People are voting emotionally.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

There are a number of reasons that "The Counterfeit Traitor" is a great movie. The plot, the screenplay, the settings, the cast, the direction and editing – all aspects add up to a superb story produced marvelously on film. Then there's the historical aspect. The main characters were real people and the overall story is true. The names of some in this film are fictitious. But the characters are authentic, based on real people. The details and some locations in the story have been changed. But the main story is true and really happened. This film is based on a 1958 novel by the same title, written by Alexander Klein (1918-2002). But, later research since that time has uncovered more evidence and clarification of the man, Eric Erickson, and what he did. Other reviews discuss the plot and action in this film. So, my comments here will focus on the subsequent research into the real man and details. American author and biographer Stephan Talty in 2014 wrote an update on Eric Erickson, his life and his experiences. In "The Secret Agent: In Search of America's Greatest World War II Spy," Talty dug into Erickson's childhood and upbringing. He searched his papers and personal records in Swedish archives. And, he found previous unknown items to verify many parts of his Erickson's story. There can be no doubt that Erickson was the most important spy the Allies had in World War II. His efforts did more to stop Germany's war machine and bring down the Nazi regime, than any other spy. This movie is a wonderful picture of Erickson's daring ventures. But the real life action even was far more daring and risky than the movie portrays. Yet, Erickson survived it. Many spy stories have been written, and some very good films made about wartime espionage. None is better than this true story of the most important spy for the Allies in World War II. Here are some anecdotes about Erickson, about his exploits, and the story as shown in the film, compared to real life. The original book and film have Frau Marianne Möllendorf as a German co-conspirator with Erickson. She was an "Army widow," whose husband was off in the Eastern Front. She is tortured and then shot by firing squad, which Erickson sees from a jail cell. Author Stephan Talty said that, like most other sources, he had thought Erickson had made up Frau Marianne. Until he found a stash of letters from Anne-Maria Freudenreich and her photo. She was a very real person whom Erickson loved and saw tortured and executed at Moabit Prison. After the war, Erickson had said, "If she was alive, she'd undoubtedly be my wife."The incident of the boy, Hans Holtz, in the movie was true. Erickson's friend had been wary of his own son who was brought up in school with the Nazi brainwashing. Erickson didn't join the OSS in 1939, but in 1942. He had, in fact, collaborated with the Nazis as a Swedish businessman, trading with Germany and making big profits. This business paved the way for his easy entry into the Nazi and military hierarchy when he began to spy for the Allies. Erickson had not been coerced into spying, as the film shows, but sought out the Allies himself. It may have been conscience, author Talty says, but Erickson decided that he needed to help bring down Nazi Germany. Erickson was conversant in several languages and did business with Japan and several other countries besides Germany. His parents were Swedish immigrants and he grew up in New York. He graduated from Cornell University, where he played baseball and football. He worked in the oil fields in Texas and soon became wealthy. He moved to Sweden where he set up his own international oil business. Erickson actually denounced his Jewish friend, as shown in the film, to help prove his Nazi ideology and loyalty. That was to gain his unquestioning entry into the upper echelons of Nazi Germany. Because of the open support Erickson feigned for Nazi Germany, he and his family were scorned in public life in Sweden. His wife had a severe mental breakdown and spent the rest of her life in a mental institution. By 1944, Germany began to rely on synthetic fuel to power its war machine. The Nazi architect, Albert Speer, had 25 plants in production. They were hidden in secret locations around the Third Reich. Locating these became the main drive of Erickson's mission. The information he obtained led to Allied bombing raids that destroyed these plants. That soon had a crippling effect on Germany's forces. Ironically, the wealthy Swedish traitor, who was scorned for helping the Nazi synfuel program, was the source of destroying that program.

The picture captures the true feeling of the war and the heroic attempt of a few people to contribute to the destruction of a dictatorship.The line " you can read about a hundred atrocities, hear about a thousand, but you only have to see one" will always stay with me.I wonder why Eric Erickson has not been mentioned in history as a hero of World War Two? He was very similar to Oscar Shindler. I would hope that the real story of Eric Erickson is told some day. Lilli Palmer was wonderful and injected the reality of the war inside Germany throughout the picture. She was the most believable of all the characters. The scenes in the prison and her character's death were very realistic and left you with how helpless they were under the Nazi regime.Next to " The Bridge On The River Kwai" this is William Holden's best picture.

This excellent movie makes you really feel like the characters are in your living room. It shows both the true horror and the rush to love as fast as possible during wartime. The more I watch it the more I pick up things I missed the last time. There is a lot of things to be learned by this movie. Both the Horrors and feelings of war and how people act under severe stress.

This movie lives up to the catch name "Sleeper". When it first appeared in theatres, I wasin the USAF, stationed in Thule, Greenland. Advertisment and Publicity for this film must have been meager. It is a powerfully done World War 11 drama with an exceptional European cast. Holden is at his fiery best as a Sweedish Oil magnate duped into spying for the allies. Lili Palmer stunningly beautiful as Holden's contact and love interest. European locations and a good script of a true story make this spy adventure a top 1960s - must see.