THE BLACK PARACHUTE (1944)

In 1942, the Nazis occupy a small European country led by King Stephen. Radio broadcasts from the king ask his people to cooperate with the Nazis, but the leaders of the underground movement suspect that he is being coerced into making these statements—and we discover indeed that the Nazi general Von Bodenbach is holding the king in "protective custody" and having a voice double make the broadcasts. American reporter Michael Lindley, in Europe to cover the war, is asked by resistance leaders Kurt and Erik to help free the king. He agrees and is parachuted into the country with a black parachute, supposedly less visible in the night, but the Germans still see him and try to chase him down. He gets help from a reluctant farmer and his daughter; the man Michael had arranged to contact is now dead, and the farmer is suspicious. But they offer him refuge in a cellar and then test him by undertaking a fake raid. Convinced of his loyalty, the group accepts him, and after they kill a small Nazi convoy, Michael takes the uniform and ID papers of Captain Mir and gains entrance to King Stephen’s castle. Bodenbach is fooled, but his mistress Marya knew Mir in the past and knows he's not Mir, but she doesn’t give him away. She asks Michael to take her with him when he frees the king (with the help of some resistance fighters who are present in the castle), but can she really be trusted? The title of this unassuming B-movie ultimately means nothing, as the black parachute doesn't really work. But it is kind of a cool title and the reason I watched this when it came up as a YouTube algorithm suggestion. At seventy minutes, it's about the right length for what it sets out to do, which is to tell a story about a resistance rescue. Larry Parks (pictured), who plays Michael, is not exactly the heroic type in build or voice, but he suffices for a B-movie lead. John Carradine is the Nazi general, and of course, he could do this kind of role in his sleep. Osa Massen is very good as Marya, keeping us guessing about her loyalty and motivations until the climax, though at times she sounds like Madeline Kahn's character in Blazing Saddles. Charles Wagenheim (Kurt) sounds a little like Groucho Marx. Busy character actor Jonathan Hale is King Stephen. It's a decent propaganda piece, as most wartime films were, and builds to a tense conclusion. [YouTube]