An interesting fact about "Freedom Radio" is that Warners had beaten 2 Cities to it the previous year with the much grimmer & hard hitting "Underground" where the principal exponents were 2 brothers - one a defiant anti-nazi & the other a committed party member - one set against the other against a background of terror & mistrust under a merciless Gestapo regime. This is by far the superior treatment and establishes a suspenseful,dangerous atmosphere where serious infractions like listening to or indeed operating subversive radio transmissions intending to tell the truth about nazi policies invite the severest punishments. Basically,"Freedom Radio" narrates a similar situation from a British viewpoint and with a distinctly British cast of well known players in what was an early piece of propaganda from Asquith whose family politics were well set. It is a polished production under a wartime budget with cameos by several well known players of the day. Raymond Huntley/Clifford Evans & unbelievably Bernard Miles strut around resplendant in immaculate & bemedalled Gestapo suits with young Derek Farr and Joyce Howard caught up in the plot to aid wealthy dentist Clive Brook finally act in defiance of the regime that needs to strangle the truth. The Truth was not out there & Brook has a marital struggle to convince Diana Wynyard- a firm party sympathyser & keep his actions from reaching her nazi friends. Brook & Wynyard were no strangers to the stage and had the leads in Noel Coward's "Cavalcade"(1933). The former has also played Sherlock Holmes & prior to FR was a stiff upperlipped naval officer in Ealing's early WW2 naval epic "Convoy". Diana Wynyard made a name for herself in the lead of "Gaslight" on stage & on screen before MGM reprised it with Ingrid Bergman and tried to suppress the former. "Freedom Radio", again is studio-bound but this does not affect the story. Some dialogue is of the day and the edited newsreel inserts are obvious. A twist in the plot has one of the nazi leads a sympathyser & a nice,moment of suspense as Derek Farr,the radio technician infiltrates a huge Party gathering under the nose of a suspicious armed guard and cuts the connections relaying a speech by Hitler. There are several witty lines such as mentioned by earlier critics & direction is above average as should be expected from "Puffin" = Cottage On Dartmoor"/"Pygmalion"/"Way To The Stars" & "The Winslow Boy".
As an ex-RAF Wireless Op I appreciated the Gestpo method of searching out the illegal transmissions using the old 2-beam method of DF.In fact,this might just get a rough location of a strong signal but a third beam would be much more accurate as used some years later by the FBI in "White Heat" when hunting down Ma Cody in her bugged car. There's a touch of irony when the ending of FR parallels that of "Underground" in that the Truth will not be silenced by mere suppression.
As an ex-RAF Wireless Op I appreciated the Gestpo method of searching out the illegal transmissions using the old 2-beam method of DF.In fact,this might just get a rough location of a strong signal but a third beam would be much more accurate as used some years later by the FBI in "White Heat" when hunting down Ma Cody in her bugged car. There's a touch of irony when the ending of FR parallels that of "Underground" in that the Truth will not be silenced by mere suppression.