U.S. Army dramatized training film. The crew of a downed American bomber quickly yield to the clever interrogation techniques of their Nazi captors. Starring Arthur Kennedy, Mel Torme, Lloyd Nolan, Craig Stevens and Peter Van Eyck.
The Germans' top interrogator said that the men he couldn't break were the ones who said absolutely nothing beyond name, rank, and serial number, and did not even look at him. They knew their eyes and facial expressions could reveal a great deal. Very few were that smart.
@@ramona14220 Actually, he never tortured anyone. he spoke in a friendly manner, was very low-key, and got people to reveal things without realizing it.
@@thongly5726 You watch too many movies. Torture more often than not will only get you what you want to hear, not necessarily accurate information. The best of the best have always been manipulators rather than sadists
"Just as there is no such thing as an innocent question, there is no such thing as a value less statement." Words to remember when questioned by any law enforcement.
if any cop ever asks you anything you just request a lawyer to be present. Traffic stop, anything. You cannot "explain" you way out of anything with a cop. And NEVER allow a search of your vehicle ever under any threat
I dont answer Questions. You have the Right to Remain Silent Arrested or Not. It's your Right and Cops are allowed to Lie. You are Not. So dont say anything. Simple.
In the army, we were taught that if you keep your mouth shut for the first 72 hours after capture, that’s good. After that, any tactical information you tell the enemy would be useless.
This film was not just a great training film, but a great film of its own merit, particularly for its time period. Great acting, direction, even sets which were sourced on a moment's notice. "Loose lips sink ships" is a well-known cliche, but seeing it dramatized in a clear, conceptual manner should make this film a must for ANY military personnel in ANY time period.
It's well made and informative for us to look back on. There are far better videos to watch for people who might actually face being a POW, such as interviews with actual POWs who managed to resist breaking under interrogation, torture, retained their sanity through the tactics used to break down the mind such as starvation, dehydration and lack of sleep. Who managed to escape, even gathering intelligence themselves to bring back or feeding them false information to protect real objectives, and how. You summed it up perfectly, this propaganda piece is just looking at a poster that says "Loose lips sink ships" for an hour.
@@he-mememan359 Of course, back then the US and Germany were on relatively equal reprisal terms, so there was far less non-Geneva Convention activity once captured. Since Korea through Viet Nam and the "War on Terror," however, the Geneva Convention has been non-existent by America's (and the West's) enemies for the most part.
@@AcessDBpro I'm not sure about that considering how many of our American troops were liberated from concentration camps looking like skeletons. I wouldn't doubt that they'd try the flies with honey approach if they felt it would work and was worth it. I imagine that it was commonly far more brutal than that. Not to mention if you look at the WWII US video on how to perform interrogations they explicitly mention the deprivation of food, water, comfort, etc. in order to soften up the prisoners for questioning. Actually, it's basically this video but with the roles switched and of course, they don't depict Americans as killing enemy POWs to torment or break other POWs though we know from some US veterans that our troops did just that from their own personal recounting of war stories.
@@AcessDBpro are you daft? Ever heard of black sites, enhanced interrogation, Abu Ghraib, Gitmo? 20 years later and we still won't put those "detainees" on trial because it will reveal too many war crimes. To all the nastalgic jingos, war is a racket. Sorry if that stings your ego.
interesting to note that the "B-99" is a designation that has never been used for any military aircraft, they might have been worried about this film itself falling into enemy hands
It's so genius! I just came here to watch this again after watching the video of the captured Russian soldiers calling home... I seen this many years ago though it's still sticks in my head cause it's just that good.
Me Yelling at the screen, "YOU FOOLS! YOU FOOLISH FOOLS THEY'RE PLAYING YOU FOR CHUMPS!" Me if in this situation: *divulges literally all of the secrets and the color of my commanding officers underwear*
It's even worse than that. Nobody that has access to classified information can have social media accounts. Zero. That is doable for the older generations, but try imposing that on the zoomers who were raised with it. Still one can't take the risk and make any concessions there.
Yeah, less than a year ago a redditor posted a selfie with a Ukrainian unit he was part of inside of a school, so Russia started blasting schools. Objectively Ukraine shouldn't have been using schools to house soldiers, but if you're doing it don't post about it!
Hmm, yea I could totally see that, maybe add in how they got captured, and a action scene of them using the information though with a American motivation/propaganda twist were America defends against the attack that the information caused by using counter intelligence... haha
As an Air Force pilot, during the Viet Nam era, I was sent to numerous survival courses. One of them was POW training. After running for miles, with potato sacks over our heads, I was placed in a small concrete cell. The first interrogator asked numerous questions about my military organization, which I refused to answer. He warned me repeatedly about not wanting to call Alex, which he finally did. In walks this huge man, who picked me up by my shoulders, and violently throws me the concrete wall. I thought, if this is the kind of treatment I received in my first hour, that this was going to be one tough course. The remainder was made up of repeated interrogations and mental anguish.
Damn that was a damn good "speaking in German, but hey why not English" transition. That"trick" is used often in modern film. I didn't expect that kind of detail in a little film like this. I wouldn't have questioned for a second if the Germans were just speaking in English, understanding that it's a film and you can't very well get your message across without certain liberties like that, but they actually wrote in a little reason why they switched to speaking in English. Very nice, very unnecessary but showing detail in the work that was put into it. I've seen less in big budget movies.
Well you do understand this was used to train Bombers and Officer during world war 2 to not give up info.. They had to be precise or it could cost them countless lives.
@@sirus976 I'm sure seriousness and accuracy was of the utmost importance, however, I wouldn't have expected them to go through the trouble of writing in a reason for the Germans speaking English. I think it's pretty cool and shows care from the writers. Something I think you don't see much in even the highest budget films of today's age. I understand that the circumstances are a lot more dire in this case than a film for nothing more than entertainment but every piece of writing sent out as a final draft by any writer should be seen as as dire. Not only for ones career but for the sanctity of the art form. At least that's how I see it as a semi- professional semi-successful writer.
@@RoosterFloyd I know what you mean but like I said I am just saying they had to be this precise as if a german found out a plan it could cost a horrible amount of deaths
Different to my uncle's experience, captured after parachuting, was kicked, punched and thrown into a cellar until the Gestapo arrived, after a severe beating he was handed over to a Luftwaffe unit and transported to a prison camp, there after a 2 week in solitary he was handed over to the British commanding officer. He thought this would be easier now but for some time he was treated as a possible German spy. Eventually he was recognised by another POW and then spent the rest of the war as a prisoner. He walked with a limp and a sometime had lost 2 fingers on his right hand. He died in 1986 after which his notes of the event were found, he never talked directly about his experience though. RIP G.R.E.
sadly, i think the not talking part which can contribute to mental health issues. It is understandable, that once having been a prisoner of war, there is a kind of damage that is done to a person that transcends injury to the limbs etc.. And for some who grew up in abusive homes, it may be more devastating, They may not have had the chance to develop a healthy esteem and emotional health to withstand attacks in a prisoner of war environment or even the PTSD of war/trauma. And I think, sadly, it is a contributing factor for some to think about or act on commiting suicide or other self injury.
Very interesting story! Perhaps british command thought it suspicious that he would be so poorly treated, as usually in war the generous treatment of prisoners ensures the enemy is eager to surrender instead of fighting to the last drop of blood. Mistreating prisoners may seem stupid, but then again war is a constellation of stupid in and of itself
The German Air Force was the least likely to capture downed U.S. airmen... civilians caught a lot of them and quite a few passed through several hands before making it to the Luftwaffe for formal interrogation. Some of the post-war trials dealt with mistreatment of downed airmen, and they virtually all involved the pitchfork and torch crowd.
This is based on a true story the German major was a real person that changed interrogation I found that treating them with kindness work better than torture and as you can see it did
did you notice the "good cop" "bad cop" routine in this film. like the nurse being the "good cop" and the officer that takes the guy out of the cell that had the heat increased, and scolding the nazis that had done that and apologised to the prisoner, as if to indicate he was his friend and the "good cop"
You must have never been waterboarded. Trust me, I could waterboard the worst of the ISIS and in less then a minute get everything out of him. Pain will not give intel (Unless I use a hand crank phone and electricute your scrotum) because you will say anything to get it stop. The THREAT will give you everything. If you think your drowning you will tell me everything especially after the 3th time. You won't be lying after that. But shocking your ball sack and penis gives you everything. Sadly we don't have hand crank phones anymore in the field anymore. Take a zip 500 ft up in a heli then sack him. Continue the questioning as you slowly bring the heli back to 1 foot off the deck then toss him out. You will break anyone with that as well.
This is what we showed our side so they think being captured and interrogated looks like a picnic. The reality was often very different and far from pleasant. It's easy to drone on with name, rank, serial number. Until they decide to pull out your fingernails.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this, but yeah, you almost have to wonder why the military bothered with making these. They weren't trying to prepare trained CIA recruits. These were young boys who were probably already scared enough as it is. If they showed them a bunch of videos of Germans punching the shit out of them or sticking a gun to their head, they'd have people going AWOL left and right lol
If you're watching this, wait until the very last speech. And then, remember this, and apply what I say to everything you do and everywhere you go. Because even on social media, there are people who gather information about what you write to use against you. When you go to a hotel or another country or the store, you meet people you don't know. When you give out little pieces of information, even a banking slip, it gives someone information about you. I went to a bank once and we saw the bank slip from the person in front of us. It said $66,000 in the bank account. If we were bad, we could have taken advantage of them. Here's other examples. Never tell anyone you don't really know anything about yourself or others or about anything personal. You never know if they'll follow you or use what you say to take advantage of you. I told a woman that I was abused as a child and she claimed the same to make it seem like we had commonalities. But it turned out to be false. She was trying to get money out of me for her boyfriend and their drug habit. And her friend acted like she didn't know anything to also get money from me. It was a setup. Always be careful.
I have practiced this from a young age. Doing this and being reserved in general has given me insight into others and their intentions. I gets suspicious or at least alert when people ask questions about personal info, even more telling is how they respond to a denial of such info. What is especially strange is when they attempt to manipulate me anyways and yet have basically no info to go off of. It tells you how they interpret you on a shallow level and the assumptions others may make.
Especially true today. If you don't know what a social credit score is you better find out. it's now obvious that who's "in charge" is gonna stay in charge, no matter how it looks.
THAT'S the "soften them up," solitary confinement cell?! It's massive, I've paid 520 a month in zone three for a smaller, MUCH smaller place than that cell! And the jailer turned the heat on without being repeatedly asked
With today's media blurting everything in a frenzy of overkill, supposition and deduction, you can disband field intelligence and just find everything you need to now on tiktok.
Modern war is more about social manipulation anyway. Big army sneaking up on US soil? Yes, in the form of tourists trying to convince americans in rural areas that as long as black people live, their kids will never be safe walking home and show them tons of videos of black teens getting into street fights. Ah what Twitter has become ever since Musk took over.... I have no interest in that nonsense yet it appears non stop on my timeline cause it gets people to react....
A top notch training film related to some of the largest and most intense battles in the history of mankind, spanning several different countries.. Bringing every man woman and child together in both America and it's European allies to defeat a powerful ruthless enemy. Lloyd Nolan brought it home in his closing words which will live on forever. God bless all the people from around the world that had to endure such horrific atrocities that this war brought.
What kinda Nazis are these ? No pictures of Hitler or Goering....but a great picture of The Red Baron, Manfred Von Richthofen, greatest flying ace ever !
@@c.a.g.3130 Obama was a great president and more left-wing than most American politicians, the furthest thing from being a Nazi. Bernie Sanders was the best president that America never had - because idiots voted for their Maga moron instead.
The top German interrogated used friendly talk, hobbies, and long hikes in the woods to get information. One tactic was to make the prisoner believe that the enemy already knew everything already.
"The Interrogators having a gun to my head, my wrists in vices, and not giving a sh*t about the Geneva Convention cause they're our ENEMIES part, sir!" - most soldiers
I have to say I found this to be a far more engrossing film then anything that has come out recently, besides Joker. Totally interested in how it would end, characters were interesting.
You can find the interrogation reports that the allies used to do on captured U-Boot crews and you can tell they did similar things - piecing together snippets of information, exploiting grievances, pretending to know more than they did about their captives, being their friends & confidants. While Germany had concentration camps, torture & beatings that many airmen no doubt experienced there were also some effective interrogators (e.g. a man called Hanns Scharff) renowned for getting info from airmen by employing psychology and treating them reasonably fairly. Scharff even visited the US after the war to train them on his techniques.
It's amusing to watch both sides of the propaganda videos that they made, and much more informative. Along with watching them with their counterparts of enemy propaganda.
The thing I do like about these videos is the American soldiers usually lose or fail to really drive home the fact that "you mess up... you lose. No second chances". Though some of them make the Americans lose because their own soldiers are so grossely incompetent/apathetic you kind of have to blame the lack of training for even hiring the man. Or in some cases, they attribute heroism to whoever the "big hero" is not realizing rank doesn't keep you alive in the desert/jungle when survival is most important.
@@chadplow824I think the better question is where's the evidence these interrogations were so peaceful and freindly with everyone being treated like hotel guests and the prisoners talking like they're on vacation rather than at war. The Germans had nothing to gain from being nice to the Americans ... and acting like the Americans made a huge dent in their defenses (it was a two front war...the Americans barely got past Italy and D day was a disaster). and Japan....they were willing to kill their own soldiers. American PoWs were live training dummies to them.
@@MarioMastar The Americans were treated very well, generally speaking. Especially when compared to the Soviet POWs. Plenty of first hand accounts here on RU-vid to back up my claim. There’s no evidence of any widespread abuse or mistreatment of American POWs.
For a training film this was actually a pretty entertaining flick! Way better than a lot of the crap shown nowadays. I wonder why the Germans used the American style salute instead of the Sieg Heil salute?
The absolute best thing to do under interrogation is to say literally nothing for as long as possible. Don't ask for food or water, don't ask about friends captured with you, and don't insult or spit on the enemy (it only highlights your impotence and lack of control). Ideally you keep getting passed up to higher rank men. Eventually when you confirm your name, rank, serial number, and unit to a high ranking interrogator he's going to feel like he won. That's the key. Give small bits of information. Even give the truth or near truth. If you watch a police interrogation you'll see the suspect deny deny deny. After a point the detective convinces the suspect they'll feel better after talking. Once the suspect starts talking he's admitting everything, things the police had no idea about. Real French and British spies were able to survive 5 years in German hands by feeding out tiny bits of information very slowly. The interrogator has to believe you always have more useful information.
I was not clear what difference that made to know why there was one person missing from a full crew. How did that give the enemy stategic info. It seems they would only be guessing to know that it was his crew or his recent crew. he could have been talking about something from months or years ago. what is your take?
@@manp1039I think for the sake of the plot, they kind of had the germans "know more than they should've" from the start. They seemed to know a lot about the bombing raids, how many men were in the plane, what each person's job was, why there were X number of men, and the nature of the raids before they even started interviewing. To have all that information about the raid from downing one plane, they really did "know more than we do" about it. But I'm sure real interrogations probably take days and probably aren't this easy.
AMERICAN Cigarette ads. XD of all things to be excited about. He was on point with the whole "That's what you give a man about to face execution" but the minute he saw they were American, he practically sucked down the whole pack.
Yeah, I think that American english captain guy was meant to give that sense of being formerly American so he'd earn the prisoner's trust easier. Wouldn't be surprised if there were traitors who defected to Germany like him, but surprisingly they never mentioned defectors in these videos.
To be fair ALL the americans act kind of dumb in these films... VERY VERY VERY overconfident about their situation. Even some of the survival ones had them acting like they've been living in a city and just woke up one day in the jungle and somehow knew how to build a resort in the middle of nowhere until rescue arrived. At least the solo desert survival guy really did look like he wasn't going to make it. and the arctic one in that guy's defense, was in the middle of a fog so he coudln't see where he landed, and unlike the awful jungle one...they actually tried to find EVERYONE, not just leaving the pilot to die on his own.
