Martin Kosleck, that is! The German-born actor was the go-to villain for 40’s casting directors looking for a slimy sieg heiler (and later other foreign menaces). Kosleck was born in 1904, and as a young man studied acting under the legendary Max Reinhardt. He made his mark on the European stage, but his virulent anti-Nazi stance caused him, like many of his artistic compatriots, to flee the oppressive regime, landing in America in 1932.

Kosleck (in white suit) as Joseph Goebbles in 1939’s Confessions of a Nazi Spy

Kosleck made his stateside film debut as an uncredited dance instructor in FASHIONS OF 1934. Hollywood didn’t exactly break his door down with offers, so he headed east and began appearing on Broadway. Director Anatole Litvak caught Kosleck onstage in Shakespeare’s “The Merchant of Venice”, and offered him a part in his new picture. CONFESSIONS OF A NAZI SPY (1939) was Tinseltown’s first feature to…