Confirm or Deny
| Confirm or Deny | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical poster | |
| Directed by |
Archie Mayo Fritz Lang (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Len Hammond |
| Written by | Jo Swerling |
| Story by |
Samuel Fuller Henry Wales |
| Starring |
Don Ameche Joan Bennett |
| Cinematography | Leon Shamroy |
| Edited by | Robert Bischoff |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Confirm or Deny is a 1941 film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Archie Mayo and Fritz Lang (uncredited), and starring by Don Ameche and Joan Bennett. The screenplay was written by Jo Swerling, based on a story by Samuel Fuller and Henry Wales.
Plot
American war correspondent Mitchell is stationed in London in September 1940, working for Consolidated Press of America. Mitch is ambitious to get his news of the coming German invasion over to his editor in America as fast as possible. He starts using Sir Titus Scott's wire from Penzance in Cornwall to save forty minutes, and two carrier pigeons, operated by young Albert Perkins and the elderly Mr. Bindle to get his reports to the wire station.
During one of the many air raids against London, Mitch is fortunate enough to meet Jennifer Carson, who works as an teletype operator for the British government. They spend some time together in one of the bomb shelters and get to know each other. The Consolidated ofiice is deatroyed in the raid, but Mitch convinces Jennifer's employer to let him use her and a teletype machine to send news from a wine cellar at the Regency Hotel.
However, the news are censored by an official, Captain Lionel Channing, and he won't allow any news revealing information about the German offensive to go through to the news agencies.
Mitch's focus shifts slightly when he falls in love with Jennifer, but soon there is another raid where a bomb plunges all the way down into the cellar where they are working. The place is evacuated, and everyone but Mitch and Jennifer leaves. Another bomb closes the entrance and they are trapped inside the cellar.
Jennifer is worried that Mitch's ambition to send news from the front will damage the intelligence work against the Nazis. She tries to convince Mitch to give up wiring the information, but he doesn't give in. Albert telephones to bring the latest news, and Mitch passes them on to New York, but in the middle of the phone call, a bomb falls and kills Albert.
Mitch is devastated by Albert's death. The New York office keeps sending him the same message over and over again, asking "Confirm or deny?".
Before the rescue team get through the rubble and free them, Mitch manages to send a short story about the brave boy and his work, together with a letter of resignation. Mitch and Jennifer then leave the wine cellar together.[1]
Main cast
- Don Ameche as 'Mitch' Mitchell
- Joan Bennett as Jennifer Carson
- Roddy McDowall as Albert Perkins
- John Loder as Capt. Lionel Channing
- Raymond Walburn as H. Cyrus Stuyvesant
- Arthur Shields as Jeff, Blind Typist
- Eric Blore as Mr. Hobbs, Regency Hotel
- Billy Bevan as Mr. Bindle
External links
- Confirm or Deny at the TCM Movie Database
- Confirm or Deny at the Internet Movie Database
- Confirm or Deny at AllMovie