The Counterfeit Traitor is a 1962 espionage thriller film starring William Holden, Hugh Griffith, and Lilli Palmer. Holden plays an American-born Swedish citizen who is forced to spy on the Nazis in World War II. It was based on a nonfiction book of the same name by Alexander Klein. The film was directed by George Seaton.

Plot

Erickson (Holden) is an American-born Swedish oil man who is pressured by Allied intelligence agents, led by a British agent (Griffith), to spy for the Allies. Erickson begins his job reluctantly, as it causes marital discord and forces him to pose as a Nazi. He agrees because otherwise his business would be destroyed by the Allies, but over time, realizes it is the right thing to do. Besides, Griffith recorded the meeting, He is influenced in making this moral decision by one of his contacts in Germany, a religious woman (Lilli Palmer) who gives him guidance on the meaning of life and right and wrong. Erickson has a number of close calls, but eventually escapes to Sweden in a harrowing sea voyage.

Cast