormously.”
Product Description
In this tense espionage drama set in 1942, William Holden plays Eric Erickson, an American-born Swede who is put on the Allied blacklist for trading oil with the Nazis. Collins (Hugh Griffith), a British intelligence agent, offers to expunge Erickson’s name from the blacklist after the war in return for information on the Nazis. Erickson agrees to the plan and proceeds to make it look as if he is pro-Nazi. This subterfuge causes him to be branded a traitor, and his wife, believing Eric to be a Nazi, walks out on him.
Nevertheless, Eric continues with his deceit and makes the Germans think that he is planning to construct an oil refinery in Sweden to serve as a fuel supply for Germany. As a result he is allowed entrance to four German oil refinery, and he passes on the information to Collins. But Eric is being put under surveillance by the Nazis. They discover that Eric’s lover, Marianne (Lilli Palmer) is working for the Allies. Suddenly both Marianne and Eric are arrested and thrown into Moabit Prison — with dire consequences for both of them. …The Counterfeit Traitor
Cast of characters
- William Holden (Sabrina, Stalag 17) … Eric Erickson
- Lilli Palmer (Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971)) … Frau Marianne Möllendorf
- Hugh Griffith (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Dr. Phibes Rises Again) … Collins
- Carl Raddatz … Otto Holtz
- Ernst Schröder … Baron Gerhard von Oldenburg
- Charles Regnier … Wilhelm Kortner
- Ingrid van Bergen … Hulda Windler
- Wolfgang Preiss … Col. Nordoff
- Werner Peters (36 Hours) … Bruno Ulrich
- Erica Beer … Klara Holtz
- Stefan Schnabel (Stone Pillow) … Gestapo Agent at Funeral
- Klaus Kinski (Creature, aka. Titan Find, Nosferatu 1979) … Kindler
- Erik Schumann … Nazi Gunboat Officer (as Erik Schuman)
- Poul Reichhardt … Fishing Boat Skipper
- John Wittig … Sven
- Louis Miehe-Renard (Journey to the Seventh Planet) … Poul
- Kai Holm … Gunnar
- Jens Østerholm … Lars
- Jørgen Krogh
- Eva Dahlbeck … Ingrid Erickson
- Ulf Palme … Max Gumpel