Secret Mission

The good-natured helmsman Jan Jenssen somehow ends up being a part of some international intrigue, when he agrees to take a briefcase to Genoa on behalf of a certain Mr. Branting. It is there, that he gets to know the attractive Ruth Martens, who asserts, that Branting was a confidant of her father, who has in the meantime died, and that there’s a very important contract in the briefcase concerning Beryllium and a South American country known as Santona. But then, Branting was murdered and the contract stolen. The unscrupulous grand industrialist Morrow, who holds the monopoly to Beryllium extraction in the world, wants the contract, so he can do business with Santona himself.

Directed by Jürgen von Alten, Secret Mission leans on a strong ensemble — Gustav Fröhlich, Camilla Horn, Ruth Hellberg — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1938.