What it’s about
After he’s approached by Nazi spies who want him to work undercover for the enemy, German-American college student Bill Dietrich (Eythe) contacts the FBI. Bureau chief George Briggs (Nolan) taps Bill to become a double agent, and he agrees, infiltrating a spy ring headed by Elsa Gebhardt (Hasso) in her Manhattan townhouse. The Nazis, he soon learns, are after data related to “Process 97” the secret American effort to build an atomic bomb.
Why we love it
Narrated in semi-documentary style and produced by “March of Time” newsreel creator Louis de Rochemont, Hathaway’s intriguing WWII espionage thriller helped set in motion the semi-documentary vogue, featuring gritty on-location shooting and stories based on actual cases. Combining extant footage of German spies, a cast of unfamiliar stage actors and real-life FBI agents, and Reed Hadley’s stern voiceover, “House” certainly has a true-to-life feel. But it’s the tightly paced action and atmospheric, spy vs. spy suspense that turned this noir nail-biter into a bona fide box-office hit.