Screenhead

>At a time of when television in particular is made up of shows that are made to appear as documentaries or re-enacted reality, it is interesting to watch where the docu-drama began. The House on 92nd Street was the first film from a major studio to be shot on the streets, primarily in New York City and Washington, D.C. This was also the first dramatic film to be shot in F.B.I. headquarters. Most of the cast was not well known at the time which enabled the actors to be filmed on the street without being bothered.

Much of the credit goes to producer Louis De Rochemont. The producer of “March of Time” documentaries shown in movie theaters in the late Thirties and Forties, De Rochemont transposed some of the ideas and style of documentary filmmaking into Hollywood movies. While contemporary viewers might see this film as being full of cliches, to put it in perspective, this was where the cliches started. Some parts of the film will strike viewers as quaint with scenes of what was considered high tech in 1945. Others may be startled to see old footage of Americans and suspected foreigners under F.B.I. surveillance.

The DVD comes with a commentary by Film Noir expert Eddie Muller. It’s definitely worth listening to while watching this film. Muller explains what is fact and what is fictional in The House on 92nd Street, as well as relaying information on the cast of crew. The plot concerns Nazi spies trying to gather atomic secrets. The film was actually released one month after atomic bombs were dropped on Japan, making the release quite timely. Even if viewers find the film old-fashioned, they may still enjoy the twist at the end when the identity is revealed of the top spy. And if you think audiences in the Forties were gullible concerning how factual The House on 92nd Street was suppose to be, remember how many people were convinced not too long ago that a film about “the Blair witch” was a true story.

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